Floreana Island
On this Monday morning low-hanging clouds cling to the nearby island of Floreana like two families hugging. Today the early morning risers find themselves transferred back in time by the local post office on the island of Floreana. There is no postmaster here and there are no stamps. Like in the whaling days, you may leave a postcard for another traveler to hand deliver, or find a postcard waiting to be hand delivered to someone in your town back home!
After breakfast, we venture around Champion Islet – a short distance from Floreana. Whether snorkeling, diving or watching marine life through the glass-bottomed boat, the sea-life here brims with color and vibrancy.
We let the current pull us as we pass schools of black striped salema, a bulbous-headed bumphead parrotfish and some creole fish, who look as though their backs are lined with diamonds. Suddenly sea lions are around us performing aquatic pirouettes and inviting us to join them in their playground of soft blue.
Our exciting morning of marine life has made us hungry so we head back to the ship for lunch. However, lunch is such an understatement for what we encounter for our mid-day meal. An exquisite Ecuadorian feast, fit for a king is prepared for us. There are artichoke salads, coconut wahoo (grouper), local avocado salads, and delicious potato patties with a peanut sauce.
After a little siesta time, we awaken by an announcement that some whales have been spotted! Our eyes turn to the Pacific in search of these great creatures. Soon we are back in the Zodiacs to truly explore Floreana. We arrive on a beach of olivine sand. A pathway along the island leads us to a saltwater lagoon surrounded by inactive volcanoes. We have come upon a colony of pink amid a landscape that is now mostly brown and dry. Flamingoes. Here the Flamingoes feed all around us and pay us no mind. We have found an enchanted world, full of virtue. And magically, the beauty of this magnificent place seems to remind us all of our own innocence.
On this Monday morning low-hanging clouds cling to the nearby island of Floreana like two families hugging. Today the early morning risers find themselves transferred back in time by the local post office on the island of Floreana. There is no postmaster here and there are no stamps. Like in the whaling days, you may leave a postcard for another traveler to hand deliver, or find a postcard waiting to be hand delivered to someone in your town back home!
After breakfast, we venture around Champion Islet – a short distance from Floreana. Whether snorkeling, diving or watching marine life through the glass-bottomed boat, the sea-life here brims with color and vibrancy.
We let the current pull us as we pass schools of black striped salema, a bulbous-headed bumphead parrotfish and some creole fish, who look as though their backs are lined with diamonds. Suddenly sea lions are around us performing aquatic pirouettes and inviting us to join them in their playground of soft blue.
Our exciting morning of marine life has made us hungry so we head back to the ship for lunch. However, lunch is such an understatement for what we encounter for our mid-day meal. An exquisite Ecuadorian feast, fit for a king is prepared for us. There are artichoke salads, coconut wahoo (grouper), local avocado salads, and delicious potato patties with a peanut sauce.
After a little siesta time, we awaken by an announcement that some whales have been spotted! Our eyes turn to the Pacific in search of these great creatures. Soon we are back in the Zodiacs to truly explore Floreana. We arrive on a beach of olivine sand. A pathway along the island leads us to a saltwater lagoon surrounded by inactive volcanoes. We have come upon a colony of pink amid a landscape that is now mostly brown and dry. Flamingoes. Here the Flamingoes feed all around us and pay us no mind. We have found an enchanted world, full of virtue. And magically, the beauty of this magnificent place seems to remind us all of our own innocence.
