Floreana Island
We started this unique day in the Galápagos Islands, Friday the 15th of August, with an optional pre-breakfast early morning wake-up call. After a wet landing at Post Office Bay on Floreana Island, our Naturalists told us the fantastic stories about the early buccaneers and whalers who sailed around these waters in bygone times. They set up a barrel in 1793 for their own hand-delivery mail system. We keep this tradition alive after three hundred years and it still works; often faster than the Ecuadorian postal system!
Following breakfast, we went snorkelling around Champion Islet; this was definitely one of the best snorkel sessions of the whole week. Our third outing of the morning was for bird watching around this same small islet. We were searching for the elusive Floreana mockingbird which, because of heavy predation by feral animals, is now found only on two small satellite islets off the larger island of Floreana.
After a well deserved siesta, we had our two rounds of kayaking. We enjoyed the company of sea turtles and sea lions as we paddled along the shores of Punta Cormorant. At four o’clock we began an easy walk on a cindery trail that took us to the edge of a brackish lagoon where we observed ten very pink flamingos. The trail descended to a fine, brilliant white sand beach where both the kids and the adults among us enjoyed a moment to roam, relax and exalt in the peacefulness of the late afternoon. The sloping sandy dunes were riddled with sea turtle nests and off shore several adult female turtles waited for dusk so they could come out on the beach to nest.
This fabulous day was sealed with a gorgeous sunset to the east and a dazzling moon rise to the west. We can’t believe tomorrow is our last day in the islands; on the other hand, we can hardly fathom all that we have seen and experienced!
We started this unique day in the Galápagos Islands, Friday the 15th of August, with an optional pre-breakfast early morning wake-up call. After a wet landing at Post Office Bay on Floreana Island, our Naturalists told us the fantastic stories about the early buccaneers and whalers who sailed around these waters in bygone times. They set up a barrel in 1793 for their own hand-delivery mail system. We keep this tradition alive after three hundred years and it still works; often faster than the Ecuadorian postal system!
Following breakfast, we went snorkelling around Champion Islet; this was definitely one of the best snorkel sessions of the whole week. Our third outing of the morning was for bird watching around this same small islet. We were searching for the elusive Floreana mockingbird which, because of heavy predation by feral animals, is now found only on two small satellite islets off the larger island of Floreana.
After a well deserved siesta, we had our two rounds of kayaking. We enjoyed the company of sea turtles and sea lions as we paddled along the shores of Punta Cormorant. At four o’clock we began an easy walk on a cindery trail that took us to the edge of a brackish lagoon where we observed ten very pink flamingos. The trail descended to a fine, brilliant white sand beach where both the kids and the adults among us enjoyed a moment to roam, relax and exalt in the peacefulness of the late afternoon. The sloping sandy dunes were riddled with sea turtle nests and off shore several adult female turtles waited for dusk so they could come out on the beach to nest.
This fabulous day was sealed with a gorgeous sunset to the east and a dazzling moon rise to the west. We can’t believe tomorrow is our last day in the islands; on the other hand, we can hardly fathom all that we have seen and experienced!
