Floreana Island
It is day three on our expedition, and the National Geographic Polaris’s itinerary took us to Floreana Island, one of the southern islands of the Galápagos archipelago. We are halfway throughout the warm season, and the island looks pretty green from the distance.
This is one of the four inhabited islands of the Galápagos archipelago, although its human population is rather small due to the constant shortage of fresh water. After an early morning wake-up call, we had a chance to land at Post Office Bay. Behind a small, quiet beach one can find a barrel nailed to a post, amidst countless memorabilia left by passing visiting boats. This is what is known as the famous Post Office Barrel, considered the oldest mailing system on this side of the Pacific Ocean. Established here in 1793 by a British Captain, it is still kept active by the many visitors to the islands. Letters or postcards are placed inside the barrel, which will eventually be hand delivered by future visitors to this place, no stamp needed.
After this visit, the ship was moved to another anchorage place by Champion Islet. Located northwest of Floreana Island, this little islet was to be a spectacular snorkeling site today. In crystal-clear waters, our fearless snorkelers jumped in to find huge schools of tropical fish, playful juvenile Galápagos sea lions, and even white-tipped reef sharks. What a treat!
Later in the morning, the National Geographic Polaris naturalists took us around the islet, to explore its shoreline on board our Zodiac fleet. This also proved to be a great success, as the main goal was to find the elusive (and critically endangered) Floreana mockingbird. This endemic bird has suffered the consequences of the introduction of several foreign species to the Floreana ecology, causing the severe decimation of its populations. The surviving individuals, approximately 150 of them, remain protected in two satellite islands off shore Floreana Island.
In the afternoon, our program included more water activities. Since the Galápagos waters are quite warm during this time of the year, why not enjoy it! Kayakers found the calm waters of Punta Cormorant, north of Floreana, the perfect place to practice their skills. A small group of beach-goers enjoyed a deserted olivine beach, while being observed by a great-blue heron nearby.
At 4pm, and with a milder air temperature, it was time to start the walk along the trails of this place. Behind the landing beach, the beautiful scene of a brackish lagoon awaited for us. At the far end of the trail, though, we were to find a huge surprise: countless sea turtles were just floating in the shallow waters of the ‘flour’ beach. These turtles were waiting for the sun to go down, in order to find a suitable nesting spot on the sand dunes. Not far from them, a large group of spotted eagle rays were swimming in circles, in a beautiful display. This was the magic of the Galápagos in action, certainly a day that will be hard to forget.
It is day three on our expedition, and the National Geographic Polaris’s itinerary took us to Floreana Island, one of the southern islands of the Galápagos archipelago. We are halfway throughout the warm season, and the island looks pretty green from the distance.
This is one of the four inhabited islands of the Galápagos archipelago, although its human population is rather small due to the constant shortage of fresh water. After an early morning wake-up call, we had a chance to land at Post Office Bay. Behind a small, quiet beach one can find a barrel nailed to a post, amidst countless memorabilia left by passing visiting boats. This is what is known as the famous Post Office Barrel, considered the oldest mailing system on this side of the Pacific Ocean. Established here in 1793 by a British Captain, it is still kept active by the many visitors to the islands. Letters or postcards are placed inside the barrel, which will eventually be hand delivered by future visitors to this place, no stamp needed.
After this visit, the ship was moved to another anchorage place by Champion Islet. Located northwest of Floreana Island, this little islet was to be a spectacular snorkeling site today. In crystal-clear waters, our fearless snorkelers jumped in to find huge schools of tropical fish, playful juvenile Galápagos sea lions, and even white-tipped reef sharks. What a treat!
Later in the morning, the National Geographic Polaris naturalists took us around the islet, to explore its shoreline on board our Zodiac fleet. This also proved to be a great success, as the main goal was to find the elusive (and critically endangered) Floreana mockingbird. This endemic bird has suffered the consequences of the introduction of several foreign species to the Floreana ecology, causing the severe decimation of its populations. The surviving individuals, approximately 150 of them, remain protected in two satellite islands off shore Floreana Island.
In the afternoon, our program included more water activities. Since the Galápagos waters are quite warm during this time of the year, why not enjoy it! Kayakers found the calm waters of Punta Cormorant, north of Floreana, the perfect place to practice their skills. A small group of beach-goers enjoyed a deserted olivine beach, while being observed by a great-blue heron nearby.
At 4pm, and with a milder air temperature, it was time to start the walk along the trails of this place. Behind the landing beach, the beautiful scene of a brackish lagoon awaited for us. At the far end of the trail, though, we were to find a huge surprise: countless sea turtles were just floating in the shallow waters of the ‘flour’ beach. These turtles were waiting for the sun to go down, in order to find a suitable nesting spot on the sand dunes. Not far from them, a large group of spotted eagle rays were swimming in circles, in a beautiful display. This was the magic of the Galápagos in action, certainly a day that will be hard to forget.
