Floreana is the southernmost island in the Galapagos and is well known for the occurrence of mysterious events surrounding its early inhabitants. One infamous story is that of a woman from Germany who came from Europe to live here with three lovers. One day she and one lover disappeared without a trace and other inhabitants followed the same path of tragedy.
Before breakfast we headed to the beach for a short hike across a greenish-brown sandy beach comprised of olivine crystal which is considered a semi-precious stone. We encountered a brackish water lagoon with Greater Flamingoes, noble inhabitants of this paradise usually in the company of pintail ducks and black-necked stilts.
The trail ended at a white coralline sandy beach where green sea turtles nest throughout the year, where diamond rays concentrate by the hundreds along the shore under the breaking waves and sally light -foot crabs splash the dark lava with color.
Back onboard for breakfast, we started to navigate to a small Island, called Champion, where we disembarked for a Zodiac ride. We were in search of interesting wildlife such as sea lions, Bobbies, swallow tailed gulls, brown noddies, red-billed tropic birds and the elusive Chatham mockingbird, which became extinct on the main island due to predation by introduced animals.
We came back onboard to get ready for another exciting activity, SNORKELING, at one of the best destinations to do so. In this location large schools of fish are found, including parrot fish, king angel fish, invertebrates, echinoderms and others. What we enjoyed the best was swimming with sea lions, who entertained us throughout the session. It was a great morning.
This other destination was waiting for us after lunch and a deserved siesta. Here a wine barrel, supposedly erected in the 1790’s by a whaler, has been used to facilitate communication back home, as they were away for some years. We still follow the tradition so by writing postcards, add them to the barrel, and another fellow traveler going to the appropriate destination will hand deliver it. Also while visiting Post Office Bay, we took a Zodiac ride around Mall Island, where lots of sea lions, birds and turtles hang out. To the surprise of everyone, we encountered a Galapagos penguin standing on a rock to greet us.
We concluded this fantastic day with a sunset cocktail hour. It was a great end to a great day!
