Following Charles Darwin’s footsteps, today we visited Floreana Island.
Before breakfast, we went ashore on Punta Cormorant, on a fascinating beach of olivine sand. Here we walked along a large salt pond where few flamingos were observed. The trail, surrounded by endemic and native vegetation, led us to a second beach of incredibly fine, white, coralline sand – a favorite nesting site for green sea turtles. Some tracks were still fresh, meaning that turtle nesting activities are not over at this time of the year.
Later, after breakfast, our captain repositioned the ship near Champion Islet. This is a volcanic cone, now eroded, with rocky shores, home to sea birds and Galapagos sea lions, but also home to the remnant population of the Floreana mockingbird, which was driven to extinction by cats, rats and other introduced predators on the main island.
We explored the islet by Zodiacs in the search of these rare and unique birds (which inspired Darwin in the formulation of his theory of evolution through natural selection) and the rest of the morning we devoted to enjoy the water realms from our glass bottom boat or by snorkeling. Plenty of playful sea lions gave our guests the time of their life!
Following lunch, we spent the afternoon visiting the famous Post Office Bay. This famous landmark was first mentioned in 1793 by British Captain James Colnett and is still use to mail letters with no stamps required! Once we were done with the barrel and the human history of the Island, we continued with our exploration of the bay by Zodiacs and kayaks.
To control invasive species and to restore the ecosystem of Floreana, an ambitious restoration program is underway, the Galapagos Verde 2050. Through Lindblad-National Geographic Fund, our guests can play an important role in the restoration of these habitats. This is the only way to protect this beautiful archipelago.
