Just after our lecture and before lunch, the bridge suddenly alerted us to the presence of whales in the area. We all excitedly rushed out to the decks around the bridge, and watched as many (possibly as many as twenty) Bryde's whales broke the surface of the flat blue ocean to breath. One of them was close enough to observe the three ridges down the head, and for us to get a disgusting whiff of its breath!
All of a sudden though, we saw something different; a huge plume, funny dorsal fin and unusual blue coloration. This was really too good to be true, a creature I had never seen before, and which had only spotted about three or four times in Galapagos, a blue whale!! We followed it around for a while, in complete awe of this fantastic creature, until it dove down with a final flick of an enormous fluke.
That afternoon we disembarked for a short zodiac ride to look for penguins and cormorants, then a beautiful walk among pahoehoe, a'a and iguana flows! A couple of the groups also saw a sea lion who had only just given birth: truly a memorable day.
