Floreana
After a long navigation from southern Isabela we arrived at one of the oldest islands in Galápagos. This island is like an open book of human history, so many stories to be told from all the different sites.
At Post Office Bay one can go back in time and think of the whalers who stopped to replenish with fresh water and tortoise meat and left behind their letters, in an old barrel, with the hope that a fellow whaler would deliver them back home to his family. On the way in, we dropped our postcards in the barrel, just like the old times, and we could see a few green back sea turtles that were starting to arrive for the mating season that should begin in a couple of weeks.
After our early land visit we had a short Zodiac cruise along the coast of Champion Islet, and we were determined to spot the elusive Charles mockingbird! This small bird escaped the main island from the feral cats and rats and now they only inhabit this small islet, furthermore, we saw a few red billed tropic birds, swallow tail gulls and flocks of Galápagos shearwaters. Back on board we quickly changed into our wetsuits for a cold, but great snorkeling outing with a playful sea lion and large schools of yellow tail surgeon fish, black striped salemas and many more.
The walk in the afternoon was over a cinder trail that was surrounded by endemic plants like the lecocarpus and scalesia, both known as Galápagos daisies; the stark palo santo with its spectacular aroma that keeps insects away reminded us that we are in the dry season that might extend until next year. At the end of the trail, however, we were dazed with the beauty of a white coralline beach that is the breeding grounds for the green back sea turtles. It was cold and windy at this side of the island, but as we walked back to the green beach the clouds cleared and the sun shone on the cinder cones and the whole landscape of gray stark palo santos glowed to give us a great preview of what will turn to be another great sunset at paradise.
