Today we had the pleasure of visiting Floreana Island to explore an interesting piece of human history as well as abundant wildlife. Early in the morning, we landed at Cormorant Point and within minutes, we had numerous American flamingos before us. Floreana has a diverse landscape, with a coralline sand beach and an olivine crystal beach within just a few hundred meters of each other. Numerous Pacific green sea turtle nesting areas were spread across the dunes. A few breeding pairs of blue-footed boobies occupied the coastal area, with some invigorating whistling from some males in the distance.
By mid-morning, after a short navigation to Champion Islet, we were snorkeling among playful Galapagos sea lions and colorful fish in a rocky reef area. In the afternoon, it was time to visit Post Office Bay. This historic area has the oldest postal system in the Americas, which consisted of a wooden barrel where sailors in the 1700s would leave or take letters to be hand-delivered in an honor system. Then it was time to swim with some Galapagos penguins as they hunted for fish in the later afternoon before returning to National Geographic Endeavor II.
