| II. Lovable sea lions, silly birds and blushing iguanas | |
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Oct. 5: We steamed for seven
hours last night: from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. in order to get to
Floreana Island. The noise and motion of the boat made sleeping a
bit difficult.
We spent the whole day at Floreana at two different landing places. The first was a wet landing at Post Office Cove where a trail took us to the post office barrel. People leave post cards in a barrel and if you find one that is addressed to your city, then you are supposed to take it and mail it. Historically, the whalers and other travelers left mail there for ships going in the opposite direction to take back to Europe or South America or the Far East. We saw a similar set-up in South Africa on the coast of the Indian Ocean. From there we went to another lava tube which was even more precarious to enter. Jim did not take the video camera into this one, and Amanda, Francesca and I sat this one out. We find the lack of safety precautions at places like this very interesting. Back at the cove there was time for snorkeling, but the water was quite cold and there was not a lot to see. The sea lions were basking on the beach and a couple of turtles were in the water. |
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After lunch we were on the boat until 4 p.m. when we went ashore at Cormorant Cove on Floreana. The trail took us by a lagoon where flamingos were feeding and onto the beach on the opposite side of the island where sharks and rays were swimming in a rather rough sea. There was a dead bottle nose dolphin that had beached itself and lots of Sally Lightfoot Crabs. We had a beautiful sunset as we headed back to the boat. The panga we rode in had been used earlier in the day by the crew as they did touch up painting on the exterior of the boat. They had dripped white paint onto the seat and had not cleaned it up. I was the first into that panga and as I slid forward, I picked up a great deal of white paint on my navy nylon travel pants! Rather annoying. They attempted to clean them for me using gasoline and it did remove some of the paint but not all. Back at the boat there was time for a warm shower as well as time for cleaning the video camera. Dinner was shrimp and rice and the first meal I have really enjoyed. Compared to the food we had in the lodges on the mainland, this has not been memorable. But it is filling and most people are eating heartily. I find it over-seasoned with salt so I eat enough but not a lot. Tonight we have an 8-hour run starting at 10 so we are planning to try to get to sleep before we get underway. Oct. 6: We awoke at 5 a.m. and the boat was still moving rapidly. By 5:30 we had begun to get dressed as we knew that we were due to be in the pangas and headed for Espanola Island at 6 a.m. Dressing while we were still underway was somewhat difficult, to say the least! Gave us a good laugh! Other boats would be waiting to send in passengers and there is an agreement between the boats that not all will come ashore at the same time. Times are assigned for certain islands when several boats arrive. Our time was early which suited us fine. What a morning! We were greeted at the little pier by a mother sea lion and her baby who was only a few hours old. The afterbirth lay nearby on the sand and the mockingbirds were pecking at it. Each mother and baby sea lion have a vocal call that helps them to identify each other. When the baby is born the mother stays with it for several days before leaving it to go in search of food in the ocean. The baby stays on the beach, sometimes plaintively crying. When the mother returns, she calls, the baby answers and they are re-united. There is a beautiful bonding between them. I could have stayed right there watching the sea lions but there was much more to see just over the next hill. Over that rise was a mass of marine iguanas in red breeding colors piled on top of each other trying to keep warm in the early morning mist. Dominic remarked that it looked as though they had been at an all night Rave. He always had something amusing to say. The path was essentially made of various sizes of lava rocks which took my full attention as we walked. One of our fellow passengers, Linda, reached out to help me. She was such a thoughtful young lady, and I found out that her mother and I are the same age! This path led us to a cliff where there was a huge blow hole. In quick succession, we saw Masked or Nazca Boobies, Blue-footed Boobies, Galapagos Gulls, Red-billed Tropic Birds, Magnificent Frigate Birds, a Galapagos Hawk, Galapagos Doves and Waved Albatrosses! There were a few seals on the rocks and land lizards as well! The albatrosses mate for life which could be 20 or 30 years. If one dies before the other, the one left remains without a mate until death. Watching them running along the cliff and throwing themselves into the air to begin flying was amazing. They are so funny - very clumsy on land but magnificent in the air! This morning on Espanola was one of my favorite shore times. Approximately three hours after beginning we were back on board for breakfast and to move to Gardner Bay for people to have time on the beach for sunbathing and snorkeling. Since they were to be out from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. I opted for independent study on the Fragata. Even with sunscreen I would burn at this time of day and sitting on the sand is not appealing to me at all. That evening the crew and guide dressed up in their white uniforms to say “Thank you” to those who depart tomorrow. Only four of us remain, Karel & Froucke and Jim & I. Tomorrow we will meet new people. We are going to be sorry to see the English trio as well as Linda and David of California depart. We steamed back to San Cristobal and slept at anchor! Jim managed without his Relief Band that night since we were not moving. He has been wearing it for four days, removing it only for showering and snorkeling. A little irritation had arisen because the band must be kept very tight and in the exact same place at all times and always with the conductivity gel between the band and the skin. Having a night without it will give his skin a chance to “air” out.
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Click thumbnails for larger versions
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Click here for a video (.WMV) of Blue-footed
Boobies' mating dance. |
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