Blogs from Floreana Island, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America

The day started with a tender to the beach of Rabida Island, mostly volcanic and there to greet us were sea lions of all shapes sizes and ages. The youngest was flapping his flippers as if in welcome but really wanted his Mum. She was some way away and even though another Mum came up she didn't recognise the infant and waddled on past him. They can rest on this island for about 18 hours a day. We walked to an inland lake that used to be inhabited by flamingo's however a tsunami changed the composition of the lake and they have gone. Continuing on we saw an egret, terns, oyster catchers that apparently don't catch oysters, amazing coloured crabs and yet more sea lions. Returning to the boat we then got kitted out for snorkelling ... read more

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

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

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

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