April 23, 2023
Day four took us to Floreana Island, which ended up being the most historically interesting island of the trip.
Before we even left the boat that morning, we were specifically told not to wear yellow because the wasps on the island were heavily attracted to the color.
The morning started with another hike through a completely different landscape than the previous islands. We saw flamingos again, this time much closer, standing in a lagoon near the trail. There were also sea turtle nests, a sea lion skull, abandoned finch nests, monarch butterflies, and blue footed boobies flying overhead.
Fernanda explained the difference between the island’s organic and inorganic beaches. The organic beaches were made from broken down shells, coral, and marine organisms, while the darker inorganic beaches were formed from volcanic rock and lava. We also learned about the Palo Santo trees (“Holy Wood”) growing throughout the area. The branches are famous for their incense-like scent.
Our mission today was a hike to Flour Beach whose sand is created from pulverized coral and as white as flour. As we were hiking, Terry kept asking what the purpose of the hike was and we told her the point was simply to sit on the beach and enjoy being there. She then declared it a “hike to nowhere.” Once we actually arrived at Flour Beach, she looked around and asked, “What am I going to do here?” We again told her to just stop and enjoy it. She never quite understood that the entire purpose was to not have a purpose.
We were also told not to go into the water because there were too many sting rays near the shoreline.
That afternoon we attempted to snorkel around Devil’s Crown, the remains of an underwater volcanic crater just off the coast of Floreana. From above, the jagged rocks form a rough crown shape sticking out of the ocean. The area is known for strong currents and incredible marine life, but the current absolutely lived up to its reputation. Even while swimming hard with both arms and legs, we were still moving backwards. After multiple attempts, everyone eventually gave up and returned to the boat.
After lunch, we took a panga tour around the island looking at birds and baby sea lions before snorkeling to shore. During the swim, I ended up following a sea turtle through the water like Crush from Finding Nemo while we also spotted pipe fish along the reef.
Once we arrived on shore, we visited Post Office Bay. In the late 1700s, whalers placed a wooden barrel there to act as an unofficial mail system for sailors passing through the islands. People would leave letters behind, and other travelers heading toward those destinations would hand deliver them along the way. The tradition still continues today.
On our boat, we were asked to write a postcard to ourselves and give it to Fernanda. None of us knew why. She surprised us with them at the Post Office. Once we arrived, we took turns “stamping” each other’s postcards (with painted rocks) before dropping them into the barrel.Afterward, we were encouraged to dig through the postcards already inside and see if there were any we could personally deliver. The idea is that future visitors might do the same with ours. If someone happened to be traveling near your hometown, they would take your postcard and hand deliver it rather than mailing it.I eventually received my postcard, although whoever picked it up took a slight shortcut and mailed it to me from the United States instead of delivering it by hand. Even so, it was fun seeing it show up in my mailbox knowing it had started its journey in a small wooden barrel on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
We also learned more about the strange and complicated history of Floreana, including the stories that inspired documentaries and books about the island’s early settlers, disappearances, and murders. Fascinating stories. I highly recommend checking them out.
That evening, the boat crew played soccer with locals before coming directly to the beach afterward still wearing their soccer clothes. Later that night we learned about the history and preparation of canelazo, a warm South American spiced drink that quickly became a group favorite.
