A fantasy style landscape? It looks quite calm here, it was actually quite windy.
Taking it easy and looking like a sack of potatos, with Jocelyne in the background. At one point she asked Wiji to re-tie the back of her bikini top...he was totally confused and horrified, so I stepped in.
And unlikely combination...who would not normally be found exisiting together!
After breakfast and some more sailing / relaxation time, the bell was rung for us to meet on the middle deck for a wet landing on Floreana at Post Office bay. This was really pleasant, especially after the continual motion of the boat.
'Lobo's crab balls' in the background that formed part of his demonstration about Ghost crabs, who make the balls as part of the process of obtaning food from the sand. This also attracts mates too, apparently. In the foreground the actual Ghost Crab balls and claw markings in the sand.
We walked from the opposite side to Post Office bay...not a footprint in sight.
We made our way through the landscape to a lava tunnel that decendes to sea level and is about 600 meters in length. Part way through the lava tunnel it becomes waterlogged and you have to swim though a cavity close to the ceiling air space. The night before when Lobo explained this to the group he made it the most complicated explanation of the trip so far. He explained that the water would be ankle deep, knee deep, and waist deep. But neglecting to really explain that you would have to swim. It was really Jocelyne that needed this to be explicit. This massively long winded and slow explanation had me in total fits of laughter. I thought that I may have to leave the dining room because of it. Kirsty, Johann and Wiji were barely able to control themselves either. It was priceless.
What Lobo had left out was that the tunnel had very steep steps down to it, which frustratingly I could not get down because of my fear of heights...so had to spend a rather dull, (in comparison) 40mins above ground, while the others went on this adventure.
Here's my hero Wiji emerging from the depths of the lava tunnel...snorkel in hand. Wiji used his snorkel to watch Lobo swim down with an underwater flashlight to the turtle bones below.
According to Wiji it was completely pitched black inside. Everyone had their non-waterproof head torches on their heads. They all had to cling onto the roof of the cave where it was too deep to stand. Sounds pretty barking, but great. I was sad that I missed it. Jocelyne asked Lobo why anyone would want to do this...this totally caused us all to crack up. He said that you could do it because it was an adventure! LOL!
After that we made our way back to Post Office Bay, along the trail and just off from the beach itself was a jumble of wood and stones that had been scribbled on. This is the site where in 1793 a large wooden barrel was placed by British sailors to leave messages for homebound ships. The barrel has since been replaced many times, but has more or less been in continuous use.
Lobo opened the barrel door and handed out piles of postcards to everyone, so that we could read them and find one that we could hand deliver. If you took one you had to personally deliver it, or according to Lobo face 7 years bad sex! Whatever. Quite a lot of them where for personal collection only. I don't think that anyone actually took one to deliver personally...although this would be an interesting thing to do. We did all write one. I wrote a note on a napkin for Dieuwke and Richard. It would be brilliant if they got it!
Here I am, surrounded by the detritous, looking hideous posting the napkin.
After this strange and novel experience we headed back to the beach to do some snorkelling. This time we didn't take the underwater camera. We snorkled around one side of the bay then decided to cut straight across the bay to the otherside. We were quite far out so only got a continual view of the sandy sea floor below us as we motored along with our flippers. Looking up occasionally to see where we were. At one point when I looked up Wiji shouted to me 'I have just seen an enormous shark!' Oh really! God thanks for telling me! I didn't really know what to do with this information, but swim as fast as I could to the other side of the bay...this now seemed miles away! When we reached it Wiji told me that the shark was about 6 or 7 foot in length! He didn't seem too worried. I was just glad that we were near the rocks now!
We joined Uri, Enait and Johann who were bobbing about together. They then spotted a turtle and we spent some time as a group watching four turtles in total, feeding on seaweed at the rocky bay edge and swimming along away from the bay. They were so graceful. It was a very peaceful experience.
Here is Wiji waiting for the dinghy. As usual we were the last ones out of the water, and got back in when we saw this Sealion. But he swam off. Uri followed him on foot around the bay, but we didn't get to swim with him, sadly.
We got the dinghy back to the Floreana for some lunch and relaxation time. Kicking ourselves that we didn't get to film the Turtles, we prepared the underwater camera case for later in the day.
Our next outing in the dinghy was to Green Bay, so called because of the volcanic mineral Olivine that can be clearly seen over the redish volcanic sand.
There were many green sea Urchins in various states of decay littered around the tide line across the beach.
The landscape.
An old bleached skull of a Sealion.
We followed a trail inland to a brackish lagoon to see one of the biggest populations of Greater Galapagos Flamingos. Here behind the beach mangroves lined the lagoon. It was very hot and windless. Quite a lot of the Famingos were in the distance. We were glad that we had got a closer look at these strange creatures in Celestun, Mexico. It seemed very odd seeing them in the Galapagos!
