We are beginning our week with a lot of energy and our guests are very enthusiastic about exploring and learning about these enchanted islands. Today we are at Floreana, a very historical and legendary place in Galapagos, known as the island of mysteries and tragedies. Ecuador claimed the islands in 1832, and Floreana was the site of their first efforts to build a population in the archipelago. Today we are visiting three spots: Cormorant Point, Champion islet and Post office bay, in that order. So we landed early at 6:30 am, when the sun light is best for photography, and many of the sea creatures are more active. The beach where we landed has some sea lions and sea birds, the sand is greenish because of the large amount of olivine, a glass found in basalt formations. We found an adult blue-footed booby feeding its chick, the sunlight was perfect on them, and the blue feet contrasted with the green color of the sand. A magical scene! Then we walked behind the beach to a big, brackish water lagoon. There we found few greater flamingos feeding on the very nutritious ooze. These birds are very pink in Galapagos due to the amount of artemia salina, a type of shrimp rich in carotene. The morning was fabulous with a lot of surprises, including many land birds everywhere, such as finches, yellow warblers, and flycatchers.
After breakfast we got ready for a Zodiac ride around champion islet. Each island in Galapagos offers the opportunity to see new species of animals, new surprises. The islands are so different among them and their endemism is high; at Champion you can observe many sea birds like swallow-tailed gulls, red-billed tropic birds, frigates, Nazca boobies, shearwaters, and petrels. But our main goal is to find the unique species of mockingbirds found here, one of the original specimens that Darwin collected when he visited the islands in 1835. Today they are difficult to find, as they are in danger of extinction, and we have only a few dozen left, and they are only found here.
For the afternoon, we offered several options to our guests, including glass-bottom boat rides or snorkeling outings in a very beautiful area that is windy and a bit choppy but fully of marine wildlife. We also had the option of going to a much calmer, nice area, where there are fewer fish due to the lack of nutrients; you find greater numbers of marine creatures in areas that are hit by ocean currents.
In the afternoon, we navigated to Post Office Bay, where we took part in an old tradition of a mailing system by hand delivery. We were excited to send letters written by our guests to their families or friends back home, and at the same time, we were ready to pick up some of the post cards left by other visitors and hand deliver them when we return home. This system was set up in 1792 by whalers, and it was the first mailing system of South America. Today, visitors to the Galapagos have continued to keep this tradition alive.
After this great experience, we went for a Zodiac ride around the coast in search of more wildlife, while others went kayaking in the same area. We found many sea lions and green pacific marine turtles swimming around, penguins basking on the black lava, seabirds fishing in the ocean, a big aggregation of white spotted eagle rays and few cow-nosed golden rays were the highlight of the afternoon.
Finally at 5:30 pm we finished our journey, as every day the sunset was astonishing. Here in Galapagos, so many exciting things happen in one day that is very hard to pick a favorite moment. We are happy to be experiencing all of nature’s gifts on our exploration of the enchanted islands.
