We went on a pre-breakfast outing to explore Cormorant Point, a sandy olivine beach made a cozy home to numerous black mangroves and a brackish water lagoon. Within the lagoon we encountered several American flamingos feeding on brine shrimp and other crustaceans. We were lucky to spot around 30 flamingos at the site, a formidable count considering so few populate the Galapagos.
Walking further inland, we encountered a white sandy beach where Pacific green sea turtles nest. Several nests were found along this beach, some having been created only the night before. Even though Pacific green sea turtles are migratory, they are selective where they establish their nests, even down to the island.
After breakfast, we went deep-water snorkeling along the coast of Champion Islet. Some of us were lucky to spot small white-tip reef sharks, large schools of yellow-tailed surgeon fish, blue-chin parrot fish, and a couple of playful Galapagos sea lions that stayed around with us for quite a while.
During the afternoon outing we visited Post Office Bay, a visitor site that is home to the oldest mailing system in the Americas. This is a very important part of the human history of the Galapagos Islands. Long ago, sailors had been dropping their mail in this wooden barrel as early as 1793, and today we follow the same tradition, looking for any post cards addressed near our homes (as it is a passive delivery system) so we may hand deliver them ourselves.
Some of us later chose to kayak along the islets full of sea lions and coves with sea turtles and golden rays, while others chose to paddleboard alongside: It hardly needs being said we had a remarkable time at Floreana Island!
