Floreana Island
Our Expedition Leader, Cindy, awoke us at dawn for our first trip ashore to the Post Office barrel. It has long been the tradition of sailors, away from home for years at a time, to place messages here with the hope that some future sailor, homeward bound, would find a letter he could deliver. We were offered the same opportunity so we read through addresses on postcards and brought back ones that we could hand deliver near home.
After a hearty breakfast back onboard, we were in the water. Snorkelers buddied up and were treated to the abundant fish life along a wall of cascading lava. Sea lions cavorted with us making us feel rather clumsy with our abilities in their environment. The scuba divers had their first chance to explore deeper realms and the rest of us explored the underwater scene through the glass bottom boat. The reward for all this exercise was the lunch buffet of typically Ecuadorian food.
The afternoon hike took us past a lagoon where flamingos fed on brine shrimp thus giving them their trademark salmon pink color. We learned that they are able to feed by scooping us these tiny creatures with their head upside down because it is their top jaw that is hinged. From another vantagepoint we viewed three nesting flamingos. As we made our way to the beach we learned about several endemic trees and shrubs and their abilities to survive this dry season. A stroll in powdered sugar sand, watching underwater rays and green sea turtles share the water’s edge, capped off another day in this unique place.
Our Expedition Leader, Cindy, awoke us at dawn for our first trip ashore to the Post Office barrel. It has long been the tradition of sailors, away from home for years at a time, to place messages here with the hope that some future sailor, homeward bound, would find a letter he could deliver. We were offered the same opportunity so we read through addresses on postcards and brought back ones that we could hand deliver near home.
After a hearty breakfast back onboard, we were in the water. Snorkelers buddied up and were treated to the abundant fish life along a wall of cascading lava. Sea lions cavorted with us making us feel rather clumsy with our abilities in their environment. The scuba divers had their first chance to explore deeper realms and the rest of us explored the underwater scene through the glass bottom boat. The reward for all this exercise was the lunch buffet of typically Ecuadorian food.
The afternoon hike took us past a lagoon where flamingos fed on brine shrimp thus giving them their trademark salmon pink color. We learned that they are able to feed by scooping us these tiny creatures with their head upside down because it is their top jaw that is hinged. From another vantagepoint we viewed three nesting flamingos. As we made our way to the beach we learned about several endemic trees and shrubs and their abilities to survive this dry season. A stroll in powdered sugar sand, watching underwater rays and green sea turtles share the water’s edge, capped off another day in this unique place.
