We crossed a smooth ocean traveling to the west last night and anchored just before dawn off Punta Cormorant, Floreana Island. The early risers among us had coffee, fruit, and muffins in the lounge and headed in for a wet landing on a greenish, olivine beach. Behind the landing beach is a brackish water lagoon and here wading birds and ducks were feeding. It is a bit of a surprise to find flamingoes in the Galapagos! Their ancestors came from the Caribbean and really, flamingos and penguins in the same oceanic islands, is both wonderful and strange. That is exactly what makes Galapagos such a special place, of course!
Today the trail we followed was easy – no more lava boulders to stumble across like we did yesterday afternoon – just cinders and sand. We climbed a gentle rise and descended to a lovely, fine, white sand beach where we could count 5 fresh sea turtle tracks left by females that had nested the night before. Galapagos has a large and healthy sea turtle population. These marine reptiles are protected both at sea and on their nesting beaches, and – because they are so plentiful - every visitor that comes to these islands gets a chance to see them while they are here.
Sea turtles have no parental care for their young, so our guides explained that the eggs that had been buried in the sand during the night, and on previous nights, by nesting females, who would incubate for a couple months, then hatch, and the tiny turtles would dash down to the sea.
Back we went to the ship and after a well-deserved breakfast we loaded into the Zodiacs and circumnavigated Champion Islet where we admired the seabirds and sea lions and searched for the elusive Floreana mockingbird. Then again back on the ship, we donned our wetsuits and returned to the coast of Champion for a fabulous snorkeling outing. The water was cool and clear and the fish abundant and brightly colored! The sea lions were playful and everyone had a marvelous time! Naturalist Juan Carlos took the ship’s GoPro and filmed the creatures that we all admired and his undersea footage will be included in David’s final video chronicle of this week’s trip.
In the afternoon after lunch and our siesta, naturalist Jonathan gave an enlightening and entertaining talk about the human history of Galapagos and we then went on shore at Post Office Bay where some of this interesting history has occurred. We left our postcards, and those who could agreed to hand-deliver cards with addresses close to where they lived. Then we chose between kayaking and a Zodiac ride around several lovely tiny islets where sea lions rested and splashed and rays and turtles swam in the shallows. Those who wanted a bit of pampering returned to the ship for a rest or a massage.
The sun set in glowing orange and pink; some of us enjoyed it from the Zodiacs and others from the decks of the National Geographic Islander. Later we all gathered in the lounge before dinner and I told our guests that tomorrow we visit “Galapagos civilization.” Not everyone was eager, but the promise of seeing the giant tortoises for which these islands were named convinced everyone that we were planning for yet another wonderful day in the enchanted islands of Galapagos.
