Floreana Island
Floreana Island is also called the “island of a hundred volcanoes” and is always an interesting place to visit. This morning we disembarked on a beach that was an important stop for whalers and buccaneers in the eighteen hundreds. It is called Post Office Bay. Some of our guests mailed their post cards through this traditional post office; a special hand delivery system that does not require stamps. Of course, you don’t really know when the cards will reach their destination…
Floreana was regularly visited for reasons other than its post office barrel. This was also a stop where sailors could look for water (there is a small spring in the highlands) and land tortoises to provide food for their ships. Unfortunately they took absolutely all of the tortoises that once populated this island. The Floreana tortoise is now extinct.
After breakfast this morning we anchored off the small island of Champion. Here we enjoyed outings in our glass bottom boat and snorkeling. The water was so clear that we had great visibility. This provided us with the opportunity to watch many different species of tropical fish, sharks and marine turtles.
After lunch we disembarked on an usual, greenish beach with sand made of tiny olivine crystals. Not too far inland we found flamingos in a brackish water lagoon. It was a treat to see these graceful creatures striding like slender ballet dancers through the water. Our walk ended on a lovely beach made of very fine white sand. This is one of the favorite nesting beaches of the green sea turtle. Everyone seems to have enjoyed the day immensely, and when we returned to the Polaris we were ready for a visit to the bar and the barman’s special “cocktail of the day”.
Floreana Island is also called the “island of a hundred volcanoes” and is always an interesting place to visit. This morning we disembarked on a beach that was an important stop for whalers and buccaneers in the eighteen hundreds. It is called Post Office Bay. Some of our guests mailed their post cards through this traditional post office; a special hand delivery system that does not require stamps. Of course, you don’t really know when the cards will reach their destination…
Floreana was regularly visited for reasons other than its post office barrel. This was also a stop where sailors could look for water (there is a small spring in the highlands) and land tortoises to provide food for their ships. Unfortunately they took absolutely all of the tortoises that once populated this island. The Floreana tortoise is now extinct.
After breakfast this morning we anchored off the small island of Champion. Here we enjoyed outings in our glass bottom boat and snorkeling. The water was so clear that we had great visibility. This provided us with the opportunity to watch many different species of tropical fish, sharks and marine turtles.
After lunch we disembarked on an usual, greenish beach with sand made of tiny olivine crystals. Not too far inland we found flamingos in a brackish water lagoon. It was a treat to see these graceful creatures striding like slender ballet dancers through the water. Our walk ended on a lovely beach made of very fine white sand. This is one of the favorite nesting beaches of the green sea turtle. Everyone seems to have enjoyed the day immensely, and when we returned to the Polaris we were ready for a visit to the bar and the barman’s special “cocktail of the day”.
