Floreana Island
The morning started with an early visit to the famous post office bay and the post office barrel located at the island of Floreana. We almost didn’t make it, since it was raining until minutes before disembarkation, but as if it were all part of the plan, once it stopped, it didn’t bother us for the rest of the morning.
Once the tradition to leave and collect post cards and letters from the barrel was successfully achieved, we repositioned the ship to a nearby location known as Champion Island. It was here where the rest of the activities were done, starting with a Zodiac ride that took us 360 degrees around the island, observing many different species of sea birds along the way, as well as the elusive Floreana Mockingbird.
It was not until later in the morning that we geared up and headed to the northern side of the island of Champion to enjoy its warm waters and the underwater marine life found in its steep cliffs. We jumped in the water and an array of different fish species were literally everywhere.
Sea lions were a big part of the morning, since they were not only on land enjoying a siesta, but some others decided to join us along the way for great acrobatic underwater ballet performances.
The afternoon had so many options that we hardly had a time for siesta, and even when everything is optional, our very eager guests don’t like missing anything!
Both rounds of kayaking were great, giving us the chance to integrate with nature in a different way; silently we navigated along the shorelines observing how life continues its normal way even with us being there.
By the time the kayak rounds were done, we headed once again to the main island of Floreana to visit a location known as Punta Cormorant.
We walked along a brackish-water lagoon and observed lots of species of shorebirds. The highlight was definitely the Flamingo population found here. Recent population studies had revealed no more than a bit over 400 greater flamingoes living in the Galápagos, which explain why we didn’t see hundreds congregated at one time, but rather a few individuals only.
The number of flamingoes did not matter to me and it did not seem to bother any of the guests, as the most important thing was to understand how special these islands are, allowing all kinds of species to live here, as there is an ecological niche for every one of them.
The end of the afternoon came and we headed back on board with not only lots of pictures, but memories that would last vividly for a long time in our minds.
The morning started with an early visit to the famous post office bay and the post office barrel located at the island of Floreana. We almost didn’t make it, since it was raining until minutes before disembarkation, but as if it were all part of the plan, once it stopped, it didn’t bother us for the rest of the morning.
Once the tradition to leave and collect post cards and letters from the barrel was successfully achieved, we repositioned the ship to a nearby location known as Champion Island. It was here where the rest of the activities were done, starting with a Zodiac ride that took us 360 degrees around the island, observing many different species of sea birds along the way, as well as the elusive Floreana Mockingbird.
It was not until later in the morning that we geared up and headed to the northern side of the island of Champion to enjoy its warm waters and the underwater marine life found in its steep cliffs. We jumped in the water and an array of different fish species were literally everywhere.
Sea lions were a big part of the morning, since they were not only on land enjoying a siesta, but some others decided to join us along the way for great acrobatic underwater ballet performances.
The afternoon had so many options that we hardly had a time for siesta, and even when everything is optional, our very eager guests don’t like missing anything!
Both rounds of kayaking were great, giving us the chance to integrate with nature in a different way; silently we navigated along the shorelines observing how life continues its normal way even with us being there.
By the time the kayak rounds were done, we headed once again to the main island of Floreana to visit a location known as Punta Cormorant.
We walked along a brackish-water lagoon and observed lots of species of shorebirds. The highlight was definitely the Flamingo population found here. Recent population studies had revealed no more than a bit over 400 greater flamingoes living in the Galápagos, which explain why we didn’t see hundreds congregated at one time, but rather a few individuals only.
The number of flamingoes did not matter to me and it did not seem to bother any of the guests, as the most important thing was to understand how special these islands are, allowing all kinds of species to live here, as there is an ecological niche for every one of them.
The end of the afternoon came and we headed back on board with not only lots of pictures, but memories that would last vividly for a long time in our minds.
