Anchored beside us at Ensenada Grande was the M/V Venus. This is the yacht that was custom built for the late Steve Jobs and completed 1 year after his death.

We kayaked over to a little bay called La Cueva. There is a booby hatchery there but we were too late to see the young chicks. We did see three adult blue footed boobies but they flew away before we could get pictures. They look a bit like seagulls but there feet are blue...so amazing.

Esenada Grande was a much better anchorage for protection from the winds. It is a large bay. Much like many of the other bays on these islands, the water is turquoise with sandy beaches and beautiful rock cliff sides.

There is a fisherman's cross on the hillside, which we hiked up to. We continued to the top of the mountain stopping to admire the many amazing limestone caves along the way. We found shells that were deposited millions of years ago that had dropped from the ceiling from erosion. We saw a chipmunk, which looked so out of place in this desert vegetation.

This was a challenging hike as there was no actual path. We had to make our way over huge boulders but once again the views were well worth it.

We met Jack from the sailing vessel "Waterdog" near the end of our hike. We had a great conversation. He had been hiking these trails for years and had said this was his first time actually seeing someone on them.

Upon arrival back to the beach we immediately went for a swim. Nothing could feel better at that time then feeling the healing process of the water on our feet and joints. We had actually started our hike from another beach so we had to swim over to the beach and retrieve our kayak.

We went back to the boat for some relaxation and dinner. After dinner Rick suggested I practice jumping off the side of the boat, which is about five feet. For some unknown reason, I have had a fear of jumping into the water. It is totally irrational as I love the water and have no fear of being in it or on it. I started by jumping off the bottom step of our kayak ladder and then worked my way to the top and then finally off the boat. What a great sense of accomplishment to have conquered a lifelong fear.

A huge mega yacht came into the bay today called "Venus". We read on the Internet later that "Venus" was commissioned by Steve Jobs to be built. It would take six years and would be finished three years after Steve Jobs's death. The total cost of the ship was over 200 million dollars and the length is just over 260 feet or 78 meters. Today it appears to be a charter boat for extremely wealthy folks.

It was another windy night with some waves but the holding was good so all was good.

El Embudo is a small cove on the northwest end of Isla Partida. We had the bay to ourselves and took full advantage of this. What an amazing beautiful bay. We anchored in about 10 feet and could see bottom. There were about a dozen balloon fish swimming under our boat. They are so curious that they will swim right up to your face to get a better look. They have to be one of the most adorable creatures in the sea.

El Embudo is the cove that many use to kayak or dinghy over to Los Islotes to see and swim with the sea lions as it is only about a mile way. We had a wonderful kayak trip over and found a rocky ledge without sea lions on it to launch our kayak. There were hundreds of sea lions of all sizes on the rocky coast.

The California sea lions at El Embudo are internationally protected and used to people but they still have to be treated with caution especially during mating season, which is May to July. Females also give birth to pups this time of year. We did see several pups.

We quickly got our fins and snorkels on and started swimming with the sea lions. They are amazing to see in the water, as they are so graceful and swim with ease, which is a contrast to their perceived clumsiness on land. Males can be up to 8 feet and weigh 800 lbs while females weigh up to 200 lbs.

Our first encounter was with a male who looked like he was courting a female. He swam towards Rick a few times showing his teeth but I don't think he meant any real harm. I think it was his way of saying "back off...she' mine".

I don't think that one has truly lived until one has swam with the sea lions. We saw dozens of these tremendous mammals in various forms of swimming.

I constantly get the feeling that I am in a National Geographic film.

We had a snack amongst the sea lions and then headed back to El Embudo. We decided to explore the beach and found some pretty cool caves. By this time it was hot again, so I swam back to the boat while Rick kayaked beside me. The water was so clear and warm.

We retired for the evening but the wind changed direction about 1:00 in the morning so we picked up anchor and headed to Ensenada Grande where the holding was better.

The Sea Lion colony is a must sea… To be up close to these beautiful creatures in their natural environment is an unforgetable experience. Our timing was perfect and we are the only two humans on the islands during our visit. A big bull Sea Lion was very verbal as we ate our lunch on a nearby rock but then got use to us and snoozed quietly nearby.

Hiking turned technical as we climbed the rocky peaks for that great view and just to get to the other side.