Floreana Island
Early this morning we headed to one of the most famous historic sites in Galápagos. We went to Post Office Bay. There, well hidden in the bushes, we found an old wooden barrel. Just like in the times when whalers came to Galápagos, we followed an ancient tradition. We left some letters and post cards in the barrel. One day, those cards will be picked up and hand delivered to their destinations. We also looked for letters to hand deliver back home and found a few. No stamps are needed, just the good intention and willingness to do it.
We left Post Office Bay and headed to Champion Islet which is one of the best snorkeling places in Galápagos. As we arrived to this islet in the middle of the sea, we swiftly slipped into our wetsuits and went in the water right away. We encountered sea lions, scorpion fish, lots of sea stars and some of our guests even spotted a white tipped reef shark. Some opted to go on a ride on the glass bottom boat; others went on a Zodiac ride after snorkeling to look for the very rare Floreana mockingbird. At the end of our morning we were all ready for a delicious lunch and a quick rest.
After a short navigation we got to Punta Cormorant. There we went kayaking, enjoyed the beach and later on went for a great walk. We looked at some of the endemic vegetation of Galápagos and Floreana, but we also saw several diamond sting rays swimming very close to the shore. We also found several flamingoes nesting while others were feeding.
As we explored the coast of Punta Cormorant we saw a Sally light-foot crab running in to a hole with a small baby sea turtle in its claws. Apparently it was dead and washed ashore by the tide and the lucky crab found a good meal. We cannot interfere in any way with nature so we just sat and watched the whole cycle of life taking place in front of our eyes.
We left Floreana behind and had a great sunset to end our day.
