Floreana Island
Today we disembarked very early in the morning on Floreana Island. This is a peaceful island dotted with extinct volcanic cones. Its human history dates back two centuries from marooned whalers to pioneers and colonists, and from a toothless dentist to a self-proclaimed empress. A weird collection of inhabitants!
Upon landing on a beach, we walked to the post office barrel. This is an old mail swap tradition going back to whaling days. People leave post cards, and others come who take those addressed to areas near where they live and deliver them when they return home.
During breakfast on the ship, we sailed to Champion Islet. Here we snorkeled and swam among many different kinds of beautiful tropical fish. Very playful sea lions swam with us, coming quite close to us and impressing us with their aquatic grace. We even had the chance to see blue-footed boobies plunge diving nearby, trying to get a fish right before our eyes. The water was incredibly clear and the visibility was fabulous! The snorkeling outing was a great experience for all of our passengers; every body came back on board very excited and happy. In addition to snorkeling there were glass bottom boat outings that, those who wished to stay dry, thoroughly enjoyed. We also did a Zodiac ride around Champion Islet looking for the Floreana mockingbird. It was a very successful morning.
In the afternoon, we stepped back in our Zodiacs, and headed for Punta Cormorant. Here we made a wet landing on a greenish brown beach, and walked to the shores of a brackish lagoon where we watched greater flamingoes. This was a lovely, peaceful setting. Continuing over a hill we came to a beautiful white beach, which is a sea turtles nesting area. We returned to the ship for a sunset cocktail and evening recap where we heard the story about the mystery surrounding the early settlement on this enchanted island.
Today we disembarked very early in the morning on Floreana Island. This is a peaceful island dotted with extinct volcanic cones. Its human history dates back two centuries from marooned whalers to pioneers and colonists, and from a toothless dentist to a self-proclaimed empress. A weird collection of inhabitants!
Upon landing on a beach, we walked to the post office barrel. This is an old mail swap tradition going back to whaling days. People leave post cards, and others come who take those addressed to areas near where they live and deliver them when they return home.
During breakfast on the ship, we sailed to Champion Islet. Here we snorkeled and swam among many different kinds of beautiful tropical fish. Very playful sea lions swam with us, coming quite close to us and impressing us with their aquatic grace. We even had the chance to see blue-footed boobies plunge diving nearby, trying to get a fish right before our eyes. The water was incredibly clear and the visibility was fabulous! The snorkeling outing was a great experience for all of our passengers; every body came back on board very excited and happy. In addition to snorkeling there were glass bottom boat outings that, those who wished to stay dry, thoroughly enjoyed. We also did a Zodiac ride around Champion Islet looking for the Floreana mockingbird. It was a very successful morning.
In the afternoon, we stepped back in our Zodiacs, and headed for Punta Cormorant. Here we made a wet landing on a greenish brown beach, and walked to the shores of a brackish lagoon where we watched greater flamingoes. This was a lovely, peaceful setting. Continuing over a hill we came to a beautiful white beach, which is a sea turtles nesting area. We returned to the ship for a sunset cocktail and evening recap where we heard the story about the mystery surrounding the early settlement on this enchanted island.
