It has been a few days and the wonders of the Galapagos continue. I moved to my second cruise on the Anahí, another catamaran. A bit smaller but just as nice as the first one. The group is very different. There is a Quebecois family of 8 on board with three generations. The youngest are almost 2 and 3. Their parents in their late 30s. Grandparents and siblings to the grandparents. There is a young couple from The UK and another 40ish couple from Italy. These two couples are very active and experienced divers.
We caught up at midday of Tuesday and went aboard for lunch. We then went back to San Cristóbal for my second visit to the interpretation center though this time we could actually do the walk and see some sights. Back to the boat where we met the other new couple from Switzerland. This was a younger couple in their 20s adventurous but not as experienced as the other couples. I mention this because of how this different type of group affected the second cruise.
It was much more active and focused on deep water snorkeling. The captain was very experienced snorkeling and diving. In a sense we had two groups on board; the family who because of their limited English and Spanish language skills did not interact with many of the others, and the active group who were their for the full experience and many of whom were very experienced travelers and divers. One conversation was about filling up a passport to require the addition of pages. The brits and the Italians had already done this. What a different life experience.
We sailed to Española island where we saw a large number of land iguanas that were ready to or had just lain their eggs. The brightly colored males were doing their best to protect the females in the process. The females too were displaying their protective sides by bobbing their heads and flaring their jowls. The guide pointed out the nests and how to tell if the females had lain their eggs or not. Again, I was blown away by the fact that this was happening all around us like a National Geographic special. We also saw Galápagos hawks, Nasca boobies (red feet), swallow-tailed gulls, and one dead albatross. In the right season, this is the place to see the albatross. There is a section of the island called the albatross airport where thousands of the birds come to nest and have their chicks. Some of the views were spectacular. We stopped at the 'airport' to view the cliffs and a blow hole. Just gorgeous.
After a long hot morning, most of us jumped into the sea at the back of the boat for a swim. It was so refreshing and nice. After lunch we did some deep water snorkeling and a beach. In general the snorkeling was not as spectacular as the first few times but with the captain leading we did things most guides would not. We were dropped off hundreds of yards from anything where there rocks not too far below the surface. We then moved toward a rocky outcropping with the current. Most of what I saw were sharks, black-tip and white-tip, though some in the group saw a couple hammerhead sharks.
The next day around the island of Floreana we snorkeled around a submerged volcanic crater called devil's crown. Here we swam into caves and around rocks. At times we would be in very warm water and then all of a sudden in cold water that made me catch my breath. It was a fun experience until we got into the center of the crater and we had very strong currents impeding our progress. I got too tired and had to get back in the dinghy/zodiac. Everyone did and we moved to a different location but I was exhausted and did not get back in. Some everyone else tried to get to the location but three like myself were just drawn out with the current away from the group and the leaders. So, they got back in with us. 
Also on Floreana we did a boat tour of Gardener bay and baroness point where a German baroness was going to create a resort but disappeared mysteriously on day. Floreana is also where there is post office bay. In the time of pirates going back to the late 1700s, buccaneers would leave messages for each other in a barrel. They would also leave post that would be picked up by other ships and delivered. It still works the same today. I left a postcard myself, and picked up one to deliver.
There was a beach right there and we swam and I did my last snorkeling experience. I saw the last thing I had been wanting to see more closely, a huge sea turtle. I was less than a yard from him while he was eating. He moved on and I followed only to see another not quite as big. The phrase I would use for the first one; it was as big as a tractor tire. For those who have seen tractors, you know what I am taking about. For those who haven't, think 7-10 feet in diameter. Ok I may be exaggerating but refraction in the water does alter perception. I just know it was at least bigger than me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I am only 5'6" but even at 6' in diameter it's huge!
After that it was back to the boat for dinner, a drink with the crew, and packing.
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