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Retired! Who knew it would be this good?
Copyright © 2016 Metropolitan Touring
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Late afternoon and I can't believe I'm launching into my third activity of the day. I hopped onto the panga like an old nanny goat (and I was worried that would be an ordeal!) and we disembarked a little further up the coast at Punta Cormorant. (This is a perplexing name as there are no cormorants on Floreana - the flightless cormorant is only found on Fernandina and Isabela). The temperature was cooling down and just perfect for walking. The path was relatively easy-going and allowed me to appreciate some of the interior landscape of the island. After a brief incline (720m I'm told) we arrived at a look-out point over a salt water lagoon. We could see 2 flamingoes in the far distance. Dennis brought along a rather impressively large scope, so we could get a better viewing. These American flamingoes are rarely found outside the Caribbean and a recent bird-count registered 314 individuals in the whole of the Galapagos. We walked a little way further to a stunning beach with fine white sand and turquoise sea set against a dramatic backdrop of imposing black cliffs. It was a moment. The beach is a well-known nesting area for sea turtles and as we were coming to expect, there was an abundance of birds, crabs and other wild-life. Suddenly the frigate birds started dive bombing and I could tell from the excitement amongst the guides that something special was happening. The sea turtles were hatching and the birds were helping themselves to dinner! The eggs incubate under the sand for 45-55 days but the vast majority do not survive. Evolutionarily speaking, the idea is to produce more young than predators can eat and eventually, through natural selection only the fittest animals will survive. It was upsetting to see the carnage and we wanted to save the little things but Dennis was adamant - this was nature in action and it was not our place to interfere.
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| A little hazy, but I'm pleased to have captured the frigate picking up the baby sea turtle |
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Frigate Bird swooping (largest wingspan-to-bodyweight ratio of any bird)
Copyright © 2016 Metropolitan Touring
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The sun was setting and there was a fine drizzle of rain so it was time to head back for dinner. Dennis assembled the team for a photo. They were a decent crowd and with a few shared experiences under our belt we started to gel. Although initially a little brash for my taste, the American seniors were all rather kindly and I was warming to them. There was a dear family from Ecuador with 2 teenage girls who were a credit to their parents. Having a language in common they were palling up with a young Spanish couple. And we were getting along with our new English friends like they were old English friends.
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Getting to know everyone a little better
Copyright © 2016 Metropolitan Touring
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