Sea Lion Colony — Isla de la Plata Ecuador

The waters around the Galápagos and Ecuador's Isla de la Plata host one of the Pacific's most accessible sea lion snorkelling experiences, where Galápagos sea lions — the most playful of all sea lion species — approach snorkellers with theatrical curiosity, blowing bubbles in their faces, doing barrel rolls around them, and nibbling at fins and wetsuits in an interaction of such uninhibited animal friendliness that it feels like being accepted into a marine family. The Galápagos sea lion's complete lack of fear of humans — maintained by their island evolution without terrestrial predators — creates a snorkelling encounter impossible to replicate anywhere else in the world, the animals approaching to within centimetres and making direct eye contact with an intelligence and curiosity that is unmistakably personal. The sea lion pups are particularly engaging — their play behaviour including elaborate games of keep-away with marine iguanas, blowing sand rings, and wrestling with each other directly in front of observers creates entertainment of considerable duration and delight. The Galápagos' underwater environment — visibility of 20 metres, marine iguanas grazing algae on the seafloor, penguins darting past — provides a marine biological context of unique evolutionary interest around the sea lion encounter. Galápagos snorkelling in general provides the most condensed marine wildlife experience on the planet.