So it was everything I expected... a scene straight out of the Five People You Meet on the Way to Heaven... The theme park looked like it was burned down years ago and rebuilt on the ashes, exactly the same way... it was an old park... Dave, Sandra, Jane and I drove down there Saturday morning, Dave and Sandra were originally going to ride there bikes, but as they were about to join Jane and I for breakfast, they were cut off on Hight Ridge Road and dropped their bikes... needless to say, after breakfast, we ditched the bikes at my place and I drove down. We didn't exactly know how to get there, but did manage to figure it out on the fly. We parked in this lot right next to Nathan's and then walked around... We opted to start with hitting a few rides.... Before we got to the Cyclone, we saw this guy who could very well have been the Coney Island Viking, dancing in the street.
From there we hopped in line at the Cyclone. There was an interesting sign... hold on to your wigs... I must say, when we got off this ride, I was beat up. They offer a reride for $5, and if you say no, as you get closer to the door, they drop the price to $2...
From their Jane and Sandra went on this Pirate Boat ride... Dave and I kicked back and watched.
Before moving on, we stopped for a little Italian Ice, I had the lemon flavor.
On the drive from the house to the diner before we left... jane and I were joking about how easy it is to confuse organism and orgasm.. and then we saw this guy's shirt... :)
After this we went on the Break Dance. It is the one that blasts the music as you spin around... I loved it!!!
After the rides we walked down the boardwalk for a little bit... smiles all around... well almost. Ok, now this is a little better. Aren't we a cute couple?
We tried to get lunch at Nathan's, but the lines were obscene...so we got dogs at a chicagoan dog place next door... we thought to oursleves great no lines... that is until we got there... The power went out while he was cooking our food, and he had to go in back and kick the generator.. it was interesting.
Before leaving we stopped by the side show / Freak show. We saw a fire eater, a snake charmer who can also channel electricity while sitting in an electric chair..., A little sword swallowing,
On the way we stopped at a cemetary fro Dave to visit his grandmother, but got their a minute or two before it closed, and get hurried out by the grounds keeper. So we figured we'd try and find our way to the grounds of the worlds fair... yeah right... not with a Met's game...
Sunday Jane and I just kicked back.. cleaned a bit, and as a tribute to our Coney Island visit yesterday... Watched "The Warriors"...
Monday, August 11, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
7-28 Day 10 in Ecuador and back home again
5:25 am
I am waiting a few minutes now for my ride to get here. In the mean time, some breakfast. I caught a little bit of a movie lastnight with Andy Garcia about an artist and his feud with Picasso. I added it to my netflix list.
6:42 am
I am at the Diners Clup VIP lounge at the airport. They charge you $15 to get in here, but I can grab breakfast watch a little TV, and just relax until my flight.
Artist - ManRigue
Book: Ecuadorian Ghost Stories - Mario Conde
5:26 PM
Las Ecuador trip entry. So I am on my last flight heading to LGA, probabley 40-50 minutes away, I wasn't going to write more but, I had to note my last flight, I was blown away that kids were sitting on their parents laps during take off and landing. This is so unsafe, and what makes matters worse was the child in front of me had a parent whou couldn't get it to stop screaming. The kid was maybe 3 years old. If you can't control your kid, find another way to travel with them. And on a last note, while I did very well all week avoiding travel sickness, I managed to get a stomach thing today, last night too I think. Not a big deal, but... makes flying interesting.
I am waiting a few minutes now for my ride to get here. In the mean time, some breakfast. I caught a little bit of a movie lastnight with Andy Garcia about an artist and his feud with Picasso. I added it to my netflix list.
6:42 am
I am at the Diners Clup VIP lounge at the airport. They charge you $15 to get in here, but I can grab breakfast watch a little TV, and just relax until my flight.
