Floreana Island
Today we visited an island which has both interesting human history and fabulous wildlife. The Galápagos archipelago was discovered just about five centuries ago, and it has been visited by many people ever since. The first to come were pirates, then buccaneers, whalers and in the early nineteen hundreds, Germans and Norwegians. The first ones chose this island as a place to rest and repair their ships. Of course food and provisions were abundant at the time, and there was a fresh water source on the island. There are so many fascinating books that tell great stories about the early visitors of Floreana. Despite all the visitors and failed attempts of being populated, Floreana remains for the most, still uninhabited. Only a very small town with around 70 to 80 people on it has been successfully developed.
This island has a population of “greater flamingos” which are truly spectacular during this time of the year. These magnificent birds are in their full pink dress all year around, and they definitely stand out from any other shore birds at the lagoon. Flamingos are social birds, and are often seen feeding in big groups in a lagoon not too far from the shoreline. Their food supply consists in brine shrimp, water boatmen, insects, and several other organisms found in this type of environment. The best part of the outing was when we discovered two tiny flamingo chicks. They were already standing by themselves in the shallow but rocky area known as “crèche” translated as “day care center” where they wait to be fed by their own parents. These little birds stole everyone’s hearts and were definitely the highlight of the day for our guests.
Today we visited an island which has both interesting human history and fabulous wildlife. The Galápagos archipelago was discovered just about five centuries ago, and it has been visited by many people ever since. The first to come were pirates, then buccaneers, whalers and in the early nineteen hundreds, Germans and Norwegians. The first ones chose this island as a place to rest and repair their ships. Of course food and provisions were abundant at the time, and there was a fresh water source on the island. There are so many fascinating books that tell great stories about the early visitors of Floreana. Despite all the visitors and failed attempts of being populated, Floreana remains for the most, still uninhabited. Only a very small town with around 70 to 80 people on it has been successfully developed.
This island has a population of “greater flamingos” which are truly spectacular during this time of the year. These magnificent birds are in their full pink dress all year around, and they definitely stand out from any other shore birds at the lagoon. Flamingos are social birds, and are often seen feeding in big groups in a lagoon not too far from the shoreline. Their food supply consists in brine shrimp, water boatmen, insects, and several other organisms found in this type of environment. The best part of the outing was when we discovered two tiny flamingo chicks. They were already standing by themselves in the shallow but rocky area known as “crèche” translated as “day care center” where they wait to be fed by their own parents. These little birds stole everyone’s hearts and were definitely the highlight of the day for our guests.
