Floreana Island
This morning we visited the famous Post-Office Bay, which is an old mail-swapping station first used by whalers in 1793. People on ships bound for various ports would drop off mail and pick up mail that was addressed close to their homes. Then these people would personally hand-deliver the mail. This tradition still continues today.
After a scrumptious breakfast, we put on our snorkeling gear and loaded into the Zodiacs. It was a beautiful morning, and the water at Champion Islet was a clear blue—almost a mix of cobalt and turquoise blue—and we had a solid sixty feet of visibility! We encountered White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Scorpion fish, Mobula Rays, Sea lions, Red-Spiny lobsters, a giant Hawk fish, and a beautiful purple and orange octopus (of course these name just a few creatures from our visual feast). Many of us quickly dried off after this amazing snorkeling adventure, and we hopped back into the Zodiacs in order to see the rare Charles Mockingbird found only on these satellite islands off of Floreana.
The afternoon was filled with more excitement. Some of us decided to kayak at La Loberia (where we spotted several bright-red Marine Iguanas and dozens of young Sea lions), and others went to Devil’s Crown in order to snorkel and immerse themselves in the splendor of seeing diverse aquamarine species and game fish.
Sunset this evening was one to remember, and we got to see it after a wonderful trip to Punta Cormorant. We counted forty-one flamingos out of the population of 500 on this island.
After a delicious parrillada on the upper sundeck, we all moved from starboard to port as we were treated to a wonderful show of sea lions, Galápagos sharks, and sea turtles who were working toward their own dinner of flying fish.
This morning we visited the famous Post-Office Bay, which is an old mail-swapping station first used by whalers in 1793. People on ships bound for various ports would drop off mail and pick up mail that was addressed close to their homes. Then these people would personally hand-deliver the mail. This tradition still continues today.
After a scrumptious breakfast, we put on our snorkeling gear and loaded into the Zodiacs. It was a beautiful morning, and the water at Champion Islet was a clear blue—almost a mix of cobalt and turquoise blue—and we had a solid sixty feet of visibility! We encountered White-Tipped Reef Sharks, Scorpion fish, Mobula Rays, Sea lions, Red-Spiny lobsters, a giant Hawk fish, and a beautiful purple and orange octopus (of course these name just a few creatures from our visual feast). Many of us quickly dried off after this amazing snorkeling adventure, and we hopped back into the Zodiacs in order to see the rare Charles Mockingbird found only on these satellite islands off of Floreana.
The afternoon was filled with more excitement. Some of us decided to kayak at La Loberia (where we spotted several bright-red Marine Iguanas and dozens of young Sea lions), and others went to Devil’s Crown in order to snorkel and immerse themselves in the splendor of seeing diverse aquamarine species and game fish.
Sunset this evening was one to remember, and we got to see it after a wonderful trip to Punta Cormorant. We counted forty-one flamingos out of the population of 500 on this island.
After a delicious parrillada on the upper sundeck, we all moved from starboard to port as we were treated to a wonderful show of sea lions, Galápagos sharks, and sea turtles who were working toward their own dinner of flying fish.
