Floreana Island
It seems as if we have travelled back in time to the era of the buccaneers and pirates… We disembarked this morning on the shores of the paradisaical Floreana to visit Post Office Bay, as many sailors have done since the 1790’s. Floreana is a land of a thousand craters and has a diverse and beautiful landscape and this morning’s expedition began on a small crescent beach.
Some of us found postcards to hand deliver and many left cards wondering, “are these postcards ever going to get home?” As a matter of fact this may be the most effective post office in all of Ecuador!
In the Zodiacs we visited la Loberia and admired our friends the sea lions sprawled on tiny beaches and smooth lava flows or splashing in the brilliant blue ocean. We also found a couple of the endemic Galápagos penguins; of which there is a very small colony on Floreana.
Following breakfast we headed off to snorkel around Champion Islet. Snorkelling with the sea lions was great! We got tired of twirling and spinning with them, however they never seemed to exhaust and obviously really enjoyed our presence. The water was alive with king angel fish and huge schools of razor surgeon fish. On a Zodiac ride around the islet we all located the elusive Floreana mocking bird.
Snorkelling at Devil’s Crown was slightly hard work, as there was a current racing through it, but worth the effort. Hundreds of fish and rays were seen. And those who chose to kayak along the shore and back to the islets of La Loberia, were delighted with close encounters with sea lions, sea turtles and sea birds.
We made a wet landing on Punta Cormorant and took an easy hike to see flamingos feeding in a brackish lagoon. Perhaps we have been following in Darwin’s foot steps today. In any case, this visit to Floreana will remain in our minds forever.
It seems as if we have travelled back in time to the era of the buccaneers and pirates… We disembarked this morning on the shores of the paradisaical Floreana to visit Post Office Bay, as many sailors have done since the 1790’s. Floreana is a land of a thousand craters and has a diverse and beautiful landscape and this morning’s expedition began on a small crescent beach.
Some of us found postcards to hand deliver and many left cards wondering, “are these postcards ever going to get home?” As a matter of fact this may be the most effective post office in all of Ecuador!
In the Zodiacs we visited la Loberia and admired our friends the sea lions sprawled on tiny beaches and smooth lava flows or splashing in the brilliant blue ocean. We also found a couple of the endemic Galápagos penguins; of which there is a very small colony on Floreana.
Following breakfast we headed off to snorkel around Champion Islet. Snorkelling with the sea lions was great! We got tired of twirling and spinning with them, however they never seemed to exhaust and obviously really enjoyed our presence. The water was alive with king angel fish and huge schools of razor surgeon fish. On a Zodiac ride around the islet we all located the elusive Floreana mocking bird.
Snorkelling at Devil’s Crown was slightly hard work, as there was a current racing through it, but worth the effort. Hundreds of fish and rays were seen. And those who chose to kayak along the shore and back to the islets of La Loberia, were delighted with close encounters with sea lions, sea turtles and sea birds.
We made a wet landing on Punta Cormorant and took an easy hike to see flamingos feeding in a brackish lagoon. Perhaps we have been following in Darwin’s foot steps today. In any case, this visit to Floreana will remain in our minds forever.
