Floreana Island
Today we started early in the morning with a visit to the famous Post Office Bay, a very important place within the human history of the Galápagos Islands. The barrel appeared in this very place at the time the whalers came to the Galápagos, in the late 1700s. The Post Office Barrel was first set up and used by the whalers who needed to send news about their wellbeing to their relatives, and was later adopted by the first settlers. Today, over two centuries later, we keep this old whaling tradition alive by leaving postcards that will eventually reach their final destinations by being hand-delivered.
Later in the morning we continued our exploration of the area and anchored close to Champion Islet just offshore from the main island of Floreana. We offered our guests many different activities: snorkeling, glass bottom boat and Zodiac rides. This small volcanic cone is one of the two places where we can still observe the Floreana mockingbirds. Today we were lucky and during the Zodiac ride found a few of them among some other birds. The snorkeling was superb, the water was clear and we had a wonderful experience observing many colorful fish and the playful Galápagos sea lions.
During the afternoon we visited Punta Cormorant, located in the northwestern part of Floreana. We walked over a cindery terrain and learned about the many plants endemic to this island. We especially enjoyed the sighting of the greater flamingos in the big brackish water lagoon located behind the beach. The stunning coloration of these birds contrasted in a magical way with the dry forest that was covering the hills at their backs.
We came back on board eager to share our experiences with our fellow travelers.
Today we started early in the morning with a visit to the famous Post Office Bay, a very important place within the human history of the Galápagos Islands. The barrel appeared in this very place at the time the whalers came to the Galápagos, in the late 1700s. The Post Office Barrel was first set up and used by the whalers who needed to send news about their wellbeing to their relatives, and was later adopted by the first settlers. Today, over two centuries later, we keep this old whaling tradition alive by leaving postcards that will eventually reach their final destinations by being hand-delivered.
Later in the morning we continued our exploration of the area and anchored close to Champion Islet just offshore from the main island of Floreana. We offered our guests many different activities: snorkeling, glass bottom boat and Zodiac rides. This small volcanic cone is one of the two places where we can still observe the Floreana mockingbirds. Today we were lucky and during the Zodiac ride found a few of them among some other birds. The snorkeling was superb, the water was clear and we had a wonderful experience observing many colorful fish and the playful Galápagos sea lions.
During the afternoon we visited Punta Cormorant, located in the northwestern part of Floreana. We walked over a cindery terrain and learned about the many plants endemic to this island. We especially enjoyed the sighting of the greater flamingos in the big brackish water lagoon located behind the beach. The stunning coloration of these birds contrasted in a magical way with the dry forest that was covering the hills at their backs.
We came back on board eager to share our experiences with our fellow travelers.
