Floreana Island
We are now visiting one of the oldest islands in Galápagos; this happens to be also the first island that was colonized by Ecuador, when it claimed the archipelago in 1832. There is so much human history here; several people came to live here and found out that money was the least important thing here, as there was no place to use it. Others came and stayed for some time, but when they realized that fresh water was not so abundant and food was scarce, then they moved away from here. The only connection people on Floreana had with mainland was a small wooden barrel placed on Post Office Bay in the late 1700’s. We went ashore this morning to continue with the tradition of leaving our mail, and picked up letters that will be hand delivered back home.
After we returned from our visit to the barrel, we had breakfast and got ready to go snorkeling around Champion Islet. This was a marvellous session; there were sharks, sea lions, stingrays, and lots of fish.
During the afternoon some of our guests went kayaking, while others went to the beach for a swim. Later on we had a great walk where we encountered flamingoes, diamond stingrays, and we also spotted several sea turtles. Some of the turtle nests showed signs of recent activity, as this is the time of the year when most of the turtles are mating and nesting.
We got back to the ship and enjoyed sunset from the sundeck. What a way to finish our day!
We are now visiting one of the oldest islands in Galápagos; this happens to be also the first island that was colonized by Ecuador, when it claimed the archipelago in 1832. There is so much human history here; several people came to live here and found out that money was the least important thing here, as there was no place to use it. Others came and stayed for some time, but when they realized that fresh water was not so abundant and food was scarce, then they moved away from here. The only connection people on Floreana had with mainland was a small wooden barrel placed on Post Office Bay in the late 1700’s. We went ashore this morning to continue with the tradition of leaving our mail, and picked up letters that will be hand delivered back home.
After we returned from our visit to the barrel, we had breakfast and got ready to go snorkeling around Champion Islet. This was a marvellous session; there were sharks, sea lions, stingrays, and lots of fish.
During the afternoon some of our guests went kayaking, while others went to the beach for a swim. Later on we had a great walk where we encountered flamingoes, diamond stingrays, and we also spotted several sea turtles. Some of the turtle nests showed signs of recent activity, as this is the time of the year when most of the turtles are mating and nesting.
We got back to the ship and enjoyed sunset from the sundeck. What a way to finish our day!
