Floreana Island
The western archipelago seems far away at the moment; we have reached the southern most island of all: Floreana. Partially cloudy skies are giving this site, Post Office Bay, a beautiful mellow and inviting radiance that inspires the desire to re-enact historical moments. For me, despite the great stories of the eccentric early colonists, the most outstanding event during this visit was witnessing the struggle of an inch worm climbing on a branch. The persistency of this little bug was inspirational and raised our spirits.
Sunny mid morning conditions accompanied us on our quest for the Charles mockingbird - “Charlies” as we call them. We circumnavigated Champion islet observing from the comfort of the Zodiacs.
The sea lions are back! They were swimming along with us during the entire snorkeling session. Curious, graceful and ever playful, they made our morning. Although the water's edge was a high content of chlorophyll, and hence appeared somewhat green, it was clear enough to allow us to see an incredible number of fish, marine invertebrates and even a lone white-tipped reef shark.
During the afternoon’s walk at Punta Cormornat, the courting flamingos gave us a good show. However the highlight of this walk was provided by a couple of mating sea turtles. These of reptiles were reproducing so ferociously that they were washed by the surf right up onto the dry zone of the beach. The female was trying an escape into the shallows. The male was persisting in order to keep mating. At one point a wave caught them and rolled the male upside down.
What a performance he then gave for us! Simply turning over, which for us is the most elemental of movements, is for a turtle an odyssey. The ancestral spectrum that moves all living entities provided this ancient reptile with the determination to win its struggle against the elements. So, after several strong attempts, and of course we were all holding our breath for quite a long time, he finally flipped over and made his way back to the ocean.
We felt we had been privileged today, and we accepted it with open minds and happy hearts.
The western archipelago seems far away at the moment; we have reached the southern most island of all: Floreana. Partially cloudy skies are giving this site, Post Office Bay, a beautiful mellow and inviting radiance that inspires the desire to re-enact historical moments. For me, despite the great stories of the eccentric early colonists, the most outstanding event during this visit was witnessing the struggle of an inch worm climbing on a branch. The persistency of this little bug was inspirational and raised our spirits.
Sunny mid morning conditions accompanied us on our quest for the Charles mockingbird - “Charlies” as we call them. We circumnavigated Champion islet observing from the comfort of the Zodiacs.
The sea lions are back! They were swimming along with us during the entire snorkeling session. Curious, graceful and ever playful, they made our morning. Although the water's edge was a high content of chlorophyll, and hence appeared somewhat green, it was clear enough to allow us to see an incredible number of fish, marine invertebrates and even a lone white-tipped reef shark.
During the afternoon’s walk at Punta Cormornat, the courting flamingos gave us a good show. However the highlight of this walk was provided by a couple of mating sea turtles. These of reptiles were reproducing so ferociously that they were washed by the surf right up onto the dry zone of the beach. The female was trying an escape into the shallows. The male was persisting in order to keep mating. At one point a wave caught them and rolled the male upside down.
What a performance he then gave for us! Simply turning over, which for us is the most elemental of movements, is for a turtle an odyssey. The ancestral spectrum that moves all living entities provided this ancient reptile with the determination to win its struggle against the elements. So, after several strong attempts, and of course we were all holding our breath for quite a long time, he finally flipped over and made his way back to the ocean.
We felt we had been privileged today, and we accepted it with open minds and happy hearts.
