We started our day with a pre-breakfast outing to explore the north end of Floreana Island. As we began with our walk on a cindery trail we noticed the dry looking vegetation around us. This time of the year we usually have some rains, however on some islands we hardly notice any rain and Floreana is a good example of that.
Almost at the very beginning we observed Greater flamingoes in a brackish water lagoon, as well as white-cheeked pintail ducks and several finches flying around looking for food.
We arrived at a beautiful, white sandy beach that is a very important Pacific green sea turtle nesting ground. All along the beach we found several fresh tracks and although we did not see females on the shore, we found their fresh nests where they were laying eggs.
We returned aboard after this walk and after a short navigation arrived at Champion Islet. As soon as we anchored we departed on a Zodiac ride along the coast of Champion. Here we saw Galapagos sea lions, swallow-tailed gulls, and the always elusive Floreana mockingbird. Later on in the morning we returned here to snorkel from the Zodiacs in deep waters. This morning there were very large schools of fish, sea turtles, sharks and playful sea lions.
This afternoon we navigated to another site on the northern coast of Floreana Island, known as Post Office Bay. Right at this location we got to revive a whalers tradition; we looked inside a wooden barrel where travelers left mail to be hand delivered by other travelers on their way back home. After following this tradition we got to explore the coast of this bay and some nearby islets where Galapagos sea lions live most of the year and Pacific green sea turtles come to rest. As a surprise, there was a small group of Galapagos penguins on a rock where marine iguanas, sea lions, and blue footed boobies are often seen.
We returned aboard and early in the evening, with a cocktail in hand, we watched as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
