Floreana Island
Today some of our early risers were up and ready to start with our daily activities. This outing would take place in Post Office Bay. Our objective this morning was to find an ancient place where pirates, privateers, and sailors used to put their mail in to a barrel to be later taken on and hand delivered by other sailors in their way back home; this system began around the late seventeen hundreds.
We found the famous Post Office barrel and just like sailors of long ago we took some of our postcards and letters, hoping someone will hand deliver those in the future.
After visiting this historical place we enjoyed a refreshing cool breeze during a wonderful Zodiac ride around La Loberia islet. Several large male Galápagos sea lions were admired for their magnificent beauty and display of tremendous strength while defending their territories.
After a magnificent breakfast we ventured to the Champion islet, where we went swimming and snorkeling. There was clear visibility and thousands of tropical fish swarming by around us. We drifted along the cliffs and found an area where young sea lions came to play with us.
We also went looking for the endemic Floreana mockingbird, one of the most difficult birds to observe in the world due to its small population found only on two islets on Floreana. We spotted a couple of mockingbirds and several red billed tropical birds in their nesting places. Another interesting feature of this islet was its large lava flows. These lava flows are so fascinating because it showed part of the volcanic activity that the island underwent in its very beginning.
After a well deserved lunch we went kayaking along the shore line of a couple of islets where sea lions, marine iguanas and shore birds were living. Some of us went snorkeling around Devil’s Crown where some of our most experienced guests found white tipped reef sharks and fish around this half submerged crater.
We all walked along the cindery trail of Punta Cormorant. This area is known to have lots of small fragments of olivine which gives the sand a slightly olive green color. Along the path we spotted the bright pink color of Greater flamingos; some were resting others feeding on brine shrimp in the brackish water lagoon.
It was a wonderful day in paradise.
Today some of our early risers were up and ready to start with our daily activities. This outing would take place in Post Office Bay. Our objective this morning was to find an ancient place where pirates, privateers, and sailors used to put their mail in to a barrel to be later taken on and hand delivered by other sailors in their way back home; this system began around the late seventeen hundreds.
We found the famous Post Office barrel and just like sailors of long ago we took some of our postcards and letters, hoping someone will hand deliver those in the future.
After visiting this historical place we enjoyed a refreshing cool breeze during a wonderful Zodiac ride around La Loberia islet. Several large male Galápagos sea lions were admired for their magnificent beauty and display of tremendous strength while defending their territories.
After a magnificent breakfast we ventured to the Champion islet, where we went swimming and snorkeling. There was clear visibility and thousands of tropical fish swarming by around us. We drifted along the cliffs and found an area where young sea lions came to play with us.
We also went looking for the endemic Floreana mockingbird, one of the most difficult birds to observe in the world due to its small population found only on two islets on Floreana. We spotted a couple of mockingbirds and several red billed tropical birds in their nesting places. Another interesting feature of this islet was its large lava flows. These lava flows are so fascinating because it showed part of the volcanic activity that the island underwent in its very beginning.
After a well deserved lunch we went kayaking along the shore line of a couple of islets where sea lions, marine iguanas and shore birds were living. Some of us went snorkeling around Devil’s Crown where some of our most experienced guests found white tipped reef sharks and fish around this half submerged crater.
We all walked along the cindery trail of Punta Cormorant. This area is known to have lots of small fragments of olivine which gives the sand a slightly olive green color. Along the path we spotted the bright pink color of Greater flamingos; some were resting others feeding on brine shrimp in the brackish water lagoon.
It was a wonderful day in paradise.
