Floreana Island, 8/21/2022, National Geographic Islander II
Aboard the
National Geographic Islander II
Galápagos
Humans played an important role in the history of Floreana Island. The island was severely impacted when humans introduced many different animals. People left behind the animals, which led to serious harm.
Despite this impact, we still had the privilege to see a lot of native and endemic wildlife. The Galapagos National Park has a mission to continue helping to restore this island.
Walter was born in a very small town on the mainland of Ecuador. His first trip to the Galápagos was when he was 12 years old, visiting friends and aunt, who had moved to the islands. From the first moment he saw the Islands, he fell in love with the...
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Our day began with a pleasant morning hike at Punta Pitt, located on the northern side of San Cristobal Island. The walk involved an uphill climb from the beach to the peak of a tuff cone. At the summit, we were rewarded with sightings of numerous blue-footed boobies nesting and a significant number of red-footed boobies, including some with chicks. Returning to the beach, we enjoyed a refreshing snorkeling session directly from the shore. In the afternoon, we concluded our wonderful week aboard with a relaxing visit to Cerro Brujo Beach.
With a very relaxing morning at Gardner Bay, our day began. Nice, sunny beach time with amazing views beside a massive colony of sea lions was a treat to start the day. We also had a wonderful opportunity to explore Gardner Islet underwater. Later at Punta Suarez, we went for a great hike with a bunch of marine birds, including waved albatrosses and a colony of the incredible Nazca boobies. We also enjoyed the unique landscape of the eroded, mature island of Española with its pronounced cliffs and crashing waves. Sally Lightfoot crabs were the cherry on top.
Today we went to Floreana Island, starting with a visit to the very famous Post Office Bay. Here we had the chance to deliver postcards through one of the oldest mailing systems in the Americas. Later on, we rode our Zodiacs to explore the small islet of Champion, where marine birds and sea lions display on the shore. We also snorkeled in this same area, and had close encounters with the playful sea lions. In the afternoon we hiked at Cormorant Point, an old tuff cone with a greenish sandy beach at its base surrounded by black mangroves. We explored the area looking for wildlife and enjoyed the presence and color of the greater American flamingos. On the other side of this visitor site there is a beautiful white sand beach, which is also a sea turtle nesting site. We enjoyed the last rays of today’s sun at this magical location.
