Floreana Island
We started our day at Floreana Island early in the morning, with an optional pre-breakfast landing on a green beach of olivine sand, at a site named Punta Cormorant. There we walked along a large brackish lagoon where waders and brine shrimp make their home. At the end of our trail we arrived at a second beautiful beach of fine, white coralline sand, a favorite nesting site for green sea turtles. We found fresh nests, as turtles were popping their heads out of the water, checking us out. The black lava rocks were full of colorful Sally Lightfoot crabs.
We came back on board for breakfast after the walk, while our captain took us near a small offshore volcanic cone named Champion Islet. With our Zodiacs we cruised around the islet in search of one of the most rare land birds of the Islands, the Floreana mockingbird, which once was abundant in the main island, and was eventually driven to extinction by cats, rats and other introduced species.
The rest of the morning we spent deep-water snorkeling, where several species of fish where found as well as white-tipped reef sharks, Galápagos sharks, barracudas, sea turtles and a few playful sea lions. Glass-bottom boat outings were also offered for those who didn’t want to get wet but wanted to explore the underwater life.
After lunch, we had a couple of kayak excursions, followed by Zodiac rides to explore the bay known as la Loberia. At sunset, we ended our day with a visit to the famous Post Office Bay, where a barrel is still used for an old mail swap tradition going back to the whaling days. Postcards were delivered and many were collected. That was another day in Paradise…
