Floreana Island
This morning, we went on a pre-breakfast outing to Post Office bay. In 1793 a barrel was placed on Floreana Islands by whalers and buccaneers. They left letters in it for future visitors to deliver on their way home. The barrel has become a historical site, and today, we took part in the tradition. We took letters out of the barrel to deliver to our hometown and replaced them with new ones we hope will one day be hand-delivered.
After breakfast, we got ready to explore the underwater wonders of Champion Islet, a satellite islet of Floreana. We were amazed at the variety of wildlife we spotted. We saw schools of king angel fish, salemas, sea lions and several Galápagos sharks.
The satellite islets of Floreana are very important. They hold the only existing population of the Floreana Mockingbird, which is in critical danger of extinction. Floreana Mockingbirds do not nest on the main island anymore due to predation by introduced animals. On a Zodiac ride around the island, we had the opportunity to see some of these mockingbirds.
For our afternoon expedition, we had many options. Some of us went kayaking, while others went swimming or to the beach. We all gathered after, to hike a trail that lead us further into the island. Along the way, we saw a brackish water lagoon that contains most of the population of flamingos in Galápagos. Some chicks were even spotted, as we are entering the reproductive season for these birds, with the light rain arriving this week.
At the end of the trail, there was an outstanding white sand beach, also known as one of the nesting sites for Pacific Green Sea Turtles. As a matter of fact, we were lucky to spot some of them already on land, waiting for night to come so they could lay their eggs. Various species of shore birds were also spotted.
We also learned about the mysteries of Floreana, regarding the human history of the island, since it was one of the first islands to be colonized after Ecuador claimed the Archipelago.
