For the third day of our expedition, the National Geographic Islander took us to the first inhabited island of the archipelago, Floreana Island.
This island is a mixture of natural and human history. All in the same day we observed sea turtles nesting, flamingos and blue footed boobies posing for our lenses, we swam with sharks, and became part of the tradition of the oldest post office barrel in the Pacific!
Early in the morning we disembarked on the green beach of Punta Cormorant. We walked to the other side of the peninsula where we counted 26 new turtle nests! And we even found a sea turtle nesting! We saw shore birds, such as Semi-palmate plovers and Ruddy turnstones. Flamingos were the highlight of the early morning! We saw several feeding on the brackish water lagoon of Punta Cormorant and much to our surprise we found two Chilean flamingos hidden among the Greater flamingos!
We had an amazing time snorkeling! The water was crystal clear, the temperature was very warm, and sea lions were as playful as they can be. We saw sharks and all different species of colourful fish, so the time flew by.
After this active morning we enjoyed our lunch and typical Ecuadorian siesta in order to be ready for the afternoon excursions.
We landed on a different beach, behind the littoral vegetation, guarded by some land birds. We encountered Galapagos Flycatchers and Warblers hidden behind the bay. We found one of the treasures of human history in the Galapagos, the post office barrel. This barrel has been a source of communication around the world since 1792. We became part of the tradition by taking with us the post cards that were left there by other visitors, always with the promise of hand delivering them.
After this historical moment, we explored the shores of the area. Rays, sea lions, boobies, pelicans, and penguins visited us.
We returned to the National Geographic Islander with the sunset. From our open decks, with a cup of wine in our hands and a smile of our faces, we observed the sun setting behind the hills of Floreana Island. What a place to be, what a wonderful day!
