Floreana Island

I woke up early this morning seeing with my own eyes through the window in my cabin why this island has always been deemed to be a mysterious one, as it was rainy and overcast. It is the first time in the week, after several days in our expedition onboard the National Geographic Islander, that we got some rain.

We started this day visiting one of the most historical places in the Galapagos, the famous Post Office Bay where pirates, whalers and many famous people left and picked up messages for centuries. We continued this amusing tradition. After this visit we sailed with the National Geographic Islander to Champion Islet. We had a very successful Zodiac ride where we observed the rare Floreana mockingbird at close range. After this ride most of our guests, both children and adults, enjoyed snorkeling in this paradise. Some even saw white-tipped reef sharks and most swam with young Galapagos sea lions. We came back to the ship and found a treat: a cup of hot chocolate that helped us recover after being in refreshing waters.

In the afternoon some adventurous guests opted to practice kayaking around the calm waters of the bay near Punta Cormorant. Immediately after, many kids and their parents disembarked at an olivine beach to have fun swimming and playing on it. The afternoon, in contrast with the morning, was warm with clear skies. Later on, once we had everybody on the beach, we started a relaxed walk. We stopped by a brackish lagoon hoping to see flamingos but it seems they have moved to another location searching for food. Many endemic plant species were seen as well like the cut-leaf daisy (Lecocarpus pinnatifidus). This plant is endemic not only to the Galapagos but to Floreana. We continued our walk towards a white coralline beach where we had a surprise. We spotted several green Pacific sea turtles mating and some sting rays at the shoreline. We finished up the day with big smiles in our faces while returning on the Zodiacs to our home for this week, the National Geographic Islander.

As a golden finale, just after recap and cocktail time, we had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner served in the dining room.