Floreana & Isabela Island

It is 6:30 in the morning and it is time to start a new adventure on the Polaris. Floreana Island is our destination today. With post cards in our hands, we decided to pay a visit to the legendary post office barrel. We learned about history and the way that the post office was used as a war strategy. As we left the island behind, we were wondering who would be the one knocking on our door to personally deliver our post cards! We were also told by the naturalist strange stories of German families who were migrating to this very end of the world back in the 20s, looking for a better living. We combined this pre-breakfast trip with a Zodiac ride full of awesome sightings. Sea lions were surfing on the waves and we even encountered some sea turtles poking their heads at the surface for a quick breath. The excitement increased as we spotted a school of baby Galápagos sharks escorting one of their closest cousins, a baby hammerhead shark!

Right after breakfast, we headed for the next highlight of the day: snorkeling at Champion Island. It was great to encounter playful sea lions and tons of colourful reef fish everywhere.

We came back on board and departed immediately to Isabela Island. After only an hour of navigation, we found a pod of common dolphins riding the bow of the ship.

As soon as we dropped anchor at the bay, we left the Polaris, heading to the giant tortoises rearing center. No words can describe the amazement shown on children’s faces, when for first time during this trip, they encountered the centenarian reptiles. We all enjoyed the rest of the day in our own way; either strolling along the beach or swimming is these paradisiacal waters. To top everything off, watching the sunset on the western side of Isabela was something impossible to forget.