I haven’t seen them but if the loud sunrise crowing is any indication, there sure are a lot of roosters on this island. In the distance I could also hear the sea lions and closer to home a pretty violent dog fight. Good Morning San Cristobal!
After a big breakfast at Lucky’s we began our exploration of the other side of Puerto Baquerzo Moreno.
Most people’s dogs and cats just seem to roam free here. Their collars attest to the fact that they do belong to someone.
At breakfast I watched a scruffy dog approach a cat on the street. The cat arched his back and the dog continued to bother it. Next thing you know, the cat goes all Tasmanian devil and chases the pooch way down the street.
We grabbed a cab to La Loberia beach (which means Sea Lion). The beach was gorgeous and almost deserted except for the pelicans, lava lizards, sea lions, crabs, frigate birds and lots and lots of other birds. The air space was shared by dragon flies, huge black bees, yellow butterflies and small blue moths. There were also a few marine iguanas, but not in the same numbers as on Santa Cruz or Isabela.
The water seemed a bit too rough for me so John and I pulled out our beach mat and laid under a big tree. We watched dozens of birds above us…wondering which of us would be pooped on first. Finches, yellow warblers and a larger bird with a very pretty song were all in attendance above our heads.
A small cruise ship tour group stopped to look at our virtuoso. The guide informed us that it was a mockingbird.
It was so peaceful lying in the shade, under that tree, watching the birds, listening to the waves and the odd sea lion. I could have easily stayed all day but the siren call of a sea lion swim beckoned me onwards.
After stopping back at the hostel to grab some money, we went to our favourite tour company. Unfortunately, most of the tour companies are closed mid day, so we went to the sea lion cove.
Sitting near the water, the black lava rock came alive as dozens of black baby Sally Lightfoot crabs dashed to get out of my path. The older red crabs with blue bellies were very cool.
The water was a bit rough and we only saw one or two sea lions so we hung out and enjoyed the scenery.
The main sea lion that was there seemed rather antisocial. It was funny to watch him avoid the five people in the bay. Unbeknownst to them, he would swim within a metre or two of them without being noticed.
We returned to Mann Beach and the restaurant with the good food but waitress with the bad memory. She did remember us from yesterday and we are now on first name basis.
We even got our food and delicious natural juice (strawberry for me, mango for John) within twenty minutes.
Back in town, John and I tried to book our Punta Pitt day trip only to find that they don’t run on Saturdays. Lesson learned; we should have booked it when we arrived.
John went back to the hostel while I did a bit of souvenir shopping…a much better experience when done without John.
After showering we headed down to the port for sunset, then watched a dance group practicing various ethnic dances and finally checked out the action at the sea lion beach.
As I mentioned before…these guys have no boundaries. We found some bedding down in and on top of boats. Another was even sleeping between the letters of the San Cristobal sign. And of course, their beach was very loud.
