Floreana Island, Galápagos, Thursday 10th December, 2009
Click to see full sized map. |
Another overnight cruise saw us moored at Floreana Island ready for a short walk past a brackish
lagoon complete with a smallish number of flamingoes. As the total population is only 900, it's
hardly surprising that the place was not exactly teeming with them, but we did get some good views.
After our wet landing I kept my sandals off for much of the walk, until it became clear I was risking flaying the soles of my feet completely. The ground we were traversing was made up entirely of cinders, and although I enjoyed the scratchy feel as I walked, I was also aware that each step removed a thin layer of skin! I put my sandals back on! Returning to the beach whence we had started, we snorkelled off the beach, this time in nice clear water. As well as the usual fish, I saw a Galápagos conche about 15cm long. I took a photo using a disposable underwater camera, but haven't had the film returned from the developers yet. The mantle was a deep pink colour, and the foot black and white speckles in a longitudinal striped pattern. The afternoon was deep-water snorkelling again, during which I finished off the film in the underwater camera, after which the Isabella II headed around the coast a little way to Post Office Bay, where we all landed once more. Centuries ago it was the norm to leave post under a rock or in a barrel or whatever, at a recogniseable spot, and for passing ships to check for mail and hand-deliver anything addressed to someone close to where you were going. They used to do this at the Cape of Good Hope in the 16th century, for instance, before Europeans started to settle there. This 'Post Office' is a modern version of the same thing. We collected postcards to deliver when we got back home and left our own cards for others to deliver for us. |
