Greetings from Floreana Island, a middle-aged island at just over 2 million years of age. This island was the first capital of the Galapagos. The reason we were there was to hike to a small brackish lagoon where we found over 100 flamingos (more than 1/3 of all the flamingos in Ecuador) feeding. Our guides were quite excited to see so many flamingos in one place. After the “ankle breaker” trail on Espanola Island, the trails here were wide and well-graded. After seeing all the flamingos, we continued down to the beach on the other side of the island. Unlike the olivine sand of the first beach, this one was nearly pure white and was filled with green turtle tracks. It turns out that this beach is a popular nesting spot and it is well protected. While walking along the trails, we couldn’t help but notice that all the flowers in the Galapagos are either yellow or white — the only colors that the carpenter bees and other insects can recognize in order to pollinate. Nature always finds a way!
From there, a number of us went to Champion Island to do some “deep water” snorkeling from the tender. There was a pretty strong current, but it carried us along in the direction we were heading, so it was quite nice. We saw lots of fish and a few sharks, but the most amazing part was frolicking with the sea lions. They were very playful, but I got a little too close to one of the babies, whose father took some umbrage at my intrusion. After a few barks, and a tug by our guide, I was off.
In the afternoon, we went to a different part of island at Post Office Bay. This place is home to the post office barrel which was established about 1793, where pirates, buccaneers, whalers, and others could leave their mail to be picked up by outbound ships. Today, you sort through all the post cards that have been left there, and if there is someone from your area, you are supposed to personally deliver it to them. We didn’t find any from our area, but left a few for others to find. Tomorrow, we head to one of the “young” islands — Isabela!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
