Floreana Island
Again today we had a very exciting day! On our morning excursion we visited the well-known Post Office barrel where we picked up postcards and letters deposited by previous visitors and left our own. This follows an old hand delivery tradition that was initiated by whalers in the 1790’s.
On the way to “La Loberia” (a sea lions nursery) we had a close look at sea turtles mating. A diamond stingray came up from the sandy bottom to checkout our Zodiac. We climbed to the top of an incredible spatter cone and heard about an eccentric woman who used to climb here daily; she was known as the “Baroness of Galapagos.” The Baroness disappeared from Floreana in one of the most mysterious and famous unsolved crimes of all times.
Our next activities this morning were snorkeling and glass bottom boat exploration of the underwater world around Champion Islet. We swam with sea lions, sharks, and schools of brightly colored fish. Just before lunch we had an opportunity to observe one of the rarest birds in the world, the Floreana mockingbird.
In the afternoon there was a cloud cover but extremely pleasant and cool weather. All around us there was a frenzy of activity, and as they say, “love was in the air.” A group of brilliant pink flamingos were preening and feeding (see today’s photo) and even took to the air. One pair mated, and we could see a couple mud nests in the distance. We walked along a white beach where diamond stingrays were seen in the surf and ghost crabs were feeding.
We also enjoyed the company of pelicans, boobies, iguanas, frigate birds, and curious yellow warblers. The trust that these creatures show us gives one an unusual and sensational feeling: it is as if we were returning to a time of innocence.
Again today we had a very exciting day! On our morning excursion we visited the well-known Post Office barrel where we picked up postcards and letters deposited by previous visitors and left our own. This follows an old hand delivery tradition that was initiated by whalers in the 1790’s.
On the way to “La Loberia” (a sea lions nursery) we had a close look at sea turtles mating. A diamond stingray came up from the sandy bottom to checkout our Zodiac. We climbed to the top of an incredible spatter cone and heard about an eccentric woman who used to climb here daily; she was known as the “Baroness of Galapagos.” The Baroness disappeared from Floreana in one of the most mysterious and famous unsolved crimes of all times.
Our next activities this morning were snorkeling and glass bottom boat exploration of the underwater world around Champion Islet. We swam with sea lions, sharks, and schools of brightly colored fish. Just before lunch we had an opportunity to observe one of the rarest birds in the world, the Floreana mockingbird.
In the afternoon there was a cloud cover but extremely pleasant and cool weather. All around us there was a frenzy of activity, and as they say, “love was in the air.” A group of brilliant pink flamingos were preening and feeding (see today’s photo) and even took to the air. One pair mated, and we could see a couple mud nests in the distance. We walked along a white beach where diamond stingrays were seen in the surf and ghost crabs were feeding.
We also enjoyed the company of pelicans, boobies, iguanas, frigate birds, and curious yellow warblers. The trust that these creatures show us gives one an unusual and sensational feeling: it is as if we were returning to a time of innocence.
