Floreana and Isabela Islands
Today we took part in one of the oldest traditions in the islands; this was to drop off mail at the infamous post office barrel located on Floreana Island. We all woke up early to travel ashore, not only to visit this barrel, perhaps the oldest postal service in South America, but also to enjoy a soothing Zodiac ride along some islets where sea lions, turtles and rays may be found resting.
It was amazing to see so much life in just this very small place. We were lucky enough to find some of the elusive marine turtles; even though they quickly swam down, some of us did manage to shoot several pictures and get positive results!
After we finished this exciting early morning outing, a delicious breakfast awaited us onboard the Polaris. It was only minutes after breakfast that we were all ready, once again, to go and explore the marine wonders of Champion islet; a place boiling with life. We were not disappointed as we encountered sharks, rays, a wide variety of fish and an amazingly great number of eels! It was certainly worth our while to fit all of these activities in one single morning!
In the afternoon, we visited the second youngest island in the Galápagos; Isabela. We sailed to the southern part of it where a small fishing village is located. Here is where the branch offices of the National Park and Darwin Station are found. One of the great conservation projects we were able to witness was the breeding center of giant tortoises; a joint effort aiming to repopulate islands with these emblematic, almost prehistoric, creatures. After we left the breeding center, we took a nice relaxing walk through a series of wetlands; it was here that many species of birds were observed. The biggest stars of this boardwalk adventure had to be the beautifully colored greater flamingos. We were so lucky to find about six of them only about one meter and a half from the trail. We managed to hang around long enough to see them feed and interact with one another. This island certainly met our wildlife expectations but also allowed us to witness how the local people live and interact; a true wonderful combination.
Today we took part in one of the oldest traditions in the islands; this was to drop off mail at the infamous post office barrel located on Floreana Island. We all woke up early to travel ashore, not only to visit this barrel, perhaps the oldest postal service in South America, but also to enjoy a soothing Zodiac ride along some islets where sea lions, turtles and rays may be found resting.
It was amazing to see so much life in just this very small place. We were lucky enough to find some of the elusive marine turtles; even though they quickly swam down, some of us did manage to shoot several pictures and get positive results!
After we finished this exciting early morning outing, a delicious breakfast awaited us onboard the Polaris. It was only minutes after breakfast that we were all ready, once again, to go and explore the marine wonders of Champion islet; a place boiling with life. We were not disappointed as we encountered sharks, rays, a wide variety of fish and an amazingly great number of eels! It was certainly worth our while to fit all of these activities in one single morning!
In the afternoon, we visited the second youngest island in the Galápagos; Isabela. We sailed to the southern part of it where a small fishing village is located. Here is where the branch offices of the National Park and Darwin Station are found. One of the great conservation projects we were able to witness was the breeding center of giant tortoises; a joint effort aiming to repopulate islands with these emblematic, almost prehistoric, creatures. After we left the breeding center, we took a nice relaxing walk through a series of wetlands; it was here that many species of birds were observed. The biggest stars of this boardwalk adventure had to be the beautifully colored greater flamingos. We were so lucky to find about six of them only about one meter and a half from the trail. We managed to hang around long enough to see them feed and interact with one another. This island certainly met our wildlife expectations but also allowed us to witness how the local people live and interact; a true wonderful combination.
