Floreana and Isabela Island
An invigorating morning had us disembarking early to visit the Post Office Barrel on Floreana Island. The first Ecuadorian Post Office and mailing system, set up by the whalers in 1793, is still an efficient way to communicate with the external and real world. So, we continue the tradition of taking mail to be hand delivered and leaving ours in turn to be taken.
During the late morning, we spent a spectacular time snorkeling with wonderful colorful fishes at Champion Islet. Big schools of razor and creole fish that look like butterflies migrating amazed us. Nevertheless, the amount of them couldn’t be compared to the variety of the different species that we could see in such a small area. Furthermore, the playful sea lions came to show us how relaxing and fun the snorkeling can be. By midday, while sailing to Isabela Island, a pod of Common dolphins were spotted and watched for a while.
Our intrepid and adventurous spirits took us in the afternoon to the inhabited village of Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island. We walked along a boardwalk where we could see the dramatic changes in the different vegetation zones, and found plenty of water birds (common stilts, pintail ducks, gallinules). We started the hike through button mangroves in the coastal zone, then to prickly pear cactus plus endemic plants in the arid zone, and we ended at the Galápagos National Park Research Station, the breeding program for tortoises is running successfully at this place. The little giant tortoises are raised in captivity until they are 8 to 9 years old, and later taken back to the location where they belong.
Our day finished with the glimpse of a beautiful sunset.
An invigorating morning had us disembarking early to visit the Post Office Barrel on Floreana Island. The first Ecuadorian Post Office and mailing system, set up by the whalers in 1793, is still an efficient way to communicate with the external and real world. So, we continue the tradition of taking mail to be hand delivered and leaving ours in turn to be taken.
During the late morning, we spent a spectacular time snorkeling with wonderful colorful fishes at Champion Islet. Big schools of razor and creole fish that look like butterflies migrating amazed us. Nevertheless, the amount of them couldn’t be compared to the variety of the different species that we could see in such a small area. Furthermore, the playful sea lions came to show us how relaxing and fun the snorkeling can be. By midday, while sailing to Isabela Island, a pod of Common dolphins were spotted and watched for a while.
Our intrepid and adventurous spirits took us in the afternoon to the inhabited village of Puerto Villamil on Isabela Island. We walked along a boardwalk where we could see the dramatic changes in the different vegetation zones, and found plenty of water birds (common stilts, pintail ducks, gallinules). We started the hike through button mangroves in the coastal zone, then to prickly pear cactus plus endemic plants in the arid zone, and we ended at the Galápagos National Park Research Station, the breeding program for tortoises is running successfully at this place. The little giant tortoises are raised in captivity until they are 8 to 9 years old, and later taken back to the location where they belong.
Our day finished with the glimpse of a beautiful sunset.
