Today we spent the day visiting Floreana Island. In the morning, we disembarked for an early pre-breakfast visit to Post Office Bay where we had fun learning about the days when whalers came to the Galapagos Islands and established the first post office. This old tradition has continued, and we had the chance to drop off some postcards and take others to deliver ourselves. We also had an incredible snorkeling experience in the clear waters of Champion Islet, where we observed a number of the fish species that are common to these islands, including the white tip reef shark. We ended our visit to this island with a natural history walk at Punta Cormorant, where we had the chance to see blue-footed boobies hunting. We ended the day by enjoying a delicious dinner on the sky deck onboard National Geographic Islander II.
4/3/2023
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National Geographic Islander II
Española Island
Today we arrived at Española Island. Located in the southeastern realm of the Galapagos, Española is the oldest island in the archipelago. We started very early in the morning with an amazing pre-breakfast kayak outing along one of the island’s cliffsides. We saw many seabirds nesting and resting on the rocks along the coast. After breakfast, some of our guests disembarked on a big coralline beach named Gardner Bay. We had the opportunity to walk among a breeding colony of dozens of sea lions. At the same time, deep-water snorkelers enjoyed the deep blue with its amazing marine wildlife at Gardner Islet. Later, some of our guests went for a remarkable second kayak outing. To end the morning, everybody enjoyed the stunningly soft white sand and the turquoise waters. Guests had a pleasurable time walking along with a group of very curious Hood mockingbirds. After a delicious lunch back on board, we enjoyed a presentation about Charles Darwin from naturalist Ramiro. In the afternoon, we headed to Punta Suarez. We found a group of jumping dolphins that blew our minds. Later, we observed marine iguanas on old lava boulders where they gather in large groups for warmth. We also spotted blue-footed boobies, Nazca booby nesting grounds, a Galapagos hawk, and various other birds. Every day in the Galapagos is an opportunity to rediscover the beauty of nature through unbelievable encounters. While visiting the oldest island of the Galapagos, today was no exception.