Floreana Island

The shadows of night lifted gradually and a splendorous day appeared in front of us. Our guests came out to the deck ready to disembark at Post Office Bay, our early morning visit on the Island of Floreana. Many post cards were picked with the enthusiasm for delivering them by hand once back home. Maybe new friends would be found, and time to share the experiences obtained on the Galápagos would come with them.

The sunny conditions prevailed throughout the morning and we felt the pleasant warmth of INTI (the ancestral native name of the sun among my people) on our skin and on our souls. With it, we went and circumnavigated the Champion Islet looking for the wonderful vegetation displayed on its surface and trying to discover the fragile Charles mockingbird. There are of course many other entities living on this little island and we succeeded in finding what we were looking for. We also were enthralled by the clearness of the ocean and by how invitational it presented itself. With no rush, but at a rather fast pace we readied for the snorkeling along the shores of this islet. We were greeted by at least a dozen young sea lions that in the most curious and irreverent way, inquired about every single movement we made in the water. It was hilarious and for sure very satisfying.

In the afternoon at Punta Cormoran, we had the most pleasant time. The hyper saline lagoon present there was teaming with life. Whimbrels, Franklin’s gulls, stilts, sandpipers, they were found all over, eating, flying, calling. Dozens of flamingos were combing the bottom of the lagoon in a very special fashion called filter feeding. But the most outstanding thing of all was the fact that these flamingos are still nesting today and they have been doing so for almost five months now! Non stop! Isn’t that great?

As we crossed the isthmus from the impressive green beach (olivine based) towards the soft flour sand beach (calcium carbonate based) we encounter a number of Floreana lava lizards and a thick cover of seasonal plants all around the trail. Once we reached the white flour sand beach we were astonished by the sparkling movements of a myriad of Sally Lightfoot crabs jumping from rock to rock, feeding. As we moved further along on the beach we discovered a huge female sea turtle attempting to nest, but she was unsuccessful, and went back to the ocean. Our excitement was still high when we spotted a baby sea turtle struggling to reach the water and as she succeeded, I personally had to exclaim: That’s my girl! This was said with no chauvinism at all, just emotional respect.

The shadows started their way down again and by the time we left the island the night had taken possession of the environment. Our time to be there was over but we felt no sorrow. Tomorrow, as soon as the shadows are lifted; we will have another opportunity to commune with our mother Earth and feel the warmth of our father Sun.