Floreana Island

We were back to the mystery island again, glad to re-live moments of glory and defeat that many passed through in times already gone. There were also a decent number of Galápagos penguins to enhance our visit. Time went by quickly and we were soon enjoying an exquisite and well deserved breakfast on board once again.

At mid morning, the Zodiac ride around Champion islet filled our senses with the dramatic shapes of lava, the impressive size of the Opuntia cactus and the presence of the elusive Floreana mockingbirds. Soon after, we went snorkeling along the walls of Champion and were surrounded by hundreds of different fish in an array of colors and shapes.

In the afternoon at Punta Cormorant, the kayakers, swimmers and snorkelers left first. On shore, we found 56 flamingos in the hyper saline lagoon, all of them moving from one side of the lagoon to the other in search of food. Their pink color was very contrasting against the dull grey background that the dry forest has at this time of the year. Once we reached the flour beach, we found the turquoise water of this area intensely speckled with sting rays, while many frigates were flying around, probably looking for late turtles still to merge.

Late in the afternoon, we returned to the green beach to be picked up by the Zodiac riders to go back to the National Geographic Endeavour. It was a fulfilling experience and our guests are ready for more.