Today, we arrived at Floreana Island in the southern part of the Galápagos. Its volcanic origin offers an unusual landscape of hundreds of cinder cones and layers of black lava on the shore. These black lava layers are home to myriads of marine and land organisms.
Early in the morning, we landed at Punta Cormorant for a scenic walk exploring the dry forest and its inhabitants. Here we found yellow warblers, blue-footed boobies, Sally Lightfoot crabs, and many other creatures. A flycatcher became very curious about one of our guests and tried to land on her a number of times.
Punta Cormorant also happens to be a nesting site for Pacific green sea turtles. These reptiles are residents of the Galápagos and we had several encounters with them as we explored the shore and shallow waters. We even found their tracks on the beach, a sign that they nested the night before.
Later in the morning, we visited Champion Island in search of the elusive Floreana mockingbird. While we explored the wildlife-rich shore of this small island, we spotted two mockingbirds. Then, we revisited this same spot, this time with snorkeling equipment. It was windy but the water was clear and the schools of fish were huge! There were also plenty of sea lions who playfully followed our guests.
In the afternoon we visited the legendary post office barrel of Floreana. For centuries, this barrel was an important communication link for English whalers and pirates in the western part of South America.
Later on, we enjoyed kayaking and Zodiac rides among sea lions and stingrays. At the end of the afternoon, we celebrated with a drink at sunset and toasted another great day in paradise.
