Floreana and Southern Isabela
We awoke at daybreak with the sun rising over the famous Post Office Bay, Floreana Island, home to a mailing system that has been in use for more than two centuries. On landing here, we could feel the presence of the hundreds of ships that had used the bay before us: pirates, whalers, scientists and adventurers, including such illustrious vessels as the HMS Beagle itself…
After dropping and picking up mail the traditional Galápagos way, we boarded Zodiacs and took a spectacular cruise to a sea lion colony, where the endearing mammals lounge about among giant Opuntia cacti that seemingly rise from the lava itself. Over breakfast, we repositioned slightly and spent the rest of the morning snorkeling among hundreds of playful sea lions and colourful reef fish, which some got to observe from the glass bottom boat.
Our expedition then continued on towards the fascinating and mysterious Isabela Island. The waters to the south of Isabela are renowned for being popular feeding grounds for many species of cetaceans, and our deck watches were rewarded by a fabulous sighting: a school of hundreds of sleek and active common dolphins, breaching and displaying their aquatic prowess all around the bow of the Polaris.
In the afternoon, we dropped anchor off the south-eastern coast of Isabela, which is by far the largest island in Galápagos, making up over half the total surface area of the archipelago. It is the only island formed by the fusion of 6 large shield volcanoes, most of which are still very active, which make up the characteristic “seahorse” shape of Isabela. This very young island was the first to become inhabited in the late 1800s and was home to a ruthless penal colony until the 1960s. The charming little fishing town of Puerto Villamil is built behind one of the most beautiful beaches in the Galápagos and belies the island’s harsh history. It is home to approximately 3000 inhabitants and is nestled in the skirts of Sierra Negra Volcano, which is the largest caldera in the islands and the site of our most recent eruption.
We partook in a variety of activities here, including a visit to the Tortoise Breeding Centre run by the Galápagos National Park Service, where endangered tortoises from Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul (the two southernmost volcanoes of Isabela) are being bred in captivity. This visit was combined with a walk through the rare wetlands of southern Isabela that offered us a great opportunity to observe how the coastal mangrove forest gradually gives way to tropical dry forest and to look out for a variety of shorebirds, including the impossibly pink flamingos of the Galápagos. Others opted for a more active option and took a long, brisk hike up to the rim of Sierra Negra to observe one of the largest calderas in the world, as well as the fuming, blackened flows that filled the caldera floor last October.
Another full but unforgettable day in this unique place…
We awoke at daybreak with the sun rising over the famous Post Office Bay, Floreana Island, home to a mailing system that has been in use for more than two centuries. On landing here, we could feel the presence of the hundreds of ships that had used the bay before us: pirates, whalers, scientists and adventurers, including such illustrious vessels as the HMS Beagle itself…
After dropping and picking up mail the traditional Galápagos way, we boarded Zodiacs and took a spectacular cruise to a sea lion colony, where the endearing mammals lounge about among giant Opuntia cacti that seemingly rise from the lava itself. Over breakfast, we repositioned slightly and spent the rest of the morning snorkeling among hundreds of playful sea lions and colourful reef fish, which some got to observe from the glass bottom boat.
Our expedition then continued on towards the fascinating and mysterious Isabela Island. The waters to the south of Isabela are renowned for being popular feeding grounds for many species of cetaceans, and our deck watches were rewarded by a fabulous sighting: a school of hundreds of sleek and active common dolphins, breaching and displaying their aquatic prowess all around the bow of the Polaris.
In the afternoon, we dropped anchor off the south-eastern coast of Isabela, which is by far the largest island in Galápagos, making up over half the total surface area of the archipelago. It is the only island formed by the fusion of 6 large shield volcanoes, most of which are still very active, which make up the characteristic “seahorse” shape of Isabela. This very young island was the first to become inhabited in the late 1800s and was home to a ruthless penal colony until the 1960s. The charming little fishing town of Puerto Villamil is built behind one of the most beautiful beaches in the Galápagos and belies the island’s harsh history. It is home to approximately 3000 inhabitants and is nestled in the skirts of Sierra Negra Volcano, which is the largest caldera in the islands and the site of our most recent eruption.
We partook in a variety of activities here, including a visit to the Tortoise Breeding Centre run by the Galápagos National Park Service, where endangered tortoises from Sierra Negra and Cerro Azul (the two southernmost volcanoes of Isabela) are being bred in captivity. This visit was combined with a walk through the rare wetlands of southern Isabela that offered us a great opportunity to observe how the coastal mangrove forest gradually gives way to tropical dry forest and to look out for a variety of shorebirds, including the impossibly pink flamingos of the Galápagos. Others opted for a more active option and took a long, brisk hike up to the rim of Sierra Negra to observe one of the largest calderas in the world, as well as the fuming, blackened flows that filled the caldera floor last October.
Another full but unforgettable day in this unique place…