Artist - ManRigue
Book: Ecuadorian Ghost Stories - Mario Conde
5:26 PM
Las Ecuador trip entry. So I am on my last flight heading to LGA, probabley 40-50 minutes away, I wasn't going to write more but, I had to note my last flight, I was blown away that kids were sitting on their parents laps during take off and landing. This is so unsafe, and what makes matters worse was the child in front of me had a parent whou couldn't get it to stop screaming. The kid was maybe 3 years old. If you can't control your kid, find another way to travel with them. And on a last note, while I did very well all week avoiding travel sickness, I managed to get a stomach thing today, last night too I think. Not a big deal, but... makes flying interesting.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
7-27 Day 9 in Ecuador and the Galapagos
7:15 am
Back from North Seymour Island a 6:00 am wake up. I slept from around 9:30 pm until our wake up this morning. We went to North Seymour Island. On the island we saw the Great Frigate Bird, Pelicans, Swallow Tale Gulls, Nesting Frigates looking for mates, A few Land Iguanas that were apparently transferred here by scientists when building the airport on Baltra during WWII, nesting Boobies whose babies are born a few days apart and often one will eat their fill before the second, and leave nothing for the second younger one to eat, effectively killing him, usually just the older one survives, and lastly there are Pelicans. Now we head to Baltra where I intend to do a little shopping before we depart, we should have ample time for that. I must go finish packing now.
12:06 pm
On the plane now, we should hit Quito at roughly 4pm local time. So this morning we left the boat around 8ish for the airport. I remember looking back and knowing this trip will stay with me. When we got there, they had put me on 1:30 flight while most of my group was on that flight, it just wouldn’t do for me. So I told them I had a connecting Flight in Quito that required me to be on the earlier flight. I do so in hopes of getting back in time for a quick tour of the old city. We’ll see if my driver remembers. After checking in, I did a little shopping and bought another t-shirt because I think I am all out of clean ones. I do have a tank top, but we’ll see. Last night it must have been that I was used to the motor, because I slept like a baby from around 9:30 until 6:00 am, so refreshing. My only complaint is that it feels like all you do is travel, fly there, overnight boat here, dinghy there, but I guess I expected that. The airport on Baltra was interesting. It was built by the US Air Force during World War II, probably for the Japanese front, but I will need to do more research about that to confirm. The Land Iguanas we found on North Seymour were actually originally from Baltra, but were moved by scientists and servicemen as the airport was built. At the airport, I also picked up a cool map of the island and a little pipe as well as a polo shirt for the Galapagos National Park.
This is crazy, but as I am writing this in my journal, the woman in front of me is bouncing up and down in her chair, and telling me to stop shaking her chair. Honestly now, we are all in here together and I tell her all I am doing is writing in my journal. She stops, and I begin to write again and all of a sudden she starts up again, at this point, a little annoyed, I “politely” remind her that she is not the only one on the plane, and that I am not going to stop writing because it shakes her chair too much.
Looks like they are about to serve lunch, so I will write more in Quito. Last count on the boat:
5 Danes
1 Swede
3 from Michigan
1 Kiwi
1 Brit
And me
Things to look up and learn about – Stadiums in Quito.
6:00 pm (approximately)
I got to the hotel an hour ago, changed and checked my email. On the way from the airport to the hotel, I met up with a couple from San Diego. They are going to meet me here shortly and we are going to get some dinner at a cafe with some great views. Their names are George and Lata. Tomorrow is another early wake up 5:00 am. I need to be up and out for my flight. I can hardly believe this is my last day. Unfortunately I lack the time to really see Quito, but hopefully I will have the opportunity to come back. Quito is quite a bit cooler than the islands and feels like almost a difference of 10-15 degrees. I am looking forward to two things… Jane and a hot shower.
8:54 pm
Things to look up:
The Basilica
Plaza Grande
The Virgin Mary
There is a family here at the hotel getting ready to head to the Galapagos, so I told them about Lonesome George and assured them that is a trip they will not soon forget. So I am back where I started, a nice English looking hotel, Brownie was in the court yard, the owners, husband and wife, are having dinner chatting away with the dinner guests.
George and Lata are great, they are friends of 7 years and met in Boston, but now live in San Diego. He is a pediatrician, she is an anesthesiologist.
