In the morning, we visited the island of Floreana. This small island, located in the southeast of the archipelago, was one of the first to be colonized by Ecuadorians.
In the morning, we landed on the locally named “green beach.” The greenish coloration of the sand comes from the presence of a semiprecious stone called olivine. Olivine is formed close to the surface and in low temperature conditions when a volcanic eruption takes place. After landing in this very interesting spot, we walked towards a beautiful brackish lagoon, which is a feeding area for flamingos. Our guests had the chance to admire this amazing bird, endemic to the islands. Later, our excursion ended up at “flour beach,” named after the very fine texture of the sand. This beach is an important nesting area for Pacific green sea turtles and a resting site for cartilaginous fishes, like sharks and rays.
After coming back on board, we got ready for water activities. Guests enjoyed several tours in the glass-bottom boat around Champion Islet to look for animals, underwater vegetation, and fauna living on the side of the islet. This islet is also a great place for snorkeling. Our snorkelers had a great time and got lucky with sightings of sea lions and sea turtles in great abundance.
For our last adventure of the day, we disembarked at Post Office Bay, an iconic site with great human history. After talking about the history and telling stories about the barrel tradition, some of our guests enjoyed kayaking and others enjoyed the beach.
Today was another wonderful day in paradise.
