Floreana is considered the island with the richest human history in the Galapagos. From the beginning of commercial sperm whaling to the time of Darwin´s exploration, Floreana has been the supply center of giant tortoises and fresh water. Due to its importance and strategic position, it was declared the first political capital of the new province of Galapagos back in 1832, when Ecuador took possession of the archipelago.
We left behind Espanola and after a long navigation to the west, the National Geographic Islander dropped anchor at Punta Cormorant, Floreana Island. Early in the morning we headed to the landing beach, its green color contrasted with the blue sky and the dry vegetation along the hills. We observed the lagoon behind, where some flamingos fed on small crustaceans, such as tiny copepods and shrimp, close to the shore. White cheeked pintails swam indifferently while blue footed boobies and pelicans tried to catch some fish. Walking inland we arrived at the white beach, its soft sand having received the visit of dozens of sea turtles who every night come here for nesting and abandon the island early in the morning. Everywhere we walked we observed sea turtle tracks and their nests and we even observed some of them swimming along the shallows. When we arrived at the end of the beach, a juvenile Galapagos penguin swam by with its head in the water looking for small fish such as “salemas”. He disappeared underwater and swam so fast that it resembled a small torpedo.
After breakfast we began a Zodiac ride along Champion islet, the last refuge of the “Floreana mockingbird” whose population became extinct on the main island of Floreana due to introduced animals’ depredation. Our goal was to not come back until found the elusive bird. Certainly our guests fulfilled it, because they observed several of them flying or on the tops of trees. As we continued exploring the coastline we observed interesting crevices which sheltered many other different species of birds, such as red billed tropic birds, swallow tailed gulls, and shearwaters.
After the Zodiac ride we came back to Champion islet to interact with sea life, but this time even closer. We went snorkeling with baby sea lions, sea turtles and many different species of fish, including white tipped reef sharks. The water was a little bit cold, thus we had to be well prepared with our wetsuits, but once in the water we were overcome with this unique experience.
In the afternoon after a short navigation, the National Geographic Islander dropped anchor at Post Office Bay. In the late 1700s a barrels erected meters from the landing beach had been the center of communication in the Pacific Ocean for hundreds of years. Our guests visited the old barrel with the mission of repeating the ancient procedure used by seafarers in the past, leaving their postcards inside the barrel and taking others to be hand-delivered. Our guests heard interesting stories of whalers and the first visitors, while in the air a flock of birds flew anxiously searching for food. With the last beams of sun we returned to the ship, with the best memories of this unique place called Galapagos.
