Wednesday

We had a restful night. The 65 km passage west from Española to Floreana was calm. We dropped anchor in Post Office Bay. Floreana with an area of 173 km² and elevations up to 640 m above sea level was one of the four islands that Darwin visited in 1835. We often think of Darwin as looking like father time with a long white beard. The Darwin who visited Floreana (he would have known it as Charles Island) was a vigorous and fit young man of 24, about the same age as Al. Darwin was fascinated by everything that he saw and collected and took voluminous notes on geology, plants and animals as well as the people he met along the way. Unfortunately, he did not note which islands his birds were collected. This proved to be a huge error that he only realized months after he reached England when John Gould concluded that many of his birds were related species of finch found nowhere else. Modern molecular biology has confirmed this. Darwin did a much better job with the plants. They show even greater adaptive radiation than the animals with one species giving rise to 15 species in the islands.

Floreana was one of the most visited islands because its size and elevation created conditions for permanent streams and springs. Whalers stopped there to load up on water and tortoises for fresh meat on voyages (it is estimated that 250 000 tortoises were taken from the islands during the whaling days). Also, attempts at establishing colonies here let destructive animals loose that destroyed tortoise habitat. Today, the giant tortoise is extinct on Floreana Island. However, there may be a glimmer of hope that this lost subspecies of tortoise may have survived elsewhere through blind luck. DNA research has indicated that some of the Floreana tortoises may have been released on Isabela island during the whaling days. There is a possibility that these most inoffensive of creatures may someday walk again on Floreana. Conservation efforts continue on many fronts thoughout the Islands--especially the preservation of green sea turtles who nest on the beaches that we have come to see on Floreana. Wardens have hunted down most feral domestic animals.

Cindercone and lava-dammed lagoon near Punta Cormorán Photo by Lionel Jackson

After breakfast, we landed on a beach near Punta Cormorán, the most north-easterly point of Floreana Island to see a phenomenal area for flamingos and beaches visited by green sea turtles. Here, black mangrove trees grow along the beach. The beach is a sand spit that has closed off a small bay bracketed by two small cinder cones and a lava flow that entered the sea. The resulting lagoon had many flamingos. Many suddenly took flight showing the beautiful black bars on their wings that are not visible when they wade. Crossing the isthmus between the cinder cones, we arrived at a beach heavily tracked by nesting green sea turtles. Several were spotted in the water along the beach. The usual marine iguanas and Sally Lightfoot crabs scurried along the rocks exposed at low tide. We returned to the beach on the north of the isthmus to see sand rich in almost gem quality olivine crystals. We returned to the boat and headed to one of the snorkelling highlights of the trip, the Devil’s Crown, an eroded and almost submerged volcano a few kilometres northeast from Punta Cormorán.

The Devil's Crown (la Carona del Diablo) Photo by Lionel Jackson

Bottlenose dolphins below the bow of Guantanamera Photo by Lionel Jackson

We took the Zodiac from Guantanamera with seven of us on each side ready to tip over backwards into the crystalline water. The fish and rock formations were beyond description. Almost immediately we saw about 2 m white tip reef sharks which usually pose no danger to divers and snorkellers. We entered the water on the outside of the crown along its south side. The current was very strong and soon carried us to the west side. The crater is breached on the east and west sides. The current running through it was too much to swim against. We climbed into the Zodiac and went around the north side and returned to the water. We rode the current around the north side.

Upon climbing into the Zodiac and heading for the ship, we saw other boats change course and soon realized that a pod of bottlenose dolphins were passing near us. We caught up with them and jumped in the water. They immediately shot by us. We returned to Guantanmera and the skipper fired up the engines. We caught up with the dolphins and they played along our bow for at least ten minutes. I counted about 20 individuals. This was a sight that I have always wanted to see. Seafarers have marvelled at sheer joy of these creatures for as long as there have been boats with bows and and bow wakes in which they can play.

Al emerging from the lava tube at Post Office Bay

Photo by Lionel Jackson

The mail barrel at Post Office Bay

Photo by Lionel Jackson

After lunch, we made a landing at Post Office Bay. This is so named for the barrel that whalers erected in the 1800s to drop off and pick up mail. Whaling ships might be at sea for years. Letters dropped in the barrel were picked up and taken to home countries to post and letters were dropped in the barrel for whalers to sort through in hope of getting word from home. The tradition continues. Many unstamped postcards are deposited there and are picked up by tourists to take home and post. Post office Bay was the site of an unsuccessful Norwegian fishing colony in 1926. Debris litters the adjacent palo santo (Easter or holy tree) forest. The palo santo (holy) trees have leaves this time of year. If you scratch the branches, they smell like incense hence the name. A short walk south into the forest took us to the entrance of a lava tube or cave. Slippery wooden stairs took us from 30 degree plus heat into the coolness of a long cave with some chambers 10 m in height. It actually runs under the sea so it quickly becomes flooded. I fortunately had my small electric head lamp which allowed me to look around. Returning to the surface, most of the party snorkelled along the beach. I used the time to look for birds. I had to be careful to avoid green turtle nests along the inland edge of the beach. The sexes of turtles, like many reptiles, are decided by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated. Warmer temperatures (near the surface of the nest) produce females and cooler temperatures, males. Only about 1 in a thousand hatchlings live to be adults. I didn’t want to increase the mortality or change the sex ratio. I saw a small ground finch, a striated heron, and a Galápagos flycatcher.

Adios Floreana Photo by Lionel Jackson

Sunset, Puerto Ayora Photo by Lionel Jackson

We returned to Guantanamera and set course north for Santa Cruz Island and Puerto Ayora, the largest settlement on the islands. The 50 km crossing was relatively flat with broad swells. We reached Puerto Ayora at sunset and we had dinner in the harbour. We went ashore to look around and I called home to tell my wife all was well. Al and I had a beer and I wrote out post cards. I also realized that I was coming down with a cold: damned airlines and their recirculated air!