On the second full day in the Galapagos Islands we visited the enigmatic island of Floreana. This is the first inhabited island in the Galapagos archipelago. This island was visited by buccaneers, privateers, as well as pirates back in the 17th century. These characters came to the island looking for fresh water and giant tortoises.
Our first outing was in Punta Cormorant. The brackish lagoon, located behind the beach, house waders that are wandering the island looking for food. Among the most emblematic species found here are the flamingos, which with their vermillion color, caught our attention. This rolling island is dotted with numerous extinct parasitic volcanic cones amidst a variety of scrubby vegetation endemic to the area. The path through the palo santo forest led us to a coralline sand beach that is used heavily by sea turtles. The first light of the day was captured by our cameras while sea turtles were resting near shore after nesting all night.
Later in the morning we headed to a small satellite islet known as Champion for a Zodiac ride and snorkeling. The islet is home of the remaining population of Floreana mockingbirds. From the Zodiac we saw a variety of sea birds such as shearwaters, brown noddies and tropicbirds that nest on the narrow cracks of the ancient lava flows. The snorkeling was outstanding this morning. The crystal clear blue water was overwhelmed by the mosaic of fish that came to the Galapagos Islands from the different marine provinces of the pacific realm.
In the afternoon we headed to the oldest mail facility in America. In 1792 a mail system was erected by buccaneer James Cornet so that sailors could communicate with their loved ones. The system works in a typical way among visitors. They take letters and postcards close to their home area and hand deliver them. This used to be an honor code among whalers and buccaneers in the 17th century. Afterwards our Zodiac drivers took us along the coastline for a ride to end this breathtaking day.
