Floreana Island
Our expedition started at seven in the morning visiting Floreana Island located in the central part of the Galápagos archipelago. The place we visited is known as Post Office Bay on the northern flank of the island where the legendary post office barrel was placed in 1793.
The island is a sheltered place that happened to be a port of call back in the whaling centuries for most sailors during their long voyages around the world in search of whales.
Floreana was visited for several reasons: fresh water, giant tortoises, and wood to mention a few. This calm bay was visited by the early voyagers as they arrived to the islands and also at the time of leaving the Galápagos because it was the only place in the eastern pacific that offered them a link with their relatives back home in the case of the English whale hunters.
Floreana has an amazing wildlife: sea lions, marine iguanas and a lagoon with pink flamingos that share their habitat with Galápagos pintail ducks and many migratory species that come from North America.
The famous Floreana mockingbird was sighted as we enjoyed a Zodiac ride around Champion Islet, located on the north side of the island a couple of miles offshore. This emblematic bird was common on the main island (Floreana) back in the 1800s. When Charles Darwin landed on the island in 1835 they were still common. He captured many of them eventually becoming very important for the development of his theory.
Today Floreana mockingbirds are found on small satellite islets off Floreana where the Galápagos national park and Charles Darwin station are currently carrying out conservation programs to protect them.
Champion islet is one of the best snorkelling sites in the Galápagos, today we paid a visit to the place and we were amazed by the numbers of tropical fish that we found there. The ever charming Galápagos sea lions were so playful and approached us to play and show their swimming skills. It was just amazing, looking forward to see more!
Our expedition started at seven in the morning visiting Floreana Island located in the central part of the Galápagos archipelago. The place we visited is known as Post Office Bay on the northern flank of the island where the legendary post office barrel was placed in 1793.
The island is a sheltered place that happened to be a port of call back in the whaling centuries for most sailors during their long voyages around the world in search of whales.
Floreana was visited for several reasons: fresh water, giant tortoises, and wood to mention a few. This calm bay was visited by the early voyagers as they arrived to the islands and also at the time of leaving the Galápagos because it was the only place in the eastern pacific that offered them a link with their relatives back home in the case of the English whale hunters.
Floreana has an amazing wildlife: sea lions, marine iguanas and a lagoon with pink flamingos that share their habitat with Galápagos pintail ducks and many migratory species that come from North America.
The famous Floreana mockingbird was sighted as we enjoyed a Zodiac ride around Champion Islet, located on the north side of the island a couple of miles offshore. This emblematic bird was common on the main island (Floreana) back in the 1800s. When Charles Darwin landed on the island in 1835 they were still common. He captured many of them eventually becoming very important for the development of his theory.
Today Floreana mockingbirds are found on small satellite islets off Floreana where the Galápagos national park and Charles Darwin station are currently carrying out conservation programs to protect them.
Champion islet is one of the best snorkelling sites in the Galápagos, today we paid a visit to the place and we were amazed by the numbers of tropical fish that we found there. The ever charming Galápagos sea lions were so playful and approached us to play and show their swimming skills. It was just amazing, looking forward to see more!
