Floreana Island
We had a swelling at our stern while rounding Southern Isabela so there was some rock and roll last night during our long navigation. My early wake up call was answered by sleepy faces who gathered in the lounge for coffee and cocoa before the disembarkation at Post Office Bay. They enjoyed the visit to this historical site, read the addresses on the post cards they found in the barrel and pledged to deliver them by hand back in the USA.
Shortly after breakfast we wiggled into our wet suits and boarded the pangas which took us to snorkel off the coast of a small flat islet called Champion. The water was a bit murky today, but several playful sea lions danced and spun among us and that was enough to make the outing a complete success.
After hot showers we took a panga journey around Champion and were all fortunate to observe the rare Floreana mocking bird. Sadly this species has been exterminated from the large island of Floreana and is now only found on several small off shore islets like Champion. Besides several mockingbirds, we admired the elegant red-billed tropic birds and swallow tailed gulls that nest on the cliffs of Champion.
After lunch and siesta we sent off two rounds of kayakers who enjoyed a swift paddled along the beach at Punta Cormorant. Then we made a wet landing on this greenish olivine beach and walked back to the edge of a brackish lagoon where brilliant pink flamingoes were resting and feeding. We were pleased to get a close look at several of the pretty birds, and when they took off we were delighted to see the black patches on their wings that contrasted so vividly with their pink feathers.
This afternoon’s walk up and over a small rise on a cindery trail was peaceful and relaxing. We descended to a lovely small white beach made of the finest bleached sand imaginable. Here we could see sea turtle nests and we spotted a few turtles in the shallows plus a small shark. Neon Sally Lightfoot crabs were feeding off algaes on the jet black lava rocks. To complete a perfect day, we feasted on ribs and sausage, a variety of salads and desserts, at a the sky deck barbecue dinner and then some of us danced salsa and merengue with the waiters.
We had a swelling at our stern while rounding Southern Isabela so there was some rock and roll last night during our long navigation. My early wake up call was answered by sleepy faces who gathered in the lounge for coffee and cocoa before the disembarkation at Post Office Bay. They enjoyed the visit to this historical site, read the addresses on the post cards they found in the barrel and pledged to deliver them by hand back in the USA.
Shortly after breakfast we wiggled into our wet suits and boarded the pangas which took us to snorkel off the coast of a small flat islet called Champion. The water was a bit murky today, but several playful sea lions danced and spun among us and that was enough to make the outing a complete success.
After hot showers we took a panga journey around Champion and were all fortunate to observe the rare Floreana mocking bird. Sadly this species has been exterminated from the large island of Floreana and is now only found on several small off shore islets like Champion. Besides several mockingbirds, we admired the elegant red-billed tropic birds and swallow tailed gulls that nest on the cliffs of Champion.
After lunch and siesta we sent off two rounds of kayakers who enjoyed a swift paddled along the beach at Punta Cormorant. Then we made a wet landing on this greenish olivine beach and walked back to the edge of a brackish lagoon where brilliant pink flamingoes were resting and feeding. We were pleased to get a close look at several of the pretty birds, and when they took off we were delighted to see the black patches on their wings that contrasted so vividly with their pink feathers.
This afternoon’s walk up and over a small rise on a cindery trail was peaceful and relaxing. We descended to a lovely small white beach made of the finest bleached sand imaginable. Here we could see sea turtle nests and we spotted a few turtles in the shallows plus a small shark. Neon Sally Lightfoot crabs were feeding off algaes on the jet black lava rocks. To complete a perfect day, we feasted on ribs and sausage, a variety of salads and desserts, at a the sky deck barbecue dinner and then some of us danced salsa and merengue with the waiters.
