The expedition today begun early in the morning by visiting one of the most historical Islands of the Archipelago: Floreana. The best way to begin exploration was to take a pre-breakfast hike to Punta Cormorant. After a comfortable wet landing on a spectacular inorganic sand beach, the marvels of the place were shown to our senses. The greenish color of the sand was the perfect natural decoration for a fantastic view of the bay. Farther into the trail, a natural symphony of songs was played by the various land birds found in the area: small ground finches, yellow warblers, and curious Galapagos flycatchers.
Once we reached the other side of the isthmus, we enjoyed a magical view of white combined with black lava rocks and sally light-foot crabs. As soon as we came back on board the National Geographic Endeavour, we started navigation in order to go to our next destination: Champion Islet. Home to sea birds, and sanctuary of fish, Champion is one of the iconic snorkeling places of the Islands. Once we arrived, we got everything ready for deep water snorkeling. As we went into the water, the marvels of the Galapagos Marine Reserve were revealed to us: colorful reef fishes of different species were swimming all over the place from rock to rock, but the most emblematic of all were definitely the Galapagos sea lions that showed us their swimming skills as they came very close to us.
Once the activity was over, it was time to enjoy a delightful Zodiac ride along the coastal zone of Champion Islet. Once we started exploring the coast of the islet, Galapagos sea lions looked very playful as they began biting at the edges of the Zodiacs. As soon as we reached the cliff area, we enjoyed the presence of a lot of sea birds that found the cliffs as the perfect nesting spot. At the end of the activity, we finally had the opportunity to see one of the rarest birds of the Galapagos: the Floreana mockingbird.
In the afternoon, exploration got better by visiting one of the most historical places of the Galapagos: Post Office Bay. After a wet landing on a marvelous white sand beach, we continued one of the oldest Galapagos traditions by exchanging our postcards for those left behind inside the barrel by previous guests. Later in the afternoon, we had a superb experience by exploring the coastal area of Post Office Bay in a delightful Zodiac ride. At the end of exploration, we had a charming gift from Mother Nature as the sunset behind the horizon. There was no better ending for a marvelous journey at the living paradise of the Galapagos Islands.
