Floreana & Isabela Islands
Out of the 14 islands that form the Galápagos Archipelago, Floreana was the first island to be inhabited. Nevertheless, it has the smallest human population nowadays: no more than a hundred people live on it. After an early wake up call, we prepared to land at one of the most visited places in the Galápagos: the Post Office barrel. Charles Darwin himself landed at this beach when the Beagle stopped at the Galápagos Islands during his voyage around the world in 1835. This long time tradition of leaving mail and picking up letters of postcards if traveling homebound is still maintained by the many visitors to this isolated archipelago. After our historic stopover, we boarded our Zodiacs to enjoy a tour around the nearby “Loberia,” a set of islets off the coast of Floreana that are home to a small population of Galápagos sea lions. It was a delightful visit, and the playful sea lion pups certainly made it even more special.
Next on our schedule was a chance to snorkel around Champion Isle. Many of us were impressed by the underwater life encountered there: schools of king angel fishes, razor surgeons, blue and pyramid sea stars and white-tipped reef sharks amongst other species.
Back on board Polaris, we enjoyed a well-deserved lunch while navigating toward Isabela Island for our next stop: Puerto Villamil, south of the island. This is a small fishing village still relatively isolated from the rest of the islands. The modern times are catching up with this small settlement though, and efforts are being made to attract tourism, but for now it still depends on its fishing economy. We visited its beautiful tortoise breeding center, where we learned about the Isabela giant tortoises. Its attentive staff made us feel at home.
A beautiful walk along the beach led us to the center of this cozy little town, where we would meet the Zodiacs that would bring us back on Polaris. Soon we’d have to navigate towards our next destination of tomorrow: northern Isabela.
Out of the 14 islands that form the Galápagos Archipelago, Floreana was the first island to be inhabited. Nevertheless, it has the smallest human population nowadays: no more than a hundred people live on it. After an early wake up call, we prepared to land at one of the most visited places in the Galápagos: the Post Office barrel. Charles Darwin himself landed at this beach when the Beagle stopped at the Galápagos Islands during his voyage around the world in 1835. This long time tradition of leaving mail and picking up letters of postcards if traveling homebound is still maintained by the many visitors to this isolated archipelago. After our historic stopover, we boarded our Zodiacs to enjoy a tour around the nearby “Loberia,” a set of islets off the coast of Floreana that are home to a small population of Galápagos sea lions. It was a delightful visit, and the playful sea lion pups certainly made it even more special.
Next on our schedule was a chance to snorkel around Champion Isle. Many of us were impressed by the underwater life encountered there: schools of king angel fishes, razor surgeons, blue and pyramid sea stars and white-tipped reef sharks amongst other species.
Back on board Polaris, we enjoyed a well-deserved lunch while navigating toward Isabela Island for our next stop: Puerto Villamil, south of the island. This is a small fishing village still relatively isolated from the rest of the islands. The modern times are catching up with this small settlement though, and efforts are being made to attract tourism, but for now it still depends on its fishing economy. We visited its beautiful tortoise breeding center, where we learned about the Isabela giant tortoises. Its attentive staff made us feel at home.
A beautiful walk along the beach led us to the center of this cozy little town, where we would meet the Zodiacs that would bring us back on Polaris. Soon we’d have to navigate towards our next destination of tomorrow: northern Isabela.
