Floreana Island
COLOR! It’s amazing how many hues we experienced today. Upon first landing at the flat desert island of Baltra a few days ago, it looked as though we might have made a wrong turn. Lush, beautiful, and tropical it was not. Grey and dry, it was. But today the Galápagos lived up to all our expectations, especially in the color department.
The morning’s snorkel outing couldn’t have been better! The parrotfish were pastel, the starfish a dazzling blue, the surgeon fish glowed yellow, and the wrasses were rainbows in motion. The current carried us along and while we were totally absorbed in the colors, whish, along came a sea lion and caught us off guard. Unless you’ve been here, it’s hard to imagine the sounds of laughter that radiate from our snorkels, and the eyes of delight that dance from behind our masks.
Even lunch was colorful, as our chefs treated us to a sumptuous Ecuadorian extravaganza. Hotel Manager Sophia kindly explained each dish with fruits and vegetables whose names and flavors were new to us. Although we brought our cameras to capture the wildlife of the Galápagos, our shutters snapped the dazzling buffet table to remember this delicious mid-day meal.
And then the most surprising color of all – pink! Who would have thought flamingoes would live on the Equator? Our afternoon hike took us to a brackish lagoon on Floreana where these crimson long-legged birds dotted the shallow waters against a backdrop of black lava. A diet of brine shrimp provided the nutrition necessary to give them their customary hue.
As the amber sun set over the azure sea at 6:00pm, we motored back to the Polaris in alternating moments of quiet gratitude and giddy laughter.
COLOR! It’s amazing how many hues we experienced today. Upon first landing at the flat desert island of Baltra a few days ago, it looked as though we might have made a wrong turn. Lush, beautiful, and tropical it was not. Grey and dry, it was. But today the Galápagos lived up to all our expectations, especially in the color department.
The morning’s snorkel outing couldn’t have been better! The parrotfish were pastel, the starfish a dazzling blue, the surgeon fish glowed yellow, and the wrasses were rainbows in motion. The current carried us along and while we were totally absorbed in the colors, whish, along came a sea lion and caught us off guard. Unless you’ve been here, it’s hard to imagine the sounds of laughter that radiate from our snorkels, and the eyes of delight that dance from behind our masks.
Even lunch was colorful, as our chefs treated us to a sumptuous Ecuadorian extravaganza. Hotel Manager Sophia kindly explained each dish with fruits and vegetables whose names and flavors were new to us. Although we brought our cameras to capture the wildlife of the Galápagos, our shutters snapped the dazzling buffet table to remember this delicious mid-day meal.
And then the most surprising color of all – pink! Who would have thought flamingoes would live on the Equator? Our afternoon hike took us to a brackish lagoon on Floreana where these crimson long-legged birds dotted the shallow waters against a backdrop of black lava. A diet of brine shrimp provided the nutrition necessary to give them their customary hue.
As the amber sun set over the azure sea at 6:00pm, we motored back to the Polaris in alternating moments of quiet gratitude and giddy laughter.
