ECUADOR, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: ISABELA ISLAND - TAGUS COVE PANGA RIDE AND EQUATOR CROSSING

 March 24, 2022, Afternoon and Evening

In the afternoon we took a panga trip to Vincente Roca Point, the northernmost site on Isabela Island. It is supposed to be a fantastic area for snorkeling, but the water was very murky.

I could see the great swaths of bubbles that Bob said had a soapy taste.

Close up, it didn't look like bubbles at all--more like DNA chains.

CAPE TOWN: SOUTH AFRICA: PENGUINS AT BOULDERS BEACH

In 1982, a nesting pair of African penguins (also called "jackass" penguins because of the braying-like noise they make) arrived on Boulders Beach, a series of granite-lined inlets located between Cape Town and Cape Point. These days there are over 2,000 penguins sharing the spot.

As we walked down the sidewalk from the parking lot to the beach, we were excited to see our first penguins. This is NOT the setting that I expected:

What look like partially submerged barrels are actually penguin condos:

There were rows of them, and all appeared to be occupied: