At midnight Captain Garces had our bosun haul up the anchor of the National Geographic Islander and we left the coast of Española island heading west to Floreana. We dropped anchor at dawn in a thick fog which slowly dissipated and the day was spectacular – cool and partly cloudy/partly sunny. The pre-breakfast walk began at 0630 with a wet landing on a brownish-green beach with sand full of tiny olivine crystals. We hiked up a cindery slope and had a lovely view of a shallow brackish lagoon where over a dozen brilliant pink flamingoes were feeding in the distance. Our naturalists pointed out endemic plants that are found only on Floreana Island. Blue footed boobies were nesting on a short cliff above the beach and we were delighted to get close looks and many photos of them. One pair had a chick and another was incubating eggs. Over the hill we descended to a lovely white beach with cool fine sand where sea turtles will soon be nesting.
We motored back to the ship and after a well-deserved and hearty breakfast we were off again for the second round of morning activities. Everyone boarded our fleet of Zodiacs and with a naturalist in each, we circumnavigated the small islet of Champion. Champion is home to a couple hundred of the rare Floreana mocking birds (the third mocking bird species for us this week!) which no longer exist on the main island because of the presence of introduced and invasive cats and rats. We enjoyed seeing the elegant red billed tropic birds in their cliff side holes, shearwaters gulls and terns, the ubiquitous sea lions, and a few of the elusive mockers.
Back to the ship and we wiggled into our wetsuits and went out to snorkel with a choice of sites for both those who are experienced and those who are beginners. Conditions were fabulous and everyone had an amazing outing! There were huge numbers of colorful fish and a few playful sea lions swirling in the waters with us. The water was clear and cool and we were chilled, but very happy by the time we climbed the white ladders back into our Zodiacs.
After hot showers, lunch and siesta, I gave a talk about Charles Darwin. He spent several days on Floreana Island and it was here that his attention was drawn to the fact that tortoises from different islands had noticeably varied shell shapes. In the afternoon we visited Post Office Bay, taking postcards home to hand deliver and leaving our own. Jason took a group kayaking and Christian, Pato and I took our guests on Zodiac cruises among islets as the afternoon light turned golden. We all had a marvelous time and we saw eagle rays, a huge marble ray, sea turtles, playful sea lions and three Galapagos penguins!
As the sun began to set, the Zodiacs shuttled us back to the ship. We gathered on the sky deck to sip wine, enjoy guacamole and the last rays of sun, and we talked excitedly about yet another fabulous day in las Islas Encantadas!
