When any yacht is cruising throughout the galapagos it is mandatory to have a Park approved Naturalist stay onboard the yacht for the entire trip! The naturalist is responsible for ensuring that we follow all of the rules and regulations of the park. They also serve as a cruising guide sharing all of their knowledge of the islands and wildlife. As you can imagine, bringing a stranger onboard in close quarters can have a huge impact on the trip. We lucked out with Jason on all fronts! He was a pleasure to have aboard. His enthusiasm with his job and the Galapagos Islands was a major factor in shaping our trip into what it was. He reluctantly accepted the fact that well all called the seal lions seals. He didn’t mind that we thought his name was Jeremy up the the end! He managed to stay somewhat quite when we pushed the limits on where to anchor. He madde sure to remind as countless times to stay “two meters” away from the animals! In hind sight, were not sure if he protected us from the animals, or the animals from us! Regardless, we couldn’t have asked for a better guide. Thanks Jason!

On the return of a shore hike we had a large sea lion blocking the path. Here Jason and Haggy are unsuccessfully trying to clear the way

We were not allowed to approach to touch the wildlife, but they could approach us!