Floreana Island
“Are you sure this is Galápagos?” “It’s hard to imagine we’re at the Equator!” Comments like these were tossed around by guests today as we approached Post Office Bay on the island of Floreana. The cloud of “garúa” was dense and the island had a ghostly appearance, but after our initial shock, we witnessed an opening in the misty rain through which sun’s rays filtered to lift our spirits.
The experience of collecting postcards from Post Office Bay that some guests will later deliver by hand near their homes – or even leaving behind a postcard with the hope of getting it delivered – brought to mind the old days when seamen trusted this rudimentary delivery method with their thoughts for beloved ones, far away back home…
As we left Post Office Bay, we shared a sense of happiness knowing we would be delivering people exciting news from the Enchanted Islands. Before we knew it, our arrival at Champion islet was announced. We knew some exciting adventures waited for us here, and we were not disappointed. A Zodiac ride around the small volcano afforded us a first class view of the Charles mockingbird and some other birds. The mockingbird behaved very inquisitively and giving us a good look of it.
Some sea lions approached the Zodiacs, which proved to be a warm-up for our pending snorkeling adventures. Later the sea lions swam with us giving everyone a moment to cherish. Immense numbers of fish surrounded us while swimming at Champion, and even though we were convinced the water would be extremely cold “brrrr” – it wasn’t. But it was a kaleidoscope of marine composition that transported our minds far beyond our bodies.
Later at Punta Cormorán, we were surprised to find the flamingo lagoon was dry. For unknown reasons the lagoon is showing a different level of tide. No flamingos were there at the time, but we were satisfied that elsewhere on this island life is abundant, prolific and fantastic.