Eleanore chuckled away as several people of the group in their rush to get to the front to get some pics totally covered themselves in the sludgy pink and grey mud. LOL.
Following the trail up hill to a vantage point we got a better view of the size of the lagoon.
Tuff cone.
Then we made our way down across the gravelly lava rocks, through clouds of Painted Locusts and Wasps to the otherside of the island to another beach. The landscape seemed very strange. Lynne thought that it reminded her of the Bahamas.
A deserted beach, with a few turtle tracks leading to nests that were individually marked for safety.
We watched some Black Tipped Reef Sharks swimming in the waves along the beach.
It was a really beautiful place.
Naturally Sally Lightfoot Crabs were abundant, feeding on plankton with their front claws.
After exploring the beach we made our way back to Green Bay and caught the dinghy back to the Floreana for a quick change into our swimming stuff and then off out again in the dinghy to Isla Champion for deep sea snorkelling.
It was extremely rough next to Isla Champion, with the waves really smashing against the rocks causing white foam to fly into the air. We couldn't actually believe that we were going to get out of the dinghy here! The water looked very dark and the swell was really big, with the dinghy rocking up and down the waves! Lobo did his usual and asked everyone to get out when you are ready and swim towards the rocks, fast or apparently the current would wash us out to sea! Lol! He also calmly made it clear, not to get too close to the rocks...that much was pretty clear! This time because of the Bull Sealions who would be very aggressive! It did seem quite death defying getting into the ocean at this point. It was massively deep looking down when we first got in, and I really felt like a little speck in the ocean. But hey, I was really excited to get in and the prospect of swimming with Sealions!
It wasn't long before we were joined in the water by some very inquisitive Sealions. Behind this one you can see the lighter section is the distant crash of the waves coming off Isla Champion.
This is one of Wiji's shots, with the Sealion swimming below him. It really illustrates how the Sealions really do look at you. It was amazing! Their eye are designed to see perfectly underwater, on land they cannot really see too clearly. Love your whiskers!
The crashing waves sent out millions of bubbles from the cliffs that temporarily made it impossibe to see infront of yourself. Here we were looking down at a huge black mass that was literally thousands of fish in a vast shoal deep below us.
This doesn't look to bad here, it seemed really rough everytime we put our heads up to see where we were. Much more calming to be under the water. The dinghy had to keep its distance.
Here's Eleanore watching the Sealions, by this point there were a lot of them in the water with us, having nipped in off the cliff edge.
Some of the Bull Sealions on the cliffs. We are not playing!
Magnificent speed and grace.
The water was teaming with fish, but the Sealions were really curious an inquisitive of us. We couldn't get enough of them. All the beautiful fish just didn't get a look in!
This Sealion, like others, swam right at me then looped under or over me at the last minute. It was breathtaking! They are so playful.
Right at you for a good close up and then off...
Swimming upside down like a bullet was also their forte. It was so exciting trying to spot which angle they were going to come from!
Diving in and out of the depths.
Its clear to see who is the most graceful!
Here's a movie with sound. The first part I shot whilst playing with the baby Sealion, one of my most memorable and thrilling Galapagos experiences. The second part is Wiji filming the Sealion swimming around us. Its incredibly hard to keep the Sealion on camera. This was a really amazing experience for us both.
This starfish was probably about 2 foot across, after spotting it Wiji dove down to get this great snap of it to add to our collection.
Looking out of the water at Isla Champion with the giant cactus trees on the cliff.
Later around the island...we are having fun...honest!
Here's what happens if you try to smile with the snorkle mask on. It looks like I have had plastic surgery! We both have quite impressive trout pouts though. LOL.
The waves crashing into Isla Champion.
A beautiful sponge surrounded by a shoal of small orange fish.
I'm a bit too close to the rocks here, I'm almost on land. It was probably here that Lobo was shouting at us to get away from the rocks and the massive Bull Sealions...whoops didn't see you there! Ok.
After swimming around the curve of the island the current changed and it was more sheltered. I put my hand up, the signal to be picked up. Here I am back in the boat for a bit next to Uri, with Wilber driving. Wilber was really on the ball and helped me out when I suddenly got really really tired in the water. Jessie waving to Wiji with his flipper.
When we got back on the Floreana, Marjorie had prepared hot chocolates for us all, which we gratefully drank while dripping all over the dining room and loudly chattering away at how exciting it was playing with the Sealions...and how dangerous we all thought it was getting out at Champion! We then all nipped off to our cabins for a hot shower and I tried to get a comb through my knotted sea hair.
We chilled after dinner with a beer on the top deck and took in the sunset.
Lobo writes up the next days activities and we get ready to listen to his dry comedy explanations and for Jocelyne to ask about what shoes she should wear. Lynne getting comfy and Wiji in the background..oh hi!
What a totally amazing and totally memorable day! Could it get any better than this?!
1 comment:
It's all just fabulous, you lucky, lucky things xx
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