Today we visited a very special island, Floreana Island. Floreana was named after our first president, Juan José Flores, who annexed the Galápagos to Ecuador in 1832. The island is home to a mysterious human history about our first colonizers. However, the highlight of today’s visit was Floreana’s incredible natural history.
We started our day with a pre-breakfast hike to Punta Cormorant, a visitors’ site known for hosting one of the few lagoons where greater flamingos nest and feed. Indeed, we got to see them feeding, flying, and landing in the lagoon. The rest of our morning continued in the water with a breathtaking snorkeling session at Champion Islet. We observed sea turtles, playful sea lion pups, diving blue-footed boobies, and schools of different species of fish, including king angelfish, burrito grunts, razor surgeonfish, and sharks!
We thought the day could not get any better. Then bottlenose dolphins decided to join our navigation as we made our way to the next visitors’ site, Post Office Bay. This site is rich in human history; it is home to the oldest mailing system of the South Pacific. Sailors stopped and left mail in a wine barrel for passing sailors to hand deliver to their families. Today, this tradition continues for Galapagos visitors. Our day ended with kayaking, paddleboarding, and Zodiac rides along Floreana Island. It was another wonderful day in the Enchanted Islands!