We had dinner at a restaurant that looked over much if Quito. After dinner we decided to tale a quick drive around the old city. We saw the Basilica, Plaza Grande where the president lives. Apparently you can make an appointment with El Prisdente to talk. Imagine if that were the case in the U.S.? From there we drove up to the Virgin Mary. You can climb up inside of it, kind of like the Statue of Liberty. I must do a little research on these. They seem so interesting. So for now, I will enjoy a hot shower. I hope. And so to bed for my 5:00 am wake up. I did take some photos of the city from the restaurant where I had a great churasco steak, fried egg, and these potato cakes that were quite good. Ironically, the place was mostly Greek and American food, so the closest thing to Ecuadorian food is what I ordered. Well, shower time.
9:47 pm
OK so I think I may have officially used all of the hotel’s hot water. Oh to have a proper shower. It is nice to be really clean… Now I am off to bed. Zzzzzzzzz.
Back from North Seymour Island a 6:00 am wake up. I slept from around 9:30 pm until our wake up this morning. We went to North Seymour Island. On the island we saw the Great Frigate Bird, Pelicans, Swallow Tale Gulls, Nesting Frigates looking for mates, A few Land Iguanas that were apparently transferred here by scientists when building the airport on Baltra during WWII, nesting Boobies whose babies are born a few days apart and often one will eat their fill before the second, and leave nothing for the second younger one to eat, effectively killing him, usually just the older one survives, and lastly there are Pelicans. Now we head to Baltra where I intend to do a little shopping before we depart, we should have ample time for that. I must go finish packing now.
12:06 pm
On the plane now, we should hit Quito at roughly 4pm local time. So this morning we left the boat around 8ish for the airport. I remember looking back and knowing this trip will stay with me. When we got there, they had put me on 1:30 flight while most of my group was on that flight, it just wouldn’t do for me. So I told them I had a connecting Flight in Quito that required me to be on the earlier flight. I do so in hopes of getting back in time for a quick tour of the old city. We’ll see if my driver remembers. After checking in, I did a little shopping and bought another t-shirt because I think I am all out of clean ones. I do have a tank top, but we’ll see. Last night it must have been that I was used to the motor, because I slept like a baby from around 9:30 until 6:00 am, so refreshing. My only complaint is that it feels like all you do is travel, fly there, overnight boat here, dinghy there, but I guess I expected that. The airport on Baltra was interesting. It was built by the US Air Force during World War II, probably for the Japanese front, but I will need to do more research about that to confirm. The Land Iguanas we found on North Seymour were actually originally from Baltra, but were moved by scientists and servicemen as the airport was built. At the airport, I also picked up a cool map of the island and a little pipe as well as a polo shirt for the Galapagos National Park.
This is crazy, but as I am writing this in my journal, the woman in front of me is bouncing up and down in her chair, and telling me to stop shaking her chair. Honestly now, we are all in here together and I tell her all I am doing is writing in my journal. She stops, and I begin to write again and all of a sudden she starts up again, at this point, a little annoyed, I “politely” remind her that she is not the only one on the plane, and that I am not going to stop writing because it shakes her chair too much.
Looks like they are about to serve lunch, so I will write more in Quito. Last count on the boat:
5 Danes
1 Swede
3 from Michigan
1 Kiwi
1 Brit
And me
Things to look up and learn about – Stadiums in Quito.
6:00 pm (approximately)
I got to the hotel an hour ago, changed and checked my email. On the way from the airport to the hotel, I met up with a couple from San Diego. They are going to meet me here shortly and we are going to get some dinner at a cafe with some great views. Their names are George and Lata. Tomorrow is another early wake up 5:00 am. I need to be up and out for my flight. I can hardly believe this is my last day. Unfortunately I lack the time to really see Quito, but hopefully I will have the opportunity to come back. Quito is quite a bit cooler than the islands and feels like almost a difference of 10-15 degrees. I am looking forward to two things… Jane and a hot shower.
8:54 pm
Things to look up:
The Basilica
Plaza Grande
The Virgin Mary
There is a family here at the hotel getting ready to head to the Galapagos, so I told them about Lonesome George and assured them that is a trip they will not soon forget. So I am back where I started, a nice English looking hotel, Brownie was in the court yard, the owners, husband and wife, are having dinner chatting away with the dinner guests.
George and Lata are great, they are friends of 7 years and met in Boston, but now live in San Diego. He is a pediatrician, she is an anesthesiologist.
