Blogs from Floreana Island, Galápagos, Ecuador, South America

The pre-breakfast outing was a zodiac ride with a wet landing to Floreana Island and a hike to Punta Cormorant. The beach where we arrive consisted of sand which contained olivine, a semi-precious stone, broken into very small granules. We hiked past a brackish lagoon where we could see in the distance (thanks for the binoculars MOM) the Galapagos Flamingos (we only counted 18) and I believe this is the only island that we expect to see these beautiful birds. Once we arrived at Punta Cormorant beach we sighted burrows that had been dug by the sea turtles and also saw tracks on the beach as evidence of a female who had laid her eggs the previous night. Sally Lightfoot crabs were all along the rocks and I learned that the crabs’ growth depends on the ... read more

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

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