Floreana Island
On our third day in the Galápagos islands an early wake up call takes us out of our dreams. We prepared for new adventures, expecting the unexpected and a new day full of discoveries…
Our first expedition took us to Post Office Bay, an old wooden barrel was waiting to be opened in a tradition continued since the time of the whalers. Postcards had been left there by previous visitors and it was our turn to hand carry them to their destinations, while we left our own letters for the next visitors to do the same.
We went back to the ship for breakfast and meanwhile the captain took the National Geographic Polaris to our next destination, Champion Islet. You could see the excitement in everyone’s faces as we boarded the Zodiacs in our wet suits and prepared to jump in the ocean and immerse ourselves in underwater wildlife.
The water was extremely clear, allowing us to see very far down and really observe the beautiful colors of all the different tropical fishes that were surrounding us. There were some turtles and sharks also, but the sea lions were the stars of the show as there were so many of them playing everywhere, having a blast blowing bubbles right in our faces.
It was hard to leave the water and our new friends, but it was time to get ready for the next adventure. A short visit back on board to put on some dry clothes and off we were on the Zodiacs for a short ride around the island. We had fantastic sightings of all the birdlife sharing the cliff and also the few odd Floreana mockingbirds that where perching on the tree-like cacti.
In the afternoon, we moved to yet another beautiful spot called Punta Cormorant, known for its flamingo lagoon. After a wet landing on a green sand beach containing olivine crystals, we walked a very short distance and stumbled upon these wild flamingoes who seemed as though they waiting for us to start their show. Flamingoes were all over the lagoon in small batches here and there, some of them were busy feeding right in front of us, others were displaying their beautiful shapes and colors in flight.
On our third day in the Galápagos islands an early wake up call takes us out of our dreams. We prepared for new adventures, expecting the unexpected and a new day full of discoveries…
Our first expedition took us to Post Office Bay, an old wooden barrel was waiting to be opened in a tradition continued since the time of the whalers. Postcards had been left there by previous visitors and it was our turn to hand carry them to their destinations, while we left our own letters for the next visitors to do the same.
We went back to the ship for breakfast and meanwhile the captain took the National Geographic Polaris to our next destination, Champion Islet. You could see the excitement in everyone’s faces as we boarded the Zodiacs in our wet suits and prepared to jump in the ocean and immerse ourselves in underwater wildlife.
The water was extremely clear, allowing us to see very far down and really observe the beautiful colors of all the different tropical fishes that were surrounding us. There were some turtles and sharks also, but the sea lions were the stars of the show as there were so many of them playing everywhere, having a blast blowing bubbles right in our faces.
It was hard to leave the water and our new friends, but it was time to get ready for the next adventure. A short visit back on board to put on some dry clothes and off we were on the Zodiacs for a short ride around the island. We had fantastic sightings of all the birdlife sharing the cliff and also the few odd Floreana mockingbirds that where perching on the tree-like cacti.
In the afternoon, we moved to yet another beautiful spot called Punta Cormorant, known for its flamingo lagoon. After a wet landing on a green sand beach containing olivine crystals, we walked a very short distance and stumbled upon these wild flamingoes who seemed as though they waiting for us to start their show. Flamingoes were all over the lagoon in small batches here and there, some of them were busy feeding right in front of us, others were displaying their beautiful shapes and colors in flight.
