Today, we all had a great day on Floreana Island! It was a cool morning with an orange sky at sunrise and flocks of seabirds dotting the surrounding waters. This island is located in the south of the Galapagos. Its volcanic origin gives it a cool appearance with hundreds of cinder cones and black lava layers on the shore. These black lava layers are home to myriads of marine and land organisms.
Early in the morning we landed at Punta Cormorant for a leisure walk exploring the dry forest and its inhabitants. Here we found a collection of creatures such as: yellow warblers, blue footed boobies, sally light foot crabs, and more. This place also happens to be a nesting site for the pacific green sea turtles. These reptiles are residents in the Galapagos and we had several encounters with them as we explored the shore and the shallow waters. We even found their tracks on the beach, which is sign that they nested the night before.
Later in the morning we headed to Champion Island in search of the elusive Floreana mockingbird. While we explored the wildlife-rich shore of this small island we also spotted the mockingbirds. It was here that our visit was complete. Moments later we headed back to the same place, but this time to snorkel. It was sunny, the water was clear and the schools of fish were enormous! There were also plenty of sea lions, especially juveniles. At this age they are very playful.