Swimming with Sea Lions and Whale sharks

Got to the office of Marlin tours by 0850 and got fitted with flippers and snorkel. Being a wimp I also went for a wet suit, but Jill and Chris, being made of tougher stuff went without. Met Arturo our guide and Javier the coxswain of the boat before setting off to look for whale sharks. Due to not having a waterproof camera I unfortunately don't have many pictures of the day, but it was one of those days that I hope I will remember for ever. We cruised around the west shore looking for the whale sharks but they were not there so headed off to the sea lion colony about 20 miles north of La Paz past Frigate birds and a small colony of sea lions practising synchronised swimming. At the north of the island there is a colony of about 400 sea lions where we moored and went swimming. I hope I never forget what it was like to stroke a sea lion, to look them directly in the eyes and feel their gentle nips of my hand and arm. We swam with them for about 45 minutes also looking at the other brightly coloured fish that didn't seem to worry about being surrounded by this predator. A truly amazing experience. We then went to a sandy cove for lunch
where Jill posed looking beautiful on a tree trunk before heading back towards La Paz, past more stunning coves and strange rock formations, stopping again to swim amongst coral and tropical fish. Met a school of dolphins before finding the whale sharks. They are only juveniles but they were still about 20 ft long. We quickly jumped in the water and swum right next to them. Can you see the eye? Another incredible experience to end a most memorable day.