Post Office Bay & Punta Cormorant
Today we woke up early in the morning for a pre-breakfast visit to one of the most historical places of the Galápagos Islands: Post Office Bay. After a wet landing on the beach, it was time to follow one of the oldest Galápagos traditions by exchanging our postcards with those that have been placed into the barrel. Once we kept this old tradition alive, we returned to the National Geographic Islander and enjoyed a fantastic breakfast to get ourselves ready for the next activity. After a short sail to Champion Islet, we took a wonderful Zodiac ride to search for the rarest of all mockingbird species: The Floreana mockingbird. During our visit around Champion Islet, we saw several wonderful birds of paradise that were hiding in the area: a lot of swallow-tailed gulls were feeding their chicks; some of the Floreana mockingbirds were looking for seeds on the ground, and the elegant Red billed tropic bird was flying around.
As soon as we returned from the visit, it was time to enjoy the fantastic underwater world of Champion Islet. We experienced one of the most amazing snorkeling outings of the week: hundreds of fish surrounding us, sea lion pups playing, and four Galápagos sharks dropped by, just like unexpected visitors.
During the afternoon, the expedition got even better. Before the hike, we had a peaceful kayak activity along the shoreline of Punta Cormorant. Blue-footed boobies were the first curious visitors that accompanied us, followed by Pacific green sea turtles that were putting their heads out of the water. Later in the afternoon, we were ready to take the expedition inside Punta Cormorant. It began with a wet landing on a spectacular green sand beach; behind it, a marvelous brackish water lagoon was waiting for us with a little surprise: a Greater flamingo that was resting at the center of the landscape. The Incense trees’ forest along with the Long-haired Scalesia plants, were the perfect background for a magnificent view. Once we crossed the isthmus and arrived to the second beach, a few Pacific green sea turtle females were close to beach waiting for the perfect moment to lay their eggs at night. On the way back, we enjoyed a charming sunset that looked like a natural decoration. Today it has been one of the most fantastic days we have experienced this week at the living paradise of the Galápagos Islands.
