January 31, Tuesday – Galapagos, Ecuador –Floreana and Champion Island

This morning we set anchor just off Cormorant Island.  The island has no cormorants and is named after a ship, named the Cormorant, that wrecked off the island.

In the morning we took a Kodiak cruise around the small, nearby Champion Island.  On the way we passed some of the very small rock outcroppings and islets that dot the area.
Cormorant-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9768

Cormorant-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9769

We didn't get off to walk Champion Island as it is pretty small.  But it was very pretty. 
Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9835

Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310055

Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310129


The island had a lot of cacti growing on it.
Cacti-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9838

Cacti-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310016

The list of species that we saw is as follows:

Sea Lions
Sea-Lions-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310053


Floreana Mockingbird (again, at a long distance).  This mockingbird is extinct on Floreana but an isolated colony was located on Champion Island.
Floreana-Mockingbird-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9787

Swallow Tailed Gulls
Swallow-Tailed-Gull-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310013

Swallow-Tailed-Gull-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310029

Blue Footed Boobies
Blue-Footed-Boobie-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9816

Nazca Boobies
Nazca-Boobie-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9853

Nazca-Boobie-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9860

Nazca-Boobie-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310145

Magnificent Frigatebirds 
Magnificent-Frigatebird-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--DSC_9864

A Lava Heron
Lava-Heron-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310102

And Great Blue Heron
Great-Blue-Heron-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310203

And, because the tide was pretty low, a sea lion on a high shelf
Sea-Lions-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310159

And lots of barnacles.
Barnicles-Champion-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310151

During lunch we re-positioned to Floreana Island.


Cruise-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310001

Cruise-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310344

Cruise-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310463

Mid-day we took a zodiac cruise to a beach on Floreana Island where we walked a short ways in to the “Mail Box”.  This is the only mail system in the world that doesn’t require a postage stamp and all items are hand delivered.  The idea dates back to the whaling days when people dropped off mail and the next ship through would pick up mail to anyone that lived where they were heading.  The sailors would then hand deliver the mail when they got home or wherever they were headed.

The guides read through the addresses and a number of people picked up mail to deliver when they got home.  Some mail takes several years to be delivered as no one is headed that way.
Mail-Box-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310246

Mail-Box-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310243

We then got back on our zodiacs from some cruising.  We saw:

a brown pelicans sitting on a rock



Brown-Pelican-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310357

and we got a great sequence of a pelican fishing.
Brown-Pelican-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310226

Brown-Pelican-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310227


Brown-Pelican-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310228

Brown-Pelican-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310229

We also saw Pacific Green Sea Tortoise…lots of them.  They were very hard to photograph as they just popped up for a quick breath and were then underwater again.
Green-Sea-Turtle-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310297


We came across a number of Sea Lions romping and playing in the water (or maybe fighting…hard to tell)
Sea-Lions-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310431

Marine Iguanas
Marine-Iguana-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310360


And A Cattle Egret 


Cattle-Egret-Floreana-Island-Galapagos-Ecuador-2017--P1310388

No comments: