Galápagos Diary, Day 7

Day 7, April 18: A trip to the Post Office

American Flamingo

The morning started early at Punta Cormorán on Floreana Island. The weather was much cooler than it’s been, with high overcast and a light breeze. Perfect hiking weather, in other words. It felt like a relaxed morning, with two beaches and a brackish lagoon to explore at our leisure. At the lagoon we hit the flamingo jackpot when we found a small flock that wasn’t too far away. They very obligingly flew from one end of the lagoon to the other, one or two at a time, giving us opportunities for flight shots. These were mostly American Flamingoes, plus a couple of Chilean Flamingoes, which aren’t usually seen in the islands.

Snorkeling gets better

For today’s snorkeling at Campeón Island I slipped into the water and immediately felt comfortable. Maybe even too comfortable. With an unexpected burst of energy, I started swimming along the rocks and went so far and fast that Monica sent the panga to bring me back.

I soon got into the relaxed pace of snorkeling, lingering with the fish and moving with the current. It’s a beautiful experience, like floating in an aquarium full of exotic and colorful tropical fish. I found a small turtle and followed it for several minutes, snapping photos with my simple underwater camera. I was really starting to think I knew what I was doing - until I saw Monica cruise by twenty feet below me, effortlessly (or so it appeared) gliding along the rocks and getting a close-up view of a shark. So I guess I have a bit more to learn. (The sharks here are harmless to people.)

Galápagos Green Turtle

Monica and friend

After snorkeling we returned to Campeón Island in the pangas, hoping to photograph the endemic Floreana Mockingbird. We did see one, but it stayed in some dense branches and I wasn't able to get a good photo of it. However, my disappointment was more than made up for by a Red-billed Tropicbird, a beautiful species that I had never heard of until today. (Little did I know we would see dozens of them a few days later.)

Red-billed Tropicbird

Galápagos Sea Lion

Galápagos Sea Lion mother and pup

Galápagos Sea Lion

Lava Lizard

The Floreana Post Office

Sometime around 1793, someone - it might or might not have been James Colnett, a captain in the British Navy - had a brilliant idea. On the shore of a small cove on Floreana Island, now called Post Office Bay, he put a barrel on a post and created a kind of volunteer post office. Sailors on whaling ships would leave letters addressed to their loved ones back home and pick up any letters addressed to the cities or countries they were headed toward. At a time when a sea voyage could take months or even years, the letters were equally welcomed by travelers and those they left behind. In the early twentieth century, as the island received more visitors and even a few permanent residents, the post office made it possible for people to order and receive food and supplies of all kinds. The tradition has continued even now, with tourists taking the place of whalers and settlers.

I addressed post cards to my granddaughters in Benicia and exchanged them for cards addressed to Oakland and San Rafael, which I will deliver after I get home. For the story of how one of my post cards got to its destination, read this Facebook post from my friend Treve Johnson.

Day 1: Photographers meet Galápagos

Day 2: We meet some new species

Day 3: Don't forget to preheat your camera!

Day 4: More snorkeling, more boobies, and our first snakes

Day 5: Eruption!

Day 6: Tortoises! Flamingoes!