We had dinner at a restaurant that looked over much if Quito. After dinner we decided to tale a quick drive around the old city. We saw the Basilica, Plaza Grande where the president lives. Apparently you can make an appointment with El Prisdente to talk. Imagine if that were the case in the U.S.? From there we drove up to the Virgin Mary. You can climb up inside of it, kind of like the Statue of Liberty. I must do a little research on these. They seem so interesting. So for now, I will enjoy a hot shower. I hope. And so to bed for my 5:00 am wake up. I did take some photos of the city from the restaurant where I had a great churasco steak, fried egg, and these potato cakes that were quite good. Ironically, the place was mostly Greek and American food, so the closest thing to Ecuadorian food is what I ordered. Well, shower time.
9:47 pm
OK so I think I may have officially used all of the hotel’s hot water. Oh to have a proper shower. It is nice to be really clean… Now I am off to bed. Zzzzzzzzz.
7-26 Day 8 in the Galapagos
7:30 am
Los Lobos Island
We are having breakfast now, we just returned to the boat from Los Lobos Island. This is one of the older island and as a whole, the archipelago moves 5 centimeters per year east towards South America, with older ones at risk of eroding away. When we landed at Los Lobos we saw many things, I can finally understand why people say you get tired of the sea lions, the island is covered with them, we also saw some young boobies. Their feet are normally grayish when they are young. There were many sea lion pups as well. The marine iguanas were so cold this morning that instead of laying on the rocks for warmth, you could see them hiding under them to stay warm. There were also a handful of frigates around, while we eat breakfast, the boat will head on to Sante Fe Island, we will do lunch at noon and from there a wet landing where we will see Land Iguanas and Giant Cactus, I can’t wait for the Land Iguanas. The more I see on these Islands, the more I seem to be drawn to them. Like Darwin before me, I am blown away by the experience and perhaps this will shape my thoughts much as it did his, from an unfortunate distance. Larry said it best when I asked if he would come back, said “yes, this place is enchanting”, as we now sail on the Encantada.
1:50 pm
Sante Fe Island
We will be snorkeling at two and then a land tour.
7:00 pm
Snorkeling was cool, we went of the dingy in two spots, managed to see some great fish and a tortoise. We also got to swim with 4 sea lions. Truly amazing, I only hope that my underwater photos come out. After that we came back to the boat for an hour or so before we were set to head back. We opted for a jump from the top deck. It was fun, yet again in our group of 12, only one or other did it with me, although a third did it later when we returned to the boat.
After we landed on Santa Fe Island, we found ourselves yet again in the middle of a sea lion colony. We spent a little time there before hiking along the island. I realized we have hiked an average of 2 miles a day since getting here. On the way in we saw a Hawk with another bird in his claws, as well as a white tipped reef shark. The cacti here are twice as tall as a man or higher, quite impressive. We also saw our first Galapagos Snake and Land Iguana, but out attention was quickly stolen by a Rice Rat who was busy at work eating a lava lizard. Awesome. From there we saw more and more sea lions; There was a cool sea lion skull that I was able to photograph though.
This is our last night before heading home in the morning, but first one more island, North Seymour Island. It is a 6am wake up.
What will I miss, damn, everything, all the islands, animals, the boat, guides, passengers. This place will stay with me forever. I was told if I return to the islands, my guide will name one after me, Isle Miguelito.
What am I looking forward to most? Nothing more than a nice hot shower… and Jane… Heaven. :)
So I am off to pack. We are filling out some paperwork now and then….. One thing I will saw, food was tremendous, and they did their best to cater to each of our eating habits, even providing me with cheese less versions of some of our food.
Los Lobos Island
We are having breakfast now, we just returned to the boat from Los Lobos Island. This is one of the older island and as a whole, the archipelago moves 5 centimeters per year east towards South America, with older ones at risk of eroding away. When we landed at Los Lobos we saw many things, I can finally understand why people say you get tired of the sea lions, the island is covered with them, we also saw some young boobies. Their feet are normally grayish when they are young. There were many sea lion pups as well. The marine iguanas were so cold this morning that instead of laying on the rocks for warmth, you could see them hiding under them to stay warm. There were also a handful of frigates around, while we eat breakfast, the boat will head on to Sante Fe Island, we will do lunch at noon and from there a wet landing where we will see Land Iguanas and Giant Cactus, I can’t wait for the Land Iguanas. The more I see on these Islands, the more I seem to be drawn to them. Like Darwin before me, I am blown away by the experience and perhaps this will shape my thoughts much as it did his, from an unfortunate distance. Larry said it best when I asked if he would come back, said “yes, this place is enchanting”, as we now sail on the Encantada.
