Floreana Island
Our expedition took us to the Southeastern side of the archipelago. Floreana is an old island with some high volcanoes and some parasitic cones. In the highlands there is a little spring of fresh water due to the accumulation of vapor coming with the winds. The fact that there is fresh water, plus the presence of giant tortoises, made Floreana a strategic stopping point for whalers, buccaneers and pirates, historically. Even Darwin came to this island.
Nature has changed a lot here; tortoises became extinct, and mockingbirds have disappeared as well, but the island still keeps its beauty, offering us some incredible scenery. Floreana is the foundation of Galápagos human history. The very famous Post Office barrel is found here. The first thing we did in the morning was visit the post office! We left our postcards and took some of the ones close to our homes. There is just one rule: if you take a postcard with you, you have to hand-deliver it. No stamps are needed!
Even if the mockingbirds are extinct on the main island, there is a small population living on an islet close to Floreana. We took our zodiacs in order to find the elusive Floreana mockingbird.
Another highlight at Champion Islet is snorkeling! Today was no exception. Sea lions were outstanding, swimming with us for an hour! The variety of fish was amazing, and we had the opportunity to watch a sea lion chasing a white tip reef shark!
In the afternoon, we relaxed in our kayaks and at 4:00 PM we were ready for our hike. We saw some flamingos in the distance as we walked on the dry zone of vegetation in Punta Cormorant. The white beach with its tide pools was the right place to look for Sally light foot crabs and even some eels.
Floreana, the “Mystery Island,” has the best sunsets of the archipelago. Sunset was the perfect ending for our adventure today.
Our expedition took us to the Southeastern side of the archipelago. Floreana is an old island with some high volcanoes and some parasitic cones. In the highlands there is a little spring of fresh water due to the accumulation of vapor coming with the winds. The fact that there is fresh water, plus the presence of giant tortoises, made Floreana a strategic stopping point for whalers, buccaneers and pirates, historically. Even Darwin came to this island.
Nature has changed a lot here; tortoises became extinct, and mockingbirds have disappeared as well, but the island still keeps its beauty, offering us some incredible scenery. Floreana is the foundation of Galápagos human history. The very famous Post Office barrel is found here. The first thing we did in the morning was visit the post office! We left our postcards and took some of the ones close to our homes. There is just one rule: if you take a postcard with you, you have to hand-deliver it. No stamps are needed!
Even if the mockingbirds are extinct on the main island, there is a small population living on an islet close to Floreana. We took our zodiacs in order to find the elusive Floreana mockingbird.
Another highlight at Champion Islet is snorkeling! Today was no exception. Sea lions were outstanding, swimming with us for an hour! The variety of fish was amazing, and we had the opportunity to watch a sea lion chasing a white tip reef shark!
In the afternoon, we relaxed in our kayaks and at 4:00 PM we were ready for our hike. We saw some flamingos in the distance as we walked on the dry zone of vegetation in Punta Cormorant. The white beach with its tide pools was the right place to look for Sally light foot crabs and even some eels.
Floreana, the “Mystery Island,” has the best sunsets of the archipelago. Sunset was the perfect ending for our adventure today.
