I have my afternoons free, leaving me to do a bit of exploration on my own, discovering some of the local treasures. Here's one of my favorites. The other night, I was just strolling down by the beach, chatting with my host, when I was startled by the sound of a large sneeze. I looked over to see an enormous sea lion and his family perched on the benches.
Over the course of that evening, I continued to discover that sea lions are everywhere here. You have to keep your eyes open, because if you are not looking, you may stumble over one. Literally. They spend a large portion of their day sleeping, and they will find just about any comfy spot to do so. I have seen these guys...
under bushes...
on the boardwalk...
on benches...
on the stairs...
on the sidewalk....
crossing the street...
and I don't have pictures because my camera battery ran out, but I have also seen them under playground equipment and under the boardwalk, all over the place...
Their favorite spot seems to be the rocks, though, which I would imagine is the ocean's equivalent of a recliner. But they seem to make even the most uncomfortable spot look comfortable.
On certain beaches, there are so many , that if you don't look carefully, they look just like rocks.
If you sit near one of these beaches long enough, though, you are bound to hear them. All it takes is one large bull to start calling, and the others will kick off, too. Their call is something like that of an old, worn out dog.
Even when in large congregations on the beach, they seem to be, for the most part, in familial groups of 3-4, and what seem to be a female, a male and 1 or 2 young.
I especially enjoy watching the young ones with their mothers. They are energetic and noisy, and rather pushy when they get hungry. The mothers have what looks to be 4 teats, and a young sea lion will switch from one to the other to the other for an hour or more. If you sit close enough, within 15', you can hear their eager suckling sound.
Watching these creatures has been a fascinating part of my trip. Though they are large, and at times awkward, they are for the most part quite graceful and agile. Navigating huge rocks and human architecture with ease.
And, if these are not the cutest faces you have ever seen, then I need to know what animals you've been spending time with! (But sorry, Irene, there is a strict NO TOUCH policy here, so there'll be no snout smooching for you!)
Apparently there are some islands here where there are common places to swim with sea lions, so hopefully one of my next posts will be about that!
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