Floreana Island
Today we visited one of the most mysterious and special of all the islands in the Galápagos archipelago. Floreana Island is known as the first island to ever be inhabited by a human. In the early eighteen hundreds, a renegade Irish buccaneer was purposely left behind by his captain on Floreana, with a note explaining to whoever found him that he was a dangerous man. He survived on the island for two and a half years until he was eventually picked up and taken back to Guayaquil.
This island was also visited by buccaneers and whalers traveling in search of giant tortoises and fresh water. To continue with an old mailing tradition that started in 1793, we went to the famous Post Office Barrel. Our Naturalists performed a short and meaningful ceremony where some of the mail was picked up and others left behind for future pickup.
Later, we went snorkeling around Champion Islet. Colorful tropical fish, sea turtles, playful sea lions all in incredibly translucent clear water was the highlight. Then, we went bird watching and looked for the elusive Floreana Mocking bird; and all this was before lunch!!
In the afternoon, the intrepid kayakers left on their first kayak outing. After, we all disembarked for a hike at Punta Cormorant. We made a wet landing on the green-sand beach and walked over dunes to a beautiful white sand beach not far away. There, we saw hundreds of sea turtle nests on the dunes. Frigate birds were flying above, waited for the hatchlings to come out of their nests so they could feast on them. The unending life cycle helps maintain the purity of this paradise.
Today we visited one of the most mysterious and special of all the islands in the Galápagos archipelago. Floreana Island is known as the first island to ever be inhabited by a human. In the early eighteen hundreds, a renegade Irish buccaneer was purposely left behind by his captain on Floreana, with a note explaining to whoever found him that he was a dangerous man. He survived on the island for two and a half years until he was eventually picked up and taken back to Guayaquil.
This island was also visited by buccaneers and whalers traveling in search of giant tortoises and fresh water. To continue with an old mailing tradition that started in 1793, we went to the famous Post Office Barrel. Our Naturalists performed a short and meaningful ceremony where some of the mail was picked up and others left behind for future pickup.
Later, we went snorkeling around Champion Islet. Colorful tropical fish, sea turtles, playful sea lions all in incredibly translucent clear water was the highlight. Then, we went bird watching and looked for the elusive Floreana Mocking bird; and all this was before lunch!!
In the afternoon, the intrepid kayakers left on their first kayak outing. After, we all disembarked for a hike at Punta Cormorant. We made a wet landing on the green-sand beach and walked over dunes to a beautiful white sand beach not far away. There, we saw hundreds of sea turtle nests on the dunes. Frigate birds were flying above, waited for the hatchlings to come out of their nests so they could feast on them. The unending life cycle helps maintain the purity of this paradise.
