Floreana
Then called Charles, Floreana is one of the four islands that Charles Darwin visited in 1835. From the distance it looks hilly, green and charming. This morning, the National Geographic Endeavour dropped anchor at Punta Cormorant, on the northern coast. Here we set foot ashore rather early in order to appreciate the beauty of this place: a greenish beach upon landing, its large, brackish lagoon whose serene waters reflected the surrounding landscape, and a white, coralline sandy beach on the other side. A solitary flamingo with amazingly bright pink plumage arrived to filter the waters of the lagoon, adding to this majestic landscape.
Along our walk we did not feel alone, as we were constantly accompanied by endemic lava lizards and Galápagos flycatchers. Upon returning on board we enjoyed a delicious breakfast, after which it was time to enjoy the warm ocean surrounding us. By then our ship had repositioned to nearby Champion Islet. Today, our guests could choose between deep-water snorkeling around the islet or exploring the underwater world from the comfort of our glass-bottom boat. Champion is an amazing little island, with rich coastline and surrounding waters despite its small size. Galápagos sea lions inhabit this place and several of them came to check us out, curious as they are. Fish of many species were all around us, amongst them blue chin parrot fishes, Moorish idols, king angel fishes and wrasses of different types. A short Zodiac ride was on the schedule before midday: we could not miss our only opportunity to find the endemic and critically endangered Floreana mockingbird, of which there are just about 150 couples left.
In the afternoon, we had a chance to see more of Floreana. Not far from Punta Cormorant lies Post Office Bay. This is a historical place for various reasons. It was the place where both Charles Darwin and Captain Fitzroy first landed on this island. It’s also the oldest post office in the Eastern Pacific. Apparently, a British whaling captain studying the local hunting grounds established a barrel here in 1793, in order to keep communication between the sailors stationed here and their families back in Britain. The tradition was certainly kept today by the many guests who picked up mail and dropped their own off at the barrel.
Nearby there is a group of small, flat islets that harbor a large population of Galápagos sea lions and various seabirds. We went there by Zodiac, and discovered that there are also other unique creatures like the Eastern Pacific green sea turtle and colorful marine iguanas. We even saw couple of Galápagos penguins that were sharing a rock with a large group of sea lions and some blue-footed boobies… what a sight!
Then it was time to enjoy the Post Office Bay beach at a more relaxed pace, or do some stretching with our wellness specialist, or a quick match of soccer against the naturalists! Tomorrow, a new island and new adventures wait for us… such is life in this paradise!