1:50 pm
Sante Fe Island
We will be snorkeling at two and then a land tour.
7:00 pm
Snorkeling was cool, we went of the dingy in two spots, managed to see some great fish and a tortoise. We also got to swim with 4 sea lions. Truly amazing, I only hope that my underwater photos come out. After that we came back to the boat for an hour or so before we were set to head back. We opted for a jump from the top deck. It was fun, yet again in our group of 12, only one or other did it with me, although a third did it later when we returned to the boat.
After we landed on Santa Fe Island, we found ourselves yet again in the middle of a sea lion colony. We spent a little time there before hiking along the island. I realized we have hiked an average of 2 miles a day since getting here. On the way in we saw a Hawk with another bird in his claws, as well as a white tipped reef shark. The cacti here are twice as tall as a man or higher, quite impressive. We also saw our first Galapagos Snake and Land Iguana, but out attention was quickly stolen by a Rice Rat who was busy at work eating a lava lizard. Awesome. From there we saw more and more sea lions; There was a cool sea lion skull that I was able to photograph though.
This is our last night before heading home in the morning, but first one more island, North Seymour Island. It is a 6am wake up.
What will I miss, damn, everything, all the islands, animals, the boat, guides, passengers. This place will stay with me forever. I was told if I return to the islands, my guide will name one after me, Isle Miguelito.
What am I looking forward to most? Nothing more than a nice hot shower… and Jane… Heaven. :)
So I am off to pack. We are filling out some paperwork now and then….. One thing I will saw, food was tremendous, and they did their best to cater to each of our eating habits, even providing me with cheese less versions of some of our food.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
7-25 Day 7 in the Galapagos
6:45 am
Espanola Island (Hood)
I went to bed last night around 8:30-9:00. I put in my ear plugs and tried as hard as I could to fall asleep amid the waves I feared would throw me from my bed. Soon as dinner finished we began our journey to Espanola. This morning, we will be in Punta Suarez, and this afternoon in Gardner Bay. We will go on a nice long hike this morning with snorkeling and free time after lunch to visit the sea lion colony. I am contemplating a swim right now. Maybe after breakfast I’ll jump in before changing into clean clothes.
11:00ish am
We just got back from Puerto Suerez where we hiked around the island and were able to see a number of cool birds. We saw Blue Footed Boobies, the Albatross which is an omen of a good journey, the Masked Boobie, the Darwin Finch, a mocking bird, and of course sea lions, crabs, marine iguanas, we all saw the blow hole which was quite cool as well. The hike was around 1 mile, and took nearly 3 hours because of all the stops and the very rocky terrain. Sometimes through the blow hole, iguanas will shoot out, affectionately called “flying iguanas”.
At 1pm after lunch we will go to Gardner Bay for snorkeling until around 3:00 pm.
Books to get : ISBN # 0-300-08864-7
Birds, mammals, and reptiles of the Galapagos Islands: an Identification guide.
Andy Swash and Rob Still with illustrations by Ian Levington
3:15pm
Back on the boat, we went snorkeling at Gardner Bay, saw a Manta Ray, others saw sharks, but I didn’t, just more of the same fish. On the beach was a sea lion colony. They were cool, I managed to see 2 males fight for position on the beach. I took a bunch pf photos of this, and the winner got to bask in the sun.
Larry and I spoke for a bit about out travels, and he said Iceland was his favorite. I must see it sometime. Now with the sails up, (and the motor running because there isn’t much wind in the islands) we are heading to Isle Los Lobos where we will go ashore. Lobos means lion in Spanish. Hopefully on the way we will see some whales perhaps.
