Floreana
Today’s wake-up call came just before sunrise and soon after, we boarded the Zodiacs for a short visit to Post Office Bay. The Naturalists told us a tale of British Whalers in the 1790’s and American Captains during the 1800’s who used this hand-delivered mail system. We shared a laugh and pleasant moment looking through a stack of post cards, reading addresses and volunteering to take them ourselves for hand delivery.
By then the sun was up, and in the soft and cool gray of the morning, we took the Zodiacs among the Loberia islets with tiny white beaches, and large opuntia cactus trees sprouting from the black lava blocks. A very large beachmaster, the dominant male sea lion of one of these small beaches, stole the show as he rolled in the surf.
After a lavish buffet breakfast featuring eggs benedict, we headed off to snorkel along the coast of Champion Island. Once again, the sea lions stole the show! There was lots to see in the azure waters that drop off steeply around this small island: big schools of brightly colored king angelfish, tightly packed mobs of yellowtail razorfish feeding on algae off the rocks, camouflaged and highly poisonous scorpionfish, schools of red cardinal fish, and thousands of black striped salema and other tiny fish feeding on plankton so dense it cut down on the visibility today. We saw white-tipped reef sharks, a sea turtle and spotted eagle rays, but it was the images of the sea lions that swam with us, and around us, with graceful enthusiasm that were burnt into our minds and will never be forgotten. These curious and friendly marine mammals strike a cord in all of us, our empathy with them is great, their fun loving character hard to resist, and one never tires of sharing their play in their watery home.
We had options to choose from for the afternoon: snorkeling, kayaking and/or a walk at Punta Cormorant. “Rambo” snorkelers swam off Devil’s Crown in the deep and choppy water. After trying to fight the current for awhile we went into the crown where the water was warmer, shallow and wonderfully clear; we felt like we were snorkeling in an aquarium! The kayakers turned “Rambo” too, and after exploring the islets at the Loberia, they paddled all the way back to the ship.
Highlights of the afternoon’s peaceful hike were the nesting flamingos, a beached sea turtle and yet another playful sea lion who swam among us in the surf. In the evening we watched, and were delighted with, a preview of the Video Chronicle that Jim has put together, and we ended this superb day with dinner and dancing on the Sky Deck.
Today’s wake-up call came just before sunrise and soon after, we boarded the Zodiacs for a short visit to Post Office Bay. The Naturalists told us a tale of British Whalers in the 1790’s and American Captains during the 1800’s who used this hand-delivered mail system. We shared a laugh and pleasant moment looking through a stack of post cards, reading addresses and volunteering to take them ourselves for hand delivery.
By then the sun was up, and in the soft and cool gray of the morning, we took the Zodiacs among the Loberia islets with tiny white beaches, and large opuntia cactus trees sprouting from the black lava blocks. A very large beachmaster, the dominant male sea lion of one of these small beaches, stole the show as he rolled in the surf.
After a lavish buffet breakfast featuring eggs benedict, we headed off to snorkel along the coast of Champion Island. Once again, the sea lions stole the show! There was lots to see in the azure waters that drop off steeply around this small island: big schools of brightly colored king angelfish, tightly packed mobs of yellowtail razorfish feeding on algae off the rocks, camouflaged and highly poisonous scorpionfish, schools of red cardinal fish, and thousands of black striped salema and other tiny fish feeding on plankton so dense it cut down on the visibility today. We saw white-tipped reef sharks, a sea turtle and spotted eagle rays, but it was the images of the sea lions that swam with us, and around us, with graceful enthusiasm that were burnt into our minds and will never be forgotten. These curious and friendly marine mammals strike a cord in all of us, our empathy with them is great, their fun loving character hard to resist, and one never tires of sharing their play in their watery home.
We had options to choose from for the afternoon: snorkeling, kayaking and/or a walk at Punta Cormorant. “Rambo” snorkelers swam off Devil’s Crown in the deep and choppy water. After trying to fight the current for awhile we went into the crown where the water was warmer, shallow and wonderfully clear; we felt like we were snorkeling in an aquarium! The kayakers turned “Rambo” too, and after exploring the islets at the Loberia, they paddled all the way back to the ship.
Highlights of the afternoon’s peaceful hike were the nesting flamingos, a beached sea turtle and yet another playful sea lion who swam among us in the surf. In the evening we watched, and were delighted with, a preview of the Video Chronicle that Jim has put together, and we ended this superb day with dinner and dancing on the Sky Deck.
