Floreana Island
Christmas arrived to the Galápagos Islands. We woke up ready for our first visit to the Post Office Barrel. As whalers did in the past, we sent our news to our relatives or friends, telling them about our trip and about our time here. Next time someone opens that barrel, they may take with them our letters to their destinations.
We came back ready for breakfast and later we left in the search of the Floreana mockingbird, an endemic species of mockingbird that went extinct on Floreana but still survives on two little islets. Their population is under 500 individuals but we were lucky to find several of them.
Snorkeling was a highlight. We swam with sea lions and hundreds of different fish. We gave kayakers another outing in the afternoon. Along the shore of Floreana we explored from our kayaks the cliffs where boobies were resting, sea lions sleeping, and Noddy terns nesting.
At 4 o’clock we all went ashore to look for flamingos. I haven’t seen that many in years! That was our best Christmas present… they were very close to the shore making their calls and feeding on their tiny crustaceans.
Dinner was an amazing display of different dishes. We are far away from everything but together with new friends we wish you all a Merry Christmas from our little paradise in the Pacific.
