Floreana Island
Today we woke early and our first activity this morning was a visit to the post office barrel that has been a hand delivery postal system since the 1790’s. Some of our guests found cards that were addressed to places they knew and would be going, so they pick these up to take them to their destinations.
Following the short walk at Post Office Bay, we took a wonderful ride in the pangas along of the coast of Floreana Island. Here we enjoyed watching sea lions, marine iguanas, sea turtles, penguins, and the spectacular scenery and cactus trees growing on tiny islets surrounded by turquoise water. We were hungry and glad that breakfast was waiting for us when we returned to the Islander.
As we cruised to our next anchorage off Champion Islet, we found a pod of bottle nose dolphins. Today’s deep water snorkeling was our best of the trip. Hundreds of brightly colored fish and dozens of playful sea lions delighted us. Some of us saw this well camouflaged stone scorpion fish.
After lunch we deserved a siesta to recharge our batteries for the afternoon’s visit. We made a wet landing on Punta Cormorant and took a walk across a small rise to reaching a beach made of very fine coral sand. Much of this sand was probably passed through the digestion system of parrot fish and sea urchins that feed on corals. The naturalists pointed out some unique and interesting plants and we found many bright pink flamingos in a brackish lagoon. Once again, we returned to the ship as the sunset and put an end to yet another full and satisfying day.
Today we woke early and our first activity this morning was a visit to the post office barrel that has been a hand delivery postal system since the 1790’s. Some of our guests found cards that were addressed to places they knew and would be going, so they pick these up to take them to their destinations.
Following the short walk at Post Office Bay, we took a wonderful ride in the pangas along of the coast of Floreana Island. Here we enjoyed watching sea lions, marine iguanas, sea turtles, penguins, and the spectacular scenery and cactus trees growing on tiny islets surrounded by turquoise water. We were hungry and glad that breakfast was waiting for us when we returned to the Islander.
As we cruised to our next anchorage off Champion Islet, we found a pod of bottle nose dolphins. Today’s deep water snorkeling was our best of the trip. Hundreds of brightly colored fish and dozens of playful sea lions delighted us. Some of us saw this well camouflaged stone scorpion fish.
After lunch we deserved a siesta to recharge our batteries for the afternoon’s visit. We made a wet landing on Punta Cormorant and took a walk across a small rise to reaching a beach made of very fine coral sand. Much of this sand was probably passed through the digestion system of parrot fish and sea urchins that feed on corals. The naturalists pointed out some unique and interesting plants and we found many bright pink flamingos in a brackish lagoon. Once again, we returned to the ship as the sunset and put an end to yet another full and satisfying day.
