Floreana
Floreana Island, also known as Charles or Santa Maria, is where we started our day… an island that has an extremely rich human history; in the old times sailors came here because this is the only island of the Galápagos group that has a fresh water spring. The place was often visited by British whalers, pirates and buccaneers who sailed the southern seas; the most well-known visitor was Charles Darwin, who came here in 1835, two years after the Ecuadorian government had taken possession of the archipelago.
The white sandy beach at Punta Cormorant offers a scenic walk, and was a wonderful surprise for the early risers; the colors of the morning and the species that inhabit this place made our walk very interesting. Flamingos and Pacific green sea turtles had us talking about differences of behavior and the particular adaptations island species develop to survive in these barren conditions. The lack of fresh water diminishes the possibilities of life for most of the species we humans are familiar with.
Even though conditions for snorkeling were strong, as we got into the aquamarine waters off Champion Islet we encountered different species of tropical reef fish; even during the bay side snorkel we had a couple of close encounters with the Galápagos sea lions that kept us swimming and looking everywhere.
We visited Post Office Bay in the afternoon and saw the mail barrel placed back in 1793 with the purpose of keeping friends and family connected during the long voyages British whalers took around the South Pacific. Today, after all this time, we have managed to keep the tradition alive; our guests take postcards that have been left by previous visitors and commit to hand deliver them, just like in the old times.
A Zodiac ride along the shore of the islets was the perfect way to end our day as we headed back to the ship at sunset.
