A red sunrise, the fresh marine breeze, and the sound of finches and mockingbirds surrounded us. Those are just some of the sensations that we experienced along our journey today in the Galapagos onboard the National Geographic Islander. Today we spent a fantastic day of exploration on Floreana Island. The first site we visited was Punta Cormorant. Some endemic plants at this site are a good example of how long term efforts done by the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Station are having a positive effect on controlling invasive species. For instance, the number of Lecocarpus pinnatifidus or Galapagos sunflowers, a threatened endemic species, is currently increasing at this site, which is a good sign of the recovery of this species. We visited a wonderful white beach known as la Picona. This beach is a nesting area for the Green Pacific sea turtle. Sea turtles have been around since the late Jurassic period, roughly 150 million years ago. That means that they have survived an enormous amount of challenges for millions of years, so we are privileged to witness the place where new generations of baby sea turtles start their life cycle.
After this early morning walk, we returned to the ship to enjoy a wonderful choice of fruits for breakfast. Later on, we had a snorkeling outing on Champion Islet. The conditions were amazing, specifically we had great visibility! We observed species that are common of the Panamic region. This includes the king angelfish and the Panamic sergeant major. These species can be found in a biogeographic region that extends from Baja California to Northern Peru. Snorkeling in the Galapagos always give us the chance to spot a wide variety of fish considering the different oceanic currents which influence our marine reserve.
After lunch we visited Post Office Bay, a historical place travelled by pirates and buccaneers. It was in this place where David Porter, captain of the US Essex, found key information from the British whaling ship. Thanks to the messages that he found in this Post Office, he was able to capture the whaling British fleet. After this some of our guests took kayaks to explore the landscape and biodiversity of the area at their own pace. Other groups decided to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach, chilling and having lovely family time.
