Our fantastic Galapagos journey brought us today to one of the most iconic islands of the archipelago: Floreana. Our visit began early in the morning, at a site known as Punta Cormorant. Located between two tuff cones, this is an excellent site for arid zone plants. The sandy area of the landing beach is green, due to the presence of olivine, and mangroves and a large salt lagoon lie just beyond the beach.
The pre-breakfast hike gave us the opportunity to explore the marvelous incense tree forest found in the area. As we arrived to the landing site, we were immediately struck by the scenery, with the salt bushes creating the perfect contrast against the greenish sandy area. As we crossed the isthmus of Punta Cormorant, we spotted a combination of Darwin finches and mangrove warblers that were singing together, in a beautiful symphony all over the area. As we reached the other side, we emerged onto an organic sandy beach marked by trails of sea turtles. We were in awe of the beautiful scenery. As we explored the area, we saw frigatebirds flying over us, and baby diamond sting rays very close to the shore line. On our way back to the landing site, greater flamingos wading in a brackish water lagoon were the highlight of the morning.
For the next chapter of the morning, we explored the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Deep water snorkeling was the best way to get us into exploration. It was an excellent outing, and we spotted many colorful fish along the magnificent reefs, and several playful Galapagos sea lions.
For the afternoon activities, we made our way to Post Office Bay, where we offered a combination of excursions, including kayaking, swimming, and Zodiac riding. The coastline was decorated by mangrove trees, lava rooks, and Galapagos sea lions, creating an idyllic scene. The visit to the Post Office Barrel, gave us the opportunity to learn about the human history of the Galapagos. Whalers and sailors have used this barrel for hundreds of years to communicate with their loved ones back home, and we kept up the tradition by going through the postcards left in the barrel, looking for any that we could hand deliver.
As the day reached its end, a marvelous sunset appeared on the horizon—an indicator that our journey continues tomorrow in the living paradise of the Galapagos Islands.
