Galapagos, Floreana Island

Day 5 Thursday October 7

Happy Birthday Christopher!! (my brother, for those of you who don't know)

Sorry I didn’t e-mail wishes when I was in Quito, because here in the Galapagos I have no wi-fi. But I’m thinking of you and I hope you have (had) a great day. Today I sent you a postcard from an island post office that was set up by whalers and travelers years ago. The principle is that you write a letter and leave it in this barrel on the island (I’ll attach a photo when I post this) and another traveler who lives somewhere near you will pick it up and deliver it to you. It may take weeks, or months or years, but hopefully at some point it will arrive. Maybe you’ll get it before I get home!

We set sail sometime in the night and it was rough. I woke up rolling around in my bed. Try getting up in the dark, finding the washroom and using it while the boat is pitching!

For the first time, I missed the muster bell for breakfast and they had to wake me up! The morning activity was a walk along a beautiful greenish beach on Floreana Island, and a visit to the aforementioned post office. Saw a great blue heron (of all things) and a dead sea turtle.

Then we went snorkelling. The weather was windy and cool, the water was rough, cool and unviting, but you have to take the opportunity when you can, right Afterall when else will I get to swim in the Galapagos? And boy am I glad I did. I was swimming along the rocky coastline when all of a sudden a sealion swam past me! Luckily I had brought along my underwater camera, because the sealion swam with me and around me for a good five minutes and then a young one joined her. It was amazing to see the two of them so close, to see how playful they were and how totally unafraid of me they were. Absolutely amazing! When we got back Cindy let me download some photos she took of the sealions underwater. So, with the marine iguanas photos at Harvey gave me and Cindy’s photos I have pictures of two excellent snorkelling experiences.

Then back for lunch. In the afternoon we went for a hike on Floreana Island beach to see a couple of nesting bluefooted boobies and then across island to another beach with white sand where we saw a number of stingrays in the shallows. Watched pelicans and boobies feeding. Then it was snorkelling time again. Only Jannicke and I went, because everyone else thought it was too cold. We swam with two turtles! The first one, a green turtle, was afraid of us and didn’t stay long, but the other one, a larger black turtle, allowed us to swim with it and to touch it and gently hold on to its back! A sealion came near to check us out too. Along the rocky shore we saw lots of fish, including blue chin parrot fish and yellow tailed surgeon fish, and some beautiful corals and a green carpet of plant life that the second turtle was feeding on. Amazing snorkelling today, swimming with sealions and turtles.

Right after dinner we set sail for Espanola Island. Had a beer and chatted with Jannicke. Then headed to bed about nine. It was very rough sailing. I pitched about my room and actually crashed three times. Once I fell backwards onto the toilet and tore the shower curtain off its rod. Another time I pitched forward and crashed head first into the shower and the third time I swung around the pole at the end of my bed and landed on my ass on my luggage. Very rough. Hard to sleep, so I listened to tunes and slept off and on. Thankfully my tummy is fine. Woke up this morning and all my things on the smaller dresser had fallen on the floor and the curtain rod and come down from the ceiling. I actually thought about getting up and taking a video of my clothes swinging back and forth on the hangers, but didn’t want to crash onto the floor again, so I stayed put.