Day 4: Pta Cormorant, Devil's Crown, Post Office Bay, Floreana Island
Day 4:
Overnight, our boat left the environs of Espanola Island and headed west to Floreana Island. The plan was to spend the morning at Punta Cormorant, deep-sea snorkle off of Devil's Crown, then head to the beach at Post Office Bay in the afternoon.
This was the first day where where our plans diverged from the original day's schedule. Right before we loaded the pangas to head ashore for the hike at Punta Cormorant, dolphins were spotted out at sea. Naturally, this meant a panga ride in the open water to see if we could find the dolphins. Find them we did, as several came to jump through the wakes of the pangas. Sadly, I have no pictures of this event - I thought keeping my camera inside the dry bag while on the boat was a better idea.
Once we had had our fill of dolphins, we headed to shore for a wet landing at Punta Cormorant. The beach was dark sand and full of shells. A short hike away from the beach took us past a brackish lagoon, home to a flock of flamingos. Flamingos sound disturbingly like Canadian geese when they are on the move - very strange. We kept going past the lagoon and reached our hike's destination - a white sand beach where sea turtles nest in the dunes. The sand itself was very wet and goopy - it was if the entire beach was in a state of mild water saturation, rather than having a very dry part of the beach. The beach was also not particularly safe for swimming, as sting rays swam in very close to shore.
On our way back to the landing spot, we took a detour to a different viewing point of the bracking lagoon, and were able to get a better view of the flamingos on the move. We also saw a blue heron taking in the view, which was quite cool.
Back at the boat, those of us who were interested prepared for the deep water snorkel. The snorkel was more of a "drift" snorkle, as the current was quite strong - attempting to swim in the opposite direction did not get one particularly far, either. We made two passes at this particular snorkel location - highlights included seeing a sea turtle, sharks, and many brightly colored fish. I did get out of the water early, though - again, I was quite cold!
After lunch, we headed to Post Office Bay - a very nice white sand beach that also hosted an "unofficial" post office. In the earlier days, ships passing through the islands would leave mail, and if a passing ship happened to be going where the mail needed to go, they would take it along. Tour boats have kept this custom alive with postcards, with the idea being that one is supposed to hand-deliver the mail. Sadly, no one had left any cards for anyone living close to Atlanta. cynic51 was able to snag two postcards for his suburb, and the parents took one for Sauk Centre, Minnesota - which they will deliver en route to the Twin Cities on their next trip. I left a card for ES - it's over a month later, and the card has yet to appear.....
During our landing at Post Office Bay, we were set up on by a couple of very curious pelicans, one of whom stole a sandal belonging to Fabio, our boat's resident 5-year-old boy. The guides managed to get it back after some hilarity!
After our visit to the beach, we enjoyed a "golden hour" panga ride off of a rocky area near Post Office Bay. We saw several animals and birds - the blue-footed booby, great blue heron, a galapagos penguin, and a frigate bird drying his wings on a tree. Overall, a beautiful panga ride - definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
Photos for the trip can be found HERE.
Previous Posts:
1 - Galapagos: Introduction
2 - Day 1: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
3 - Day 2: Punta Pitt and Cerro Brujo
4 - Day 3: Punta Suarez and Gardner Bay, Espanola Island
Overnight, our boat left the environs of Espanola Island and headed west to Floreana Island. The plan was to spend the morning at Punta Cormorant, deep-sea snorkle off of Devil's Crown, then head to the beach at Post Office Bay in the afternoon.
This was the first day where where our plans diverged from the original day's schedule. Right before we loaded the pangas to head ashore for the hike at Punta Cormorant, dolphins were spotted out at sea. Naturally, this meant a panga ride in the open water to see if we could find the dolphins. Find them we did, as several came to jump through the wakes of the pangas. Sadly, I have no pictures of this event - I thought keeping my camera inside the dry bag while on the boat was a better idea.
Once we had had our fill of dolphins, we headed to shore for a wet landing at Punta Cormorant. The beach was dark sand and full of shells. A short hike away from the beach took us past a brackish lagoon, home to a flock of flamingos. Flamingos sound disturbingly like Canadian geese when they are on the move - very strange. We kept going past the lagoon and reached our hike's destination - a white sand beach where sea turtles nest in the dunes. The sand itself was very wet and goopy - it was if the entire beach was in a state of mild water saturation, rather than having a very dry part of the beach. The beach was also not particularly safe for swimming, as sting rays swam in very close to shore.
On our way back to the landing spot, we took a detour to a different viewing point of the bracking lagoon, and were able to get a better view of the flamingos on the move. We also saw a blue heron taking in the view, which was quite cool.
Back at the boat, those of us who were interested prepared for the deep water snorkel. The snorkel was more of a "drift" snorkle, as the current was quite strong - attempting to swim in the opposite direction did not get one particularly far, either. We made two passes at this particular snorkel location - highlights included seeing a sea turtle, sharks, and many brightly colored fish. I did get out of the water early, though - again, I was quite cold!
After lunch, we headed to Post Office Bay - a very nice white sand beach that also hosted an "unofficial" post office. In the earlier days, ships passing through the islands would leave mail, and if a passing ship happened to be going where the mail needed to go, they would take it along. Tour boats have kept this custom alive with postcards, with the idea being that one is supposed to hand-deliver the mail. Sadly, no one had left any cards for anyone living close to Atlanta. cynic51 was able to snag two postcards for his suburb, and the parents took one for Sauk Centre, Minnesota - which they will deliver en route to the Twin Cities on their next trip. I left a card for ES - it's over a month later, and the card has yet to appear.....
During our landing at Post Office Bay, we were set up on by a couple of very curious pelicans, one of whom stole a sandal belonging to Fabio, our boat's resident 5-year-old boy. The guides managed to get it back after some hilarity!
After our visit to the beach, we enjoyed a "golden hour" panga ride off of a rocky area near Post Office Bay. We saw several animals and birds - the blue-footed booby, great blue heron, a galapagos penguin, and a frigate bird drying his wings on a tree. Overall, a beautiful panga ride - definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
Photos for the trip can be found HERE.
Previous Posts:
1 - Galapagos: Introduction
2 - Day 1: Puerto Baquerizo Moreno
3 - Day 2: Punta Pitt and Cerro Brujo
4 - Day 3: Punta Suarez and Gardner Bay, Espanola Island