The Isla San Jorge

Today has been a very tiring day that started at 5:25 in the morning. I took motion sickness pills to ensure that I would not vomit on the boat ride to Bird Island. Thankfully, the pills worked. The boat ride turned out to be three hours since we were fighting the wind. The boat rocked and swayed a little bit but it was manageable. Arriving at Bird Island, or Isla San Jorge, the drivers readied themselves to scuba dive while the rest of us prepared to snorkel. There was swarms of sea lions resting on the rocks and swimming in the water. Sea lions are pinnipeds which means they are marine mammals that are carnivores. One can distinguish a male sea lion to a female sea lion by the heads. Males have a bump on their head that is visible whereas females do not. As friendly as they look, sea lions are very territorial. Whenever they bark at you or blow a row of bubbles near you, that is a sign to stop and turn around because you are too close to the nursery. After an hour of snorkeling and diving with the sea lions, it was time to pack up and leave. The ride back to Puerto Penasco was more difficult to endure than the boat ride there. The winds were once again against us and the boat rocked back and forth in harsh movements. The movement made it very difficult to walk around on the boat. However, we have all made it to land safely and vomit free.