Floreana Island
Today I woke up in great spirits. Every single day, every minute, every second I spend in this magical archipelago is treasured deep in my heart and mind. This day, as usual, did not let me down for we had a memorable one.
Early in the morning we disembarked on Floreana Island at Post Office Bay, there, following an old sea farers’ tradition we collected some postcards with the intention of hand delivering them without using stamps. We returned to our ship and after a well-deserved breakfast our ship took us to Champion Islet where we had a Zodiac ride along its beautiful coastline. The weather was spectacular and so were the views. A mature forest of huge Prickly pear cacti (Opuntia megasperma) dominated the volcanic scenery. A group of Nazca Boobies (Sula grantii) gave us a great show today. They were fighting for a big reddish fish identified as a Creole fish (Paranthias colonus). It was amusing to observe how greedily the birds were involved in a stiff competition trying hard to be the final owner of the morsel. At the end one of the boobies got the fish for itself but being so big it was hard for the booby to swallow it.
Just after this successful ride we came back onboard to get geared up for our planned deep water snorkeling near Champion islet. We all were positively impressed! The richness of the marine life in this particular place always takes my breath away. Observing Galápagos sea lions underwater make these marine mammals one of the most charming and beloved animals of the islands.
In the afternoon we began our kayaking activity along the coastline around Punta Cormorant. Later on we went ashore for an afternoon walk. On the trail we sensed the fragrant smell of the incense trees (Bursera graveolens) that abound in this visitors’ site. We reached one of the most beautiful beaches in the archipelago. The white sand found here is so fine and soft that it is often compared to cooking flour. This beach is a favorite place for Pacific green sea turtles for they lay hundreds of eggs there.
On the way back I could not avoid but feeling extremely happy for I must admit that this day in Floreana Island was one of my favorite on our expedition aboard the National Geographic Islander. Every single activity I planned for the day made for an exquisite combination of fun, knowledge and inspiration in this great piece of heaven on Earth!
