Blogs from Floreana Island, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America
Message in a Bottle
Published: September 12th 2011South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Floreana Island
September 8th 2011
Post Office Bay The Galapagos islands are all formed from a volcanic hot spot underneath Isla Fernandino. As molten lava has flowed down the volcanoes, lava tubes or tunnels have formed and we visited one at Post Office Bay on Floreana. Our guide is one of those that's either 100% right or 100% wrong. The problem is when to guess he's right and when to guess he's wrong. For the walk through the lava tunnel we had to wear our best walking shoes but when we got there, we found almost waist deep water! The lava tunnel was worth a visit but the explanation and loss of two of our members (until we alerted the guide) was a distraction. Floreana had the first human settlement - Germans - great. There is a Post Box with lots ... read more
April 8th 2011
On Thursday morning, we were on the top deck to watch the sunrise, but found we were in a little bay, and the sun would be rising behind a high point behind us. Next best thing, we snapped a picture of the ´Devil´s Crown´ which is the crater of a very very old volcano. The centre of the crater is about two meters underwater, and the steep sides go down about 20 meters to the ocean floor. The whole thing is covered in coral and sea creatures, so it is a pretty cool place to snorkel or dive. More on that later. As on the previous morning, we found ourselves moored near five other boats (mooring schedules are assigned to boats by the National Park) in a snug bay. After breakfast, we again went to shore ... read more
July 25th 2010
In der Frueh steigen wir in einen teilweise eingestuerzten Lavatunnel hinab - es waere spannend, an den rauhen, griffigen Waenden einen Boulder einzulegen. Anschliessend marschieren wir in die Post Office Bay, welche ihren Namen durch einen 1792 eingerichteten Seebriefkasten erhalten hat. Frueher konnten Seeleute hier ihre nach Europa adressierte Post hinterlegen; falls auf ein vorbeikommendes Schiff den entsprechenden Zielhafen ansteuerte, nahm es die Post zur Auslieferung mit. Heute werden im Briefkasten nur noch Ansichtskarten von Touristen hinterlegt, die aber nach dem selben Prinzip verteilt werden (wir haben nur Adressen in der Ostschweiz gesichtet und muessen unsere Poestlerkarriere verschieben). Am Nachmittag endlich etwas Sonnenschein. Das Badevergnuegen bleibt uns aber trotz Traumstrand verwaehrt, das dutzende Stachelrochen wie Fussangeln den Einstieg verwaehren.... read more
Floreana and Puerto Ayora (Day of the Sharks) Day 4
Published: June 26th 2010South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Floreana Island
June 16th 2010
Second last day not happy! I am loving everything about the galapagos, lovely beaches, hundreds of different species of wildlife and the food is superb! Again we had breakfast at 7am it was fried eggs (you stating to see a pattern yet) but there was cereal, fresh fruit, ham and bread so I was happy. We started off the day with a wet landing the place was abit of an anti-climax because it is the ideal location to see Flamingoes when they are in season unfortunately they aren't so we saw one on it's Tod. We did see some sting rays very close to shore although not very clearly because it was quite choppy. .We started off the day with a wet landing the place was abit of an anti-climax because it is the ideal location ... read more
Day 86 - Swimming With Turtles
Published: July 11th 2010South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Floreana Island
June 16th 2010
We travel between islands overnight, making for several hours rocky sleep in our top floor cabin, but it does mean we always wake up in a new location with a new adventure ahead. This morning we arrived at Floreana island, landing on the Zodiacs at Post Office Bay. In the late 18th century an English captain of a whaling vessel placed a barrel here to be used as a post office. Passing ships would stop to leave mail for loved ones, collecting at the same time any mail destined for ports on their itineraries. The barrel (probably a new one!) is still in use today, where tourists are now responsible for picking up the mail, no stamps needed! Soph and I popped a postcard in, but I'm not sure it's even worth crossing our fingers that ... read more
June 10th 2010
Sea turtles. Blue-footed boobies. Penguins. Sharks. Lizards. Sea lions. Giant tortoises. Albatroses. Rays. Flamingos. Iguanas. Hawks. Pelicans. And loads of aquarium fish.... read more
February 24th 2010
6am wake up call! And it was still dark. And raining. Half an hour to get out of bed, brush my teeth, put in my contacts, find my bikini and then put it on. 6.30am - catch the dinghy out into the middle of the sea in the pouring rain but at least it´s light now. I didn´t quite believe Kike when he jumped in and said that the water was warm but it actually was! I jumped off of dinghy and straight onto a big fat jellyfish (I´m just assuming it was big and fat, I actually didn´t even see it) and managed to get myself stung a few times on my arm, foot and leg. Me being me however, didn´t actually realise that I´d been stung for another 15 mins or so when Kike ... read more
Floreana.. Santa Cruz AGAIN
Published: December 29th 2009South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Floreana Island
December 23rd 2009
Floreana is one of the 4 inhabited islands in the Galapagos. In the 1700s a post office barrel was built by the locals in order to facilitate the delivery of mail to Europe and the United States. Now, this area of Floreana is called Post Office Bay, and the barrel remains there. It is tradition that whoever visits this area brings a postcard addressed to themselves with a short message on it about your time in the Galapagos. When you leave your postcard in the barrel you must sift through the other postcards, find one addressed to someone near you, and deliver it when you go home. Another popular thing to do is pick a random postcard out of the pile, allowing this random action to determine your next travel destination. We landed on the beach ... read more
Floreana and Post Office Bay
Published: June 7th 2009South America » Ecuador » Galápagos » Floreana Island
May 15th 2009
Floreana in the morning. First we went to Punta Cormorant for a walk to see flamingos! For a couple days now our guide had been saying that there was a possibility of seeing flamingos and today we finally did! First just far away but then we went to another spot and saw them really close. We even saw a young one that was still completely white! Then we went snorkeling at Devil's Crown, a pretty cool rock formation sunk into the ocean. Lots of fish and even some reef sharks and a turtle. In the afternoon we went to Post Office Bay. It is basically just a post box. Long ago whenever ships went through they would drop off letters and then pick up ones for wherever they were going. Now of course it's just for ... read more
