Today we woke up early for a pre-breakfast hike. The sea was really calm and beautiful for a great wet landing at Punta Cormorant. All around our party there was the presence of the last remains of monumental cinder cones. At our feet, the pure green sand of a volcanic mineral called olivine. Everything was set up for wonder.
As we began our exploration, the glory of the place was displayed with an extraordinary incense tree forest, ornamented with land bird callings all over the place. We heard and saw Galápagos flycatchers and Darwin finches all over us. Upon reaching a brackish water lagoon, we also enjoyed the presence of the greater flamingo, a bird that forages on microscopic shrimp only. When we crossed the isthmus of Punta Cormorant, we reached an organic sand beach, ornamented with hundreds of nests of sea turtles, and with a lonely great blue heron, awaiting the babies to hatch. It was too much, so we returned to the National Geographic Islander on board to have breakfast.
After feeding, it was time to enjoy a Zodiac ride along the coastline of Champion Island. Baby sea lions and swallow-tailed gulls were trying to take our attention away from the main reason of our visit: the Floreana mockingbird. A mega deep-water snorkel followed suit: hundreds of reef fish, white-tipped reef sharks, and baby Galápagos sea lions made the rest of our morning.
The afternoon exploration moved towards the history of the place. We learned about the famous post office barrel, the historical visits to the Galápagos by pirates and whalers, and the cherry on top of the cake was a ride in a Zodiac around the mangrove forests of the Post Office Bay area. The sunset was the end of another day in paradise.
