Floreana Island
Early this morning we were ready to disembark and visit Post Office Bay, a historical and traditional site. The younger explorers were especially excited to go for they were taking with them post cards and letters they made and painted the day before. Just some feet away from the beach we disembarked and found a very old barrel covered with many different signs and dates. Naturalists told the fascinating story of what happened in this region during previous centuries. In the late seventeen hundreds a large fleet of whalers arrived in Galápagos. The whalers were influenced by Captain James Collnet who was commissioned to look for whales on this side of the Pacific Ocean. He established this post office station on Floreana Island in 1793. Later in the morning we navigated a small island called Champion. In this islet we had the opportunity to swim and snorkel with Galápagos sea lions and many different types of tropical fish. Glass bottom boat outings and Zodiac cruises were options as well.
In the afternoon our expedition continued in Punta Cormorant. We disembarked on a greenish sand beach. The many kids we have onboard this week had a blast. They built sand castles and practiced bodysurfing. After our time at the beach we had a relaxed walk along a brackish water lagoon where Greater flamingoes were resting and eating. The path took us to a second beach, a white coralline one. The panorama of the fine white sand with sea turtle nests and the blue ocean around it was spectacular. Some frigate birds were seen trying to catch new hatched baby turtles. It was hard to watch without wanting to intervene, but we had to understand nature and its cycle of life. Predators and their prey have to coexist and at the same time survive. In one way frigate birds are top predators that control the population of these marine reptiles. Fortunately the population of sea turtles in the Galápagos, in contrast to what is happening worldwide, is still healthy.
Early this morning we were ready to disembark and visit Post Office Bay, a historical and traditional site. The younger explorers were especially excited to go for they were taking with them post cards and letters they made and painted the day before. Just some feet away from the beach we disembarked and found a very old barrel covered with many different signs and dates. Naturalists told the fascinating story of what happened in this region during previous centuries. In the late seventeen hundreds a large fleet of whalers arrived in Galápagos. The whalers were influenced by Captain James Collnet who was commissioned to look for whales on this side of the Pacific Ocean. He established this post office station on Floreana Island in 1793. Later in the morning we navigated a small island called Champion. In this islet we had the opportunity to swim and snorkel with Galápagos sea lions and many different types of tropical fish. Glass bottom boat outings and Zodiac cruises were options as well.
In the afternoon our expedition continued in Punta Cormorant. We disembarked on a greenish sand beach. The many kids we have onboard this week had a blast. They built sand castles and practiced bodysurfing. After our time at the beach we had a relaxed walk along a brackish water lagoon where Greater flamingoes were resting and eating. The path took us to a second beach, a white coralline one. The panorama of the fine white sand with sea turtle nests and the blue ocean around it was spectacular. Some frigate birds were seen trying to catch new hatched baby turtles. It was hard to watch without wanting to intervene, but we had to understand nature and its cycle of life. Predators and their prey have to coexist and at the same time survive. In one way frigate birds are top predators that control the population of these marine reptiles. Fortunately the population of sea turtles in the Galápagos, in contrast to what is happening worldwide, is still healthy.
