The day started with a beautiful sunrise as we landed at Point Cormorant, Floreana Island at 6:30 in the morning. The beach where we landed had a green sheen on the sand due to the presence of fine pieces of olivine crystals. The light was great for photography and the groups went searching for the best compositions and to learn about the natural history of flamingos and green sea turtles. At the brackish water lagoon of this site we found about 20 Greater flamingos that were feeding on Artemia shrimp, which is the main food for flamingos in the Galapagos. We also visited a nesting site for Pacific green sea turtles where we saw a good number of tracks and nests that had been built the night before. It was 7:30 am and everyone returned to the ship for breakfast. On the way back to the ship we were lucky to encounter three Galapagos penguins that were feeding in the area.
After breakfast, by 9:45 am, the National Geographic Islander had changed her position for Champion Islet. At this destination we had different options to choose from. A couple of groups did a drift snorkel and another couple of groups went snorkeling in shallow waters where the conditions were calmer. Everybody had a great time as they encountered good size schools of yellow tailed surgeonfish along with some king angelfish, a number of streamer hogfish, and of course everybody had the chance to swim with Galapagos sea lions. It was time for lunch so we headed back onboard.
The action began again at 3:45 pm at Post Office Bay, Floreana Island. The highlights of this afternoon were a short hike to check the mail at the post barrel and an exploration of a sea lion colony. First, everybody went to check the mail and to drop post cards at the barrel. At this site the guests had the chance to learn about the human history of Galapagos from the Naturalists of the National Geographic Islander. After this visit some guests went on a kayak expedition and the others went on Zodiacs to observe green sea turtles that were relaxing on a mangrove lagoon and a healthy colony of Galapagos sea lions that were active in the water as well as on the rocks. By 6 pm everybody got back onboard and joined at the sky deck bar for snacks and drinks.
