Floreana Island
Post office bay is a place with rich human history and this particular island deserves a lot of attention because it was frequented many times by pirates, whale hunters and famous scientists. The most famous of them all being Charles Darwin, who after his voyage around the world came up with the theory of natural selection, based on the observations made on several islands that he visited, including the very place where we were standing today.
The post office barrel is a system that had been used by countless people throughout centuries, and even by locals back in the 1930’s when the island had a small German colony. The first part of our morning was dedicated to honour this tradition, and some of our guests took postcards and letters under the promise to deliver them personally!
Floreana has innumerable attractions, but Champion Island definitely deserves special mention for being one of the most amazing snorkelling sites in the whole archipelago. Right after breakfast we viewed its crystal clear waters; there was so much to see, from small reef fish to larger creatures. Several types of damsel fish, black stripped salemas, parrot fish and even the bizarre-looking stone scorpion fish were among common sightings, but the white tipped reef sharks stole the show, as they cruised underneath everyone during the whole outing.
The marine life is plentiful around this area, mainly because the ocean currents that bathe this specific island have the responsibility to produce the changes in the water temperature necessary to stimulate the process of reproduction of every creature.
Among all the wonders this place offers to the visitor, we encountered a group of young sea lions that delighted us with their graceful swimming skills. Later in the afternoon we visited Punta Cormorant; this area harbours a gorgeous green sand beach with calm waters for a relaxed snorkeling and kayaking.Later on we departed for a walk, just on time as an unexpected mist came down to cover almost the entire island, but at the same time bringing a nice air temperature, perfect to visit a near by lagoon with flamingos.
This brackish water lagoon has an active flamingos' breeding colony surrounded by green mangroves; the shallow water attracts a number of waders and migrants from the north such as whimbrels and ruddy turned stones. They usually migrate down to Galápagos during the cold winter up north and to experience the warmer latitudes until eventually, they set off for a long journey to their breeding grounds in the Canadian prairies.
Post office bay is a place with rich human history and this particular island deserves a lot of attention because it was frequented many times by pirates, whale hunters and famous scientists. The most famous of them all being Charles Darwin, who after his voyage around the world came up with the theory of natural selection, based on the observations made on several islands that he visited, including the very place where we were standing today.
The post office barrel is a system that had been used by countless people throughout centuries, and even by locals back in the 1930’s when the island had a small German colony. The first part of our morning was dedicated to honour this tradition, and some of our guests took postcards and letters under the promise to deliver them personally!
Floreana has innumerable attractions, but Champion Island definitely deserves special mention for being one of the most amazing snorkelling sites in the whole archipelago. Right after breakfast we viewed its crystal clear waters; there was so much to see, from small reef fish to larger creatures. Several types of damsel fish, black stripped salemas, parrot fish and even the bizarre-looking stone scorpion fish were among common sightings, but the white tipped reef sharks stole the show, as they cruised underneath everyone during the whole outing.
The marine life is plentiful around this area, mainly because the ocean currents that bathe this specific island have the responsibility to produce the changes in the water temperature necessary to stimulate the process of reproduction of every creature.
Among all the wonders this place offers to the visitor, we encountered a group of young sea lions that delighted us with their graceful swimming skills. Later in the afternoon we visited Punta Cormorant; this area harbours a gorgeous green sand beach with calm waters for a relaxed snorkeling and kayaking.Later on we departed for a walk, just on time as an unexpected mist came down to cover almost the entire island, but at the same time bringing a nice air temperature, perfect to visit a near by lagoon with flamingos.
This brackish water lagoon has an active flamingos' breeding colony surrounded by green mangroves; the shallow water attracts a number of waders and migrants from the north such as whimbrels and ruddy turned stones. They usually migrate down to Galápagos during the cold winter up north and to experience the warmer latitudes until eventually, they set off for a long journey to their breeding grounds in the Canadian prairies.
