One of the iconic animals we got to see on this trip was the marine iguana. You'll see many more images of these unique animals as we proceed through the trip.
Allow me to quote from Wikipedia to give you a bit of background on these critters:
Unique among modern lizards, it is a marine reptile that has the ability to forage in the sea for algae, which makes up almost all of its diet.[3] Marine iguanas are the only extant lizard that spends time in a marine environment.[4] Large males are able to dive to find this food source, while females and smaller males feed during low tide in the intertidal zone.[5] They mainly live in colonies on rocky shores where they bask after visiting the relatively cold water or intertidal zone, but can also be seen in marshes, mangrove swamps and beaches.[6] Large males defend territories for a short period, but smaller males have other breeding strategies. After mating, the female digs a nest hole in the soil where she lays her eggs, leaving them to hatch on their own a few months later.[7]
They have impressive large claws for digging in the sand. It is easy to see how they have been models for so many monsters in Hollywood B films of the '50's and '60's.
While at the beach I was also able to catch a brown pelican in the process of taking off for fishing trip.
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