All over the place were Sally Lightfoot crabs. Easy to find but impossible to catch (swift little buggers). I found out about that through my reading- not by chasing them.
1- The Italian couple splashing around in the surprisingly cold Humboldt Current (cold water- that's why the fishing is so good for the boobies and sea lions).
2- Of the three kinds of lava (pillow, pahoehoe and aa), this lava flow was slow and smooth and fairly slow-cooling, leaving a smooth and ropy surface- called pahoehoe. (BTW- the names given are because of the speed and cooling rates of the lava- not the chemical composition.)
3- About 4-6 inches across, the larger Sallys were remarkably beautiful.
4- This oyster catcher ruined my camera. Well, sorta. The wave action was routinely calm and quiet. I was pursuing this little devil and a sneaker wave burst over my head from behind- soaking me and my camera. Salt water and cameras aren't a good mix. I dried the camera and lens the best I could and it continued functioning for the rest of the trip. It died not long after returning home- as did the zoom lens. It was a Canon A Series (I had two Canon film cameras with me with zooms).
Charlie
Beauties Charlie. I can empathize with your camera situation. I had my A1 go plop into a tide pool. I'm still married to the girl that dropped it, but the camera bit the dust in a big way.
Thanks Ken, David and Dorian (I'm hoping the word "crap" was intended to be "crab."
There are many "trips of a lifetime," and the Galapagos was certainly one of mine. I was fortunate to have had several equal-but-different TOLs.
Charlie
What a great bunch of "Crap" Or make that "Crab"
The color on the crap really stands out for me
Love that you share the photos from your travels Charlie
Hey Charlie, I've been enjoying your Galapagos sets and that is what motivated me to post some of mine from last May.
You mentioned the water being cold. What time of year were you there? In May last year (first week) it was very warm. No need for wetsuits or anything. Friends of ours went in October 2010 and the water was freezing during that time.
I’m sorry to hear one of your bodies and lenses died. If you want to continue shooting with Canon A series look at KEH.com as the last I looked they had a bunch. I used to shoot with 2 Canon AE-1 bodies and a bunch of primes and on more than one occasion they took a dunk and survived without any water getting in. I gave away the last of my Canon gear a few years ago or I’d have replacements in the mail to you my friend.
The lava field and the crab are wonderful captures and the oyster catcher is nice as well.
Thanks, guys and doll .
Oh, I replaced the camera and zoom soon after they froze up, and added a couple of more modern Canon film bodies in years to follow (for 400mm tele use). In all those years of travel and use, the only problem I had with the cameras was because of the wave soaking- and that was driver error (that's 30+ years for the A-1 and AE-1 program). No complaints about equipment from me.
Charlie
Oh, about the time of year- I was there in November or December, when the cold Humboldt Current prevailed. Sometimes the warm El Nino current comes in and the fishing is worsened (I forgot about that ).
Or make that "Crab" 
Do people eat those crabs, assuming they have figured a way to catch them?