On our third day, we sailed to Isla Floreana (also called Santa Maria or Charles). The name "Floreana" pays tribute to Juan José Flores, the first
president of Ecuador, under whose government the islands were acquired.
From the dock in Puerto Ayora, you must take a water taxi to your waiting boat.
On the way to our boat, we passed by the waterfront hotels in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz.
This is the boat we took to Floreana. Since this was a day trip (we didn't spend the night), our boat ride was two hours each way.
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There were 8 of us on the boat |
After our two hour boat ride, we arrive at Floreana.
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Puerto Velasco Ibarra is the main town on Floreana |
The Floreana Island is one of the
most popular of the Galapagos group because of the extinct volcanic origins of
the island and the colorful animals that reside there. During the winter
(December to May), pink flamingos and sea turtles nest on this island as well
as the “Patapegada” or Galapagos petrel, a sea bird that spends most of its
life away from land, is found here. The island is also famous for its proximity
to the “Devil’s Crown,” which is an underwater volcanic cone, which appears to
be a group of rocks jutting out of the sea in a crude circular pattern. Along
the coastline, the beaches offer up two contrasts: one is beautiful, fine white
sand, and the other, volcanic remains, which imparts the landing beach with a
greenish tinge.
We take a short taxi ride to see the giant tortoises (Galapagueras) in their natural habitat in an area near Asilo de la Paz (Haven of Peace). Interestingly, it reminded us of Jurassic Park!
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Do you see the tortoise in the background (center of picture) |
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We walked by this one at first, thinking it was a rock |
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Look at the camera |
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Jurassic Park |
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This reminds me of "ET" |
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I look like a naturalist guide! |
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On the move |
Here are videos that I took of the tortoises. The first one shows a tortoise and the environment that they live in.
This video shows a tortoise walking, and sleeping tortoises in the background:
This last video shows two tortoises fighting:
After leaving the tortoises behind, we continue on our hike of Asilo de la Paz.
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See the face on the distant rock |
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Another ancient face |
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Where we stopped for lunch |
After lunch, we head to the beach.
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Nursing sea lion and her calf |
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Pelican staying warm, out of the wind |
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More Sally Lightfoot Crabs |
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Getting ready to head back to Isla Santa Cruz |
The last blog post will be about our trip to Isla Isabela.
Enjoying our photo tour ! thanks, gg
ReplyDeleteThanks Gary. We had a great time. Hopefully you and Sue will be able to go sometime in the future!
DeleteNice pictures. Lucky you got to go and enjoy such a special place.
ReplyDeleteThank you Patty. Just tying to keep up with you! (JK) Hope you and Kenny are doing well.
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