Floreana Island
Floreana is one of the four inhabited islands of the Galápagos archipelago, and it is renowned for its rich human history besides its unique flora and fauna. An early morning outing took us to a place called Post Office Bay, north of Floreana. This has been the scenario to many episodes in the history of this island, and many famous visitors have stopped at this place, amongst them Charles Darwin, who landed here in September 1835. The Post Office barrel, standing just a few yards behind the beach, has been the only link of communication between seafarers and their countries in past times, a tradition still kept alive nowadays by travelers to the Galápagos Islands.
Upon return back on board, we sailed on board the National Geographic Polaris to our next destination off the coast of Floreana: Champion Islet. This is a remarkable place, being a favorite nesting site for many seabirds, having vast rich seas around. During a Zodiac ride we were able to observe various species like the swallow-tailed gull, brown noddy terns, Galápagos shearwaters, and storm petrels. Of course, we couldn’t miss finding Galápagos sea lions and marine iguanas along the shores of Champion. This is also the home of the endemic Floreana mockingbird, a critically endangered species whose numbers have declined severely due to introduced predators to the islands. But the wonders were not only found above the water, but also below, and three groups of snorkelers enjoyed these waters for quite a while!
After a well-earned lunch, we anchored at Punta Cormorant, where new choices were given to our guests: some of them opted for exploring the bay by kayak, while others preferred to enjoy the warmth of the beautiful olivine-green beach. After these activities, a walk was next in the program. Punta Cormorant offers us the serene views of a large lagoon, where a group of greater flamingos is often found. This resident species is said to be the pinkest flamingos in the wild in the world. Their pink coloration is incorporated in their feathers thanks to a constant supply of a carotenoid pigment, which they obtain from their diet. At the end of the walk, the sight of a white sandy beach with turquoise waters made everyone gasp. This beach is an important Pacific green sea turtle nesting site, and new nests and fresh turtle tracks were found along it since they are currently breeding in the area.
The sun sets quite early these days, so we had to quickly return back on board National Geographic Polaris. It has been a whole day experiencing the magic of the Enchanted Islands, and one cannot help falling in love with them!
Floreana is one of the four inhabited islands of the Galápagos archipelago, and it is renowned for its rich human history besides its unique flora and fauna. An early morning outing took us to a place called Post Office Bay, north of Floreana. This has been the scenario to many episodes in the history of this island, and many famous visitors have stopped at this place, amongst them Charles Darwin, who landed here in September 1835. The Post Office barrel, standing just a few yards behind the beach, has been the only link of communication between seafarers and their countries in past times, a tradition still kept alive nowadays by travelers to the Galápagos Islands.
Upon return back on board, we sailed on board the National Geographic Polaris to our next destination off the coast of Floreana: Champion Islet. This is a remarkable place, being a favorite nesting site for many seabirds, having vast rich seas around. During a Zodiac ride we were able to observe various species like the swallow-tailed gull, brown noddy terns, Galápagos shearwaters, and storm petrels. Of course, we couldn’t miss finding Galápagos sea lions and marine iguanas along the shores of Champion. This is also the home of the endemic Floreana mockingbird, a critically endangered species whose numbers have declined severely due to introduced predators to the islands. But the wonders were not only found above the water, but also below, and three groups of snorkelers enjoyed these waters for quite a while!
After a well-earned lunch, we anchored at Punta Cormorant, where new choices were given to our guests: some of them opted for exploring the bay by kayak, while others preferred to enjoy the warmth of the beautiful olivine-green beach. After these activities, a walk was next in the program. Punta Cormorant offers us the serene views of a large lagoon, where a group of greater flamingos is often found. This resident species is said to be the pinkest flamingos in the wild in the world. Their pink coloration is incorporated in their feathers thanks to a constant supply of a carotenoid pigment, which they obtain from their diet. At the end of the walk, the sight of a white sandy beach with turquoise waters made everyone gasp. This beach is an important Pacific green sea turtle nesting site, and new nests and fresh turtle tracks were found along it since they are currently breeding in the area.
The sun sets quite early these days, so we had to quickly return back on board National Geographic Polaris. It has been a whole day experiencing the magic of the Enchanted Islands, and one cannot help falling in love with them!
