Floreana Island
I wake up, look through the window and see a familiar island. It is about 1800 feet high, and has the shape of a shield, and several small volcanic cones cover its flanks. The island is green! A sign that the rainy season has arrived.
I get into the Zodiac, touch the water, and it is warm, in the high 70’s. The sun is shining right over my head, a sign that I am on the equator. There is the noise of baby sea lions and blue-footed boobies. There is black lava, green inorganic sand, brown-reddish cinder. I am in the Galápagos, Floreana Island.
A few brown pelicans land on the beach, some are still fishing in the shallow waters. They probably are after black-striped salemas, the same bait fish that blue-footed boobies dive for. I look to the west, and the sun is setting, and it is sets very fast. This is definitely the equator!
Floreana is an island rich in human history. I close my eyes and think about the many whalers and adventurers that sailed through these waters in the 1800’s over these calm seas. They must have found some relief in the area: tortoises to eat, a little fresh water to drink, no storms, no high seas, great fishing. Meanwhile, we on board the Polaris had no problem at all finding something to eat and drink. Today the galley prepared an extraordinary lunch buffet of traditional Ecuadorian foods (no tortoise included).
I wake up, look through the window and see a familiar island. It is about 1800 feet high, and has the shape of a shield, and several small volcanic cones cover its flanks. The island is green! A sign that the rainy season has arrived.
I get into the Zodiac, touch the water, and it is warm, in the high 70’s. The sun is shining right over my head, a sign that I am on the equator. There is the noise of baby sea lions and blue-footed boobies. There is black lava, green inorganic sand, brown-reddish cinder. I am in the Galápagos, Floreana Island.
A few brown pelicans land on the beach, some are still fishing in the shallow waters. They probably are after black-striped salemas, the same bait fish that blue-footed boobies dive for. I look to the west, and the sun is setting, and it is sets very fast. This is definitely the equator!
Floreana is an island rich in human history. I close my eyes and think about the many whalers and adventurers that sailed through these waters in the 1800’s over these calm seas. They must have found some relief in the area: tortoises to eat, a little fresh water to drink, no storms, no high seas, great fishing. Meanwhile, we on board the Polaris had no problem at all finding something to eat and drink. Today the galley prepared an extraordinary lunch buffet of traditional Ecuadorian foods (no tortoise included).