10:17 pm
In bed, and there were no whales. Tomorrow morning is a 5:45 am wake up. This afternoon I spent most of my time reading Dexter. I am almost finished. I stopped right before dinner. Dinner was prawns with rice and mashed potatoes. I also had my first Inca Cola, actually my first soda since coming to the islands, except for the sprite on Isabella. It was weird, like a vanilla lemonade. I saw the sunset from the deck tonight before dinner as well. Beautiful.
Espanola Island (Hood)
I went to bed last night around 8:30-9:00. I put in my ear plugs and tried as hard as I could to fall asleep amid the waves I feared would throw me from my bed. Soon as dinner finished we began our journey to Espanola. This morning, we will be in Punta Suarez, and this afternoon in Gardner Bay. We will go on a nice long hike this morning with snorkeling and free time after lunch to visit the sea lion colony. I am contemplating a swim right now. Maybe after breakfast I’ll jump in before changing into clean clothes.
11:00ish am
We just got back from Puerto Suerez where we hiked around the island and were able to see a number of cool birds. We saw Blue Footed Boobies, the Albatross which is an omen of a good journey, the Masked Boobie, the Darwin Finch, a mocking bird, and of course sea lions, crabs, marine iguanas, we all saw the blow hole which was quite cool as well. The hike was around 1 mile, and took nearly 3 hours because of all the stops and the very rocky terrain. Sometimes through the blow hole, iguanas will shoot out, affectionately called “flying iguanas”.
At 1pm after lunch we will go to Gardner Bay for snorkeling until around 3:00 pm.
Books to get : ISBN # 0-300-08864-7
Birds, mammals, and reptiles of the Galapagos Islands: an Identification guide.
Andy Swash and Rob Still with illustrations by Ian Levington
3:15pm
Back on the boat, we went snorkeling at Gardner Bay, saw a Manta Ray, others saw sharks, but I didn’t, just more of the same fish. On the beach was a sea lion colony. They were cool, I managed to see 2 males fight for position on the beach. I took a bunch pf photos of this, and the winner got to bask in the sun.
Larry and I spoke for a bit about out travels, and he said Iceland was his favorite. I must see it sometime. Now with the sails up, (and the motor running because there isn’t much wind in the islands) we are heading to Isle Los Lobos where we will go ashore. Lobos means lion in Spanish. Hopefully on the way we will see some whales perhaps.
10:17 pm
In bed, and there were no whales. Tomorrow morning is a 5:45 am wake up. This afternoon I spent most of my time reading Dexter. I am almost finished. I stopped right before dinner. Dinner was prawns with rice and mashed potatoes. I also had my first Inca Cola, actually my first soda since coming to the islands, except for the sprite on Isabella. It was weird, like a vanilla lemonade. I saw the sunset from the deck tonight before dinner as well. Beautiful.
7-24 Day 6 in the Galapagos
8:00 am
Floreana Island (Santa Maria)
I didn’t sleep well last night after dinner. Halfway through the night I found my ear plugs and was a happy camper.
Breakfast and wake up were at 7:00 am to the sound of the bell ringing. We got up for breakfast then to a quick swim to freshen up of the stern of the boat. No good showers on board. When I went to dive off the boat, we had a sea lion on the deck. I jumped right after the sea lion swam away.
From there we chose our snorkeling gear for after lunch as we got ready to leave for Post Office Bay. My hope is to find some mail for a traveler in Connecticut that I can deliver for them, from there some snorkeling after lunch.
1:30ish pm
This morning we took the dinghy to the shore and went to the “post office”. I picked up a postcard for someone in CT. I left one for my parents and one for Jane and Bentley, from there we hiked to another lava tube. Turns out it was a cave. As we hiked back into the cave there was water. The guide and I went a ways in, but no one else joined us. Pity. We then made our way back down to the beach for a bit of snorkeling. We saw some amazing fish, I believe a Parrot Fish, a Moray Eel hiding in the rocks, a Sea Lion joined us for a minute and swam off. I also saw 5 Sea Tortoises, big ones, and would dive down to see them and swim along side. I again took off with the guide snorkeling and he showed me all kinds of fish. We got back to the boat and had the closest thing we can to a shower, 15 seconds in the fresh water hose on the stern of the boat. There were some cookies and crackers for us while we wait for lunch. On our way to the next port on Floreana. We saw a pod of Humpback Whales, a male, female and baby. It is amazing, these guides see this every day and they are cheering as much as we are. Snapping pictures of the Humpbacks as they breach the surface, baring their white chests in an amazing display of acrobatics, water splashing 15ft in the air, only to leave behind a flat calm spot where they reenter the water. Even though I have seen this before off Cape Cod, this is magical. Right now we are just sitting here watching the Humpback show.
