It is our second full day in the Galapagos islands and today we visited the mystery island of Floreana. This is the first inhabited island in the Galapagos Archipelago. Thus, it is very rich in the human history. This island was visited by buccaneers, privateers, as well as pirated back in the 17th century. These characters came to the island looking for fresh water and fresh meat from the giant tortoises.
Our firs outing was in Punta Cormorant. Early risers joined us for a naturalist walk at 6:30 in the morning. The first light of the day was captured by our cameras while sea turtles were struggling in the waves close to shore trying to mate. The white sand beach was also colored by the bright color of the Sally lightfoot crabs and shorebirds were running along the beach trying to pick up small crustaceans.
Later in the morning we headed to a small satellite island known as Champion for a Zodiac ride and snorkeling. The islet is home of the remaining population of Floreana mockingbirds. Big efforts have been done by the Galapagos National Park Service in the last fifteen years to save this specie from the brink of extinction. Our short ride paid off since we sighted many of them pecking on the prickly pear cactus. Shore bird such as tropic birds, shearwater, noddies, Nazca boobies, and blue-footed boobies were also sighted by our eager explorers. The snorkeling was outstanding this morning. The crystal clear blue water was overwhelmed by the mosaic of fish that came to the Galapagos Islands from the different marine provinces of the pacific realm.
In the afternoon we headed to the oldest mail service in America. In 1792 a mail system was erected by buccaneer James Cornet to have communication with their loved ones back home. The system works in a peculiar way among visitors. They take letters and postcards close to their home area and hand deliver them. This used to be an honor code among whalers and buccaneers in the 17th century. After learning about the history of Floreana we headed to small rocky islets to enjoy the biodiversity that characterizes Floreana island. Our guests enjoyed the biodiversity from the Zodiacs and kayaks. The equatorial sunset finalized a remarkable day in the southern island of Floreana.
