This was our itinerary.
We quickly had breakfast and waited for the announcements to start boarding the zodiacs to check out Bachas Beach. This beach is known as a nesting beach for sea turtles. We're too early in the season to see any turtles. They start to congregate in the waters in October, feeding on the plentiful jellyfish in the waters. On our way to Bachas beach we went through a patch of water that was so thick with jellyfish, that the water turned colour.
Our guide, Alex, picked up a handful of these jellyfish. They were small and didn't sting him, and he was pretty happy to see an abundant supply of them as it bodes well for the sea turtles.
When the turtles arrive the females climb onto the beach and dig a hole for the eggs. The depth of the hole is made so that the turtles emerge from the sand at night, so that they have a better chance of making it to the water without being attacked by predictors. Unfortunately there are so many sea turtles looking for space to dig a nest to lay eggs that they often dig up an existing nest, changing the depth of the sand covering the hole. As a result, the turtles emerge too early during the day and become easy prey. This is a picture of Bachas beach.
When we were there at the beach we saw some sharks in the water. They were small, about 2-3 feet in length.
We get back to the boat and get ready to leave it for the last time. Most of us congregate in the lounge where Judith and I take our last selfie. Judith can't believe how many pictures I take. She brought her brand new camera this trip and I think she's taken about 6 pictures. I can do that in a minute.
We board th zodiacs and motor over to the assembly area on Baltra Island to get the buses to the airport.
The flight was had a stopover in Guayaquil, making the trip a bit tedious. I was glad to get off the plane. This time, our guide shows up and she drives us to Hotel Dan Carlton, the same one that we stayed at the night before heading to Galápagos.
We got a different room but it has a similar look as the last time:
We head out to grab a bite and end up,at the Green Choice restaurant we went to last time. We had a tasty dinner but the owner's dog that was there last time was not there this time. But Judith's luck was good as the owner came in with the dog.
When it was time to go, Judith went to say hello to the dog and in conversation with them found that the waitress had a puppy there that she wa taking home. The puppy was a stray found by the restaurant owners who cared for it for a liitle while and was now giving it to one of her staff. Of course the story would not be complete without the picture.
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