Floreana Island
This morning we arrived at Post Office Bay, which is one of the places in the archipelago with a lot of human history. For several years this island used to be the place for pirates and buccaneers to get a fresh supply of giant tortoises, fresh water, and some even believe a place to hide and divide the stolen cargo from Spanish galleons. In 1793 Captain James Colnett described how to find a wooden barrel where anyone could leave mail, in turn picking up letters found inside the barrel in order to hand deliver it; this was the oldest mail system on this side of the Pacific Ocean. Following this tradition we landed at Post Office Bay, got to the barrel and looked through all the letters, picked up a few, and just like the whalers we also left some mail. One day our mail will be taken and hand delivered, this is our contribution to keep this tradition alive. We returned aboard for a delicious breakfast while on our way to Champion Island where we snorkeled with large schools of fish and sharks. For us, to be able to snorkel with sharks is a gift, unfortunately their populations are quickly declining in other places of the world where they are not protected.
After our aquatic activities we went around Champion Islet looking for the elusive Floreana mockingbird, and some of the sea birds that are found in large numbers around these waters. We encountered blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, brown pelicans, Galápagos shearwaters, storm petrels, and tropic birds; sea lions followed us during this Zodiac ride.
During the afternoon we went kayaking along the coast of Punta Cormorant, this was followed by a nice walk, where we saw the amazing bright pink colors of Greater flamingoes. A short distance from our landing site was “flour beach”, better known as one of the most important East Pacific sea turtle nesting sites. Although this is the end of the nesting season for the turtles, we still found several fresh nests; we noticed a small group of females swimming close to the shore. After this wonderful day we returned aboard for recap and dinner; after dinner we learned how to dance salsa and merengue under the light of a gorgeous full moon.
This morning we arrived at Post Office Bay, which is one of the places in the archipelago with a lot of human history. For several years this island used to be the place for pirates and buccaneers to get a fresh supply of giant tortoises, fresh water, and some even believe a place to hide and divide the stolen cargo from Spanish galleons. In 1793 Captain James Colnett described how to find a wooden barrel where anyone could leave mail, in turn picking up letters found inside the barrel in order to hand deliver it; this was the oldest mail system on this side of the Pacific Ocean. Following this tradition we landed at Post Office Bay, got to the barrel and looked through all the letters, picked up a few, and just like the whalers we also left some mail. One day our mail will be taken and hand delivered, this is our contribution to keep this tradition alive. We returned aboard for a delicious breakfast while on our way to Champion Island where we snorkeled with large schools of fish and sharks. For us, to be able to snorkel with sharks is a gift, unfortunately their populations are quickly declining in other places of the world where they are not protected.
After our aquatic activities we went around Champion Islet looking for the elusive Floreana mockingbird, and some of the sea birds that are found in large numbers around these waters. We encountered blue-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, brown pelicans, Galápagos shearwaters, storm petrels, and tropic birds; sea lions followed us during this Zodiac ride.
During the afternoon we went kayaking along the coast of Punta Cormorant, this was followed by a nice walk, where we saw the amazing bright pink colors of Greater flamingoes. A short distance from our landing site was “flour beach”, better known as one of the most important East Pacific sea turtle nesting sites. Although this is the end of the nesting season for the turtles, we still found several fresh nests; we noticed a small group of females swimming close to the shore. After this wonderful day we returned aboard for recap and dinner; after dinner we learned how to dance salsa and merengue under the light of a gorgeous full moon.
