Indeed, the last couple of days have been very exciting for all of us. After several weeks without flamingos, we arrived to the brackish lagoon in Floreana, and there they were. Pink birds, a mystery for ornithologists. Flamingos seem closest to the ducks and geese; in some parts of their anatomy to storks and ibises; however they honk and babble like geese and the downy young are very gooselike. Now days we know that ancient shorebirds were the classic stock from which both flamingos and ducks arose.
On Tuesday afternoon we lowered our boats to have a ride among bottlenose dolphins. There were hundreds; they were jumping out of the water. They played for almost an hour with our six Zodiacs.
We came back on board very excited to find that there was a message waiting for Rafael, our fellow naturalist. He is the father of a beautiful daughter. Her mom, Rafael's wife, is another Polaris naturalist: Maria Fernanda, who is happy and healthy waiting for him in Quito.
This is our first Polaris baby, the daughter of two naturalists who work on board. Congratulations Maria Fernanda and Rafael!
