Today we had an early hike at Punta Cormorant to explore the photographic opportunities on Floreana Island. This was a pre-breakfast outing where some of us got to see one dozen colorful greater Flamingos feeding on small crustaceans living in a brackish water lagoon found along the coastline of this visitor site. As the rest of the groups headed towards the other side of the landing spot, they encountered a beautiful white sand beach where some of the Pacific green sea turtles were nesting. The nesting area for sea turtles was the largest of the island, and some of us got to see some females taking a break from males by the shoreline.
After breakfast we went for a Zodiac ride around Champion islet, where some of us were lucky enough to see the rare and almost extinct Floreana mockingbird. Many seabirds were spotted nesting on the cliffs, as well as some sea lions resting on the black lava rocks. After the Zodiac ride, we went to explore the ocean life of the Galápagos and snorkeling was a great opportunity to enjoy this. Many tropical species of fish were seen, an octopus, white-tip reef sharks, lobsters, and the most fascinating part of the outing was to have the chance to play the sea lion pups—it really seemed like they had as much fun as we did swimming.
After lunch and a nice “siesta” we spent the afternoon visiting the famous Floreana post office barrel that ancient sailors used as a communication system with the rest of the world. So we followed the tradition and picked up some postcards to hand deliver once we get back home.
We finished our day with an outstanding Zodiac ride along the coast of Floreana Island, enjoying a great sunset with sea lions, blue-footed boobies, egrets, herons, and stingrays. This was the end of another great day in paradise.
