Floreana
was the first island to be inhabited by humans. Today there are
only a handful of inhabitants. One of the most famous spots on the
island is Post Office Bay. In 1793, British navigators placed a
large wooden barrel here to leave messages and mail for homebound
voyagers. The tradition has continued until the present day. Visitors
can leave postcards to be picked up and hand delivered later by
other visitors from their destination town. Visiting yachts have
added their calling cards, pieces of carved driftwood.
After our early morning visit to Post Office Bay (where we left
and picked up some postcards), we boarded zodiaks for a cruise around
Champion Islet.
A large bull sea lion was in the middle of the bay guarding his
territory - a large colony of females on shore. Then it was back
to the ship for breakfast, followed by a snorkeling trip where we
saw hundreds of schooling fish, including the colorful king angelfish.
We played with sea lions, saw a large sea turtle and a white tip
reef shark.
Linblad has a great system for boat excursions.
Before boarding the Zodiak, everyone dons a life preserver and takes
a clip with their room number from a board. When you return, you
put the room number tag bag on the board. That way they know you
weren't left behind somewhere. When you go snorkeling, there's a
box on shore or on the Zodiak to hold your glasses, room tags, etc.
Towels are provided on the beach for snorkelers or to dry off your
feet after wet landings. While snorkeling, zodiaks follow you and
pick you up when you are ready to come back in. The zodiaks have
a nice ladder for climbing back into the zodiaks.
Our
afternoon outing was to Punta Cormorant on Floreana. The sand on
the beach has a greenish tinge due to the large amount of volcanic
mineral called olivine. A short trail leads to a brackish lagoon
holding one of the largest populations of flamingos in the Galapagos.
In honor of the Flamingos on Floreana, tonights cocktail special
was a Pink Flamingo ( a pink pina colada concoction).
A
longer trail leads to a beautiful sand beach where sea turles come
ashore to lay their eggs.
Colorful Sally Lightfoot Crabs can be found on the lava rocks along
the shore. (See Crab Photo Gallery
for more pictures and information on the Sally Lightfoot Crab).
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