South Plaza Island

On this day we took a boat ride around Santa Cruz to the small South Plaza island (not far from the North Plaza Island) to see the animals there. We transferred from the boat to a zodiac to head into the shore. when we arrived, there was a "swarm" of sea lions frollicking in the water beside where the boat docked. 

A Tortoise and a Sea Lion

In his usual slow motion way, this tortoise is preparing to get a drink of (fairly nasty looking) water. Note that you can just see the remains of several meals on his mouth.