Floreana Island

The very first island ever colonized during the emergence of the new republic of Ecuador in 1830, Floreana was also the first one of the islands that was used as a penal colony. A great deal of human history had passed through the fragrance of the palo santo forest; mail barrels were erected, land birds went extinct, human expeditions came and failed, and a marooned sailor became the first known resident of the archipelago, here in Floreana.

For us, today once again this old island provided great amusement and the unique opportunity to contemplate and have communion (something difficult to achieve nowadays) with nature. The visit to Post Office Bay made us to think on those days long gone when brave sailors thirsty for adventures left their hope of contacting their families in a wooden barrel in the middle of nowhere in the East Pacific ocean.

Later on, the snorkeling session at Champion Islet - simply said - overwhelmed us in such a way that once it was over, people were engaged in an exhilarating conversation that was above the normal exchange. We were happy.

In the afternoon, two full rounds of kayaking gave us time to exercise and admire nature from a different perspective, being closer to the water. The walk on Punta Cormorán afterwards was of course what we were expecting and more.

The flamingos are still nesting in a nonstop race that has no apparent explanation and that has gone on for almost four months now. Many other events were happening at the same time and they occurred in front of our eyes. Here in the Galápagos the expression “for your eyes only” have no special meaning, since things happen for all our senses at once.