5:57 pm
After a rest on the boat, I did manage to nap a bit, we went out to snorkel at Devil’s Crown. The tide was very strong and we did a lot of drifting with them. We saw a number of great fish, a starfish, another sea tortoise and a manta ray. We even dove under the rocks and into an opening at the crown. From there we returned to the boat for a bit before heading back to the Floreana beach where we hiked across the island to a tortoise nesting site. I was saddened to see a sea lion that appeared to have been attacked by a shark. His tail was bitten off. There were three crab nests right next to the body, which allowed them easy access to feast on the carcass for some time. On the way back, we stopped to see the flamingos feeding on krill. This is what gives them their pink color.
The boat is moving now, not quite sure I know where to, not quite sure I care either. When we got back, they had another snack waiting for us, fried mashed plantain and fried mashed yucca roots shaped like dumplings with honey. They were delicious.
Floreana Island (Santa Maria)
I didn’t sleep well last night after dinner. Halfway through the night I found my ear plugs and was a happy camper.
Breakfast and wake up were at 7:00 am to the sound of the bell ringing. We got up for breakfast then to a quick swim to freshen up of the stern of the boat. No good showers on board. When I went to dive off the boat, we had a sea lion on the deck. I jumped right after the sea lion swam away.
From there we chose our snorkeling gear for after lunch as we got ready to leave for Post Office Bay. My hope is to find some mail for a traveler in Connecticut that I can deliver for them, from there some snorkeling after lunch.
1:30ish pm
This morning we took the dinghy to the shore and went to the “post office”. I picked up a postcard for someone in CT. I left one for my parents and one for Jane and Bentley, from there we hiked to another lava tube. Turns out it was a cave. As we hiked back into the cave there was water. The guide and I went a ways in, but no one else joined us. Pity. We then made our way back down to the beach for a bit of snorkeling. We saw some amazing fish, I believe a Parrot Fish, a Moray Eel hiding in the rocks, a Sea Lion joined us for a minute and swam off. I also saw 5 Sea Tortoises, big ones, and would dive down to see them and swim along side. I again took off with the guide snorkeling and he showed me all kinds of fish. We got back to the boat and had the closest thing we can to a shower, 15 seconds in the fresh water hose on the stern of the boat. There were some cookies and crackers for us while we wait for lunch. On our way to the next port on Floreana. We saw a pod of Humpback Whales, a male, female and baby. It is amazing, these guides see this every day and they are cheering as much as we are. Snapping pictures of the Humpbacks as they breach the surface, baring their white chests in an amazing display of acrobatics, water splashing 15ft in the air, only to leave behind a flat calm spot where they reenter the water. Even though I have seen this before off Cape Cod, this is magical. Right now we are just sitting here watching the Humpback show.
5:57 pm
After a rest on the boat, I did manage to nap a bit, we went out to snorkel at Devil’s Crown. The tide was very strong and we did a lot of drifting with them. We saw a number of great fish, a starfish, another sea tortoise and a manta ray. We even dove under the rocks and into an opening at the crown. From there we returned to the boat for a bit before heading back to the Floreana beach where we hiked across the island to a tortoise nesting site. I was saddened to see a sea lion that appeared to have been attacked by a shark. His tail was bitten off. There were three crab nests right next to the body, which allowed them easy access to feast on the carcass for some time. On the way back, we stopped to see the flamingos feeding on krill. This is what gives them their pink color.
The boat is moving now, not quite sure I know where to, not quite sure I care either. When we got back, they had another snack waiting for us, fried mashed plantain and fried mashed yucca roots shaped like dumplings with honey. They were delicious.
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