Floreana & Champion Islet
On the horizon we saw the glorious sunrise with a great light above our souls raising the spirit of our adventure once again. Floreana is the island with mystery behind the scenery and wildlife. Many people visited this place around the 18th century in the search of land tortoises, a food supply abundant in those times which was claimed without any restriction, ultimately driving these animals to near extinction.
If there’s something here that reminds us of those times it is Post Office Bay; an early wake up and a short Zodiac ride dropped us at the first mail system created in Ecuador. It is so fun to use this "post office box" in pretty much the same way our ancestors did by picking up those letters addressed near our homes and delivering them personally. Now that is a good way to make new friends from all over the world.
When we came back to the National Geographic Polaris breakfast was ready to fill us with the necessary energy for an excellent snorkell session around the famous Champion islet. It rarely has murky water but today it was exceptionally clear; we saw many things including sharks and sea turtles. The water was a pleasant temperature of about 76 degrees that is supposed to be here at this time of the year.
Some of us were completely relaxed after a visit to the floating spa massage table; it is a privilege to forget the rest of the world for a moment.
The afternoon was exciting with the kayaking and the greater flamingoes at the salt water lagoon of Punta Cormorant. There are no flightless cormorants here of course, but the location is named after the H.M.S Cormorant, a buccaneer that visited this place around the 17th century. The warm environment was clearly a welcome to explore the human history of Floreana and the wildlife.
On the horizon we saw the glorious sunrise with a great light above our souls raising the spirit of our adventure once again. Floreana is the island with mystery behind the scenery and wildlife. Many people visited this place around the 18th century in the search of land tortoises, a food supply abundant in those times which was claimed without any restriction, ultimately driving these animals to near extinction.
If there’s something here that reminds us of those times it is Post Office Bay; an early wake up and a short Zodiac ride dropped us at the first mail system created in Ecuador. It is so fun to use this "post office box" in pretty much the same way our ancestors did by picking up those letters addressed near our homes and delivering them personally. Now that is a good way to make new friends from all over the world.
When we came back to the National Geographic Polaris breakfast was ready to fill us with the necessary energy for an excellent snorkell session around the famous Champion islet. It rarely has murky water but today it was exceptionally clear; we saw many things including sharks and sea turtles. The water was a pleasant temperature of about 76 degrees that is supposed to be here at this time of the year.
Some of us were completely relaxed after a visit to the floating spa massage table; it is a privilege to forget the rest of the world for a moment.
The afternoon was exciting with the kayaking and the greater flamingoes at the salt water lagoon of Punta Cormorant. There are no flightless cormorants here of course, but the location is named after the H.M.S Cormorant, a buccaneer that visited this place around the 17th century. The warm environment was clearly a welcome to explore the human history of Floreana and the wildlife.
