Floreana Island
I can’t think of any better way to spend the last day of the year 2004. This morning we dropped anchor in a calm, little bay called Post Office. This area has been visited by sailors since the 1790’s, and associated with it, is one of the oldest hand mail delivery systems in the world. We added our own post cards to an impressive stack of them, which we sorted through, taking any that our group promised to take to its destination.
After breakfast we boarded the Zodiacs and went snorkeling. By now many of us are avid deep water snorkelers and today’s outing at Champion Islet was simply incredible. There were hundreds – probably thousands – of colorful fish: king angels and moorish idols being two of the most lovely species we saw. And then there were the sea lions! Several playful teenage sea lions escorted us along the island, twirling and spinning and diving among and around us. We have had some great snorkeling this week, and it is hard to choose, but today’s might just have been, the very best.
In the afternoon, following siesta and a slide presentation that I made on my experiences while doing my PhD research living on Volcan Alcedo, we made a wet landing on a brownish-green beach of olivine crystal and tuff sand. We found bright pink flamingoes in a shallow lagoon behind the beach and then hiked across to a fine white sand beach where sea turtles nest. There was a chance to swim and snorkel before we returned to the ship.
If that sounds like a long and satisfying day, well, it was. But wait until you hear about what we did after dark! Following our evening recap and briefing in the lounge, we climbed to the sky deck where our Hotel Manager, kitchen and dining room staff had set up a scrumptious New Year’s turkey plus barbeque buffet. What a feast and what a fiesta! All of us on the Islander celebrated together: passengers, staff, officers and crew. The night was clear and breezy and the crew taught us to dance salsa and meringue under the stars. The Islander rocked a bit at anchor, but that just gave us an excuse for any mis-steps in our footwork as we learned to dance latino style.
Shortly before midnight our head waiter Angel appeared, dressed in woman’s clothes and wailing loudly: he was the “viuda,” the widow of the old year. The Islander’s old year puppet, a traditional human size doll that represents something that you are ready to do away with, was the “Lord of the Highlands” our ship in her past life navigating in Europe. We toasted the incoming year with champagne, shared hugs all around, and then watched while the old year puppet burned (carefully arranged on a metal ladder held far off from the ship). Hotel Manager, Alexa and I led those of us who hope to travel during 2005 (and this was most of us) around the ship carrying our suitcases: another Ecuadorian New Year’s tradition. And then, we all went to bed – very happy, and rather exhausted! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I can’t think of any better way to spend the last day of the year 2004. This morning we dropped anchor in a calm, little bay called Post Office. This area has been visited by sailors since the 1790’s, and associated with it, is one of the oldest hand mail delivery systems in the world. We added our own post cards to an impressive stack of them, which we sorted through, taking any that our group promised to take to its destination.
After breakfast we boarded the Zodiacs and went snorkeling. By now many of us are avid deep water snorkelers and today’s outing at Champion Islet was simply incredible. There were hundreds – probably thousands – of colorful fish: king angels and moorish idols being two of the most lovely species we saw. And then there were the sea lions! Several playful teenage sea lions escorted us along the island, twirling and spinning and diving among and around us. We have had some great snorkeling this week, and it is hard to choose, but today’s might just have been, the very best.
In the afternoon, following siesta and a slide presentation that I made on my experiences while doing my PhD research living on Volcan Alcedo, we made a wet landing on a brownish-green beach of olivine crystal and tuff sand. We found bright pink flamingoes in a shallow lagoon behind the beach and then hiked across to a fine white sand beach where sea turtles nest. There was a chance to swim and snorkel before we returned to the ship.
If that sounds like a long and satisfying day, well, it was. But wait until you hear about what we did after dark! Following our evening recap and briefing in the lounge, we climbed to the sky deck where our Hotel Manager, kitchen and dining room staff had set up a scrumptious New Year’s turkey plus barbeque buffet. What a feast and what a fiesta! All of us on the Islander celebrated together: passengers, staff, officers and crew. The night was clear and breezy and the crew taught us to dance salsa and meringue under the stars. The Islander rocked a bit at anchor, but that just gave us an excuse for any mis-steps in our footwork as we learned to dance latino style.
Shortly before midnight our head waiter Angel appeared, dressed in woman’s clothes and wailing loudly: he was the “viuda,” the widow of the old year. The Islander’s old year puppet, a traditional human size doll that represents something that you are ready to do away with, was the “Lord of the Highlands” our ship in her past life navigating in Europe. We toasted the incoming year with champagne, shared hugs all around, and then watched while the old year puppet burned (carefully arranged on a metal ladder held far off from the ship). Hotel Manager, Alexa and I led those of us who hope to travel during 2005 (and this was most of us) around the ship carrying our suitcases: another Ecuadorian New Year’s tradition. And then, we all went to bed – very happy, and rather exhausted! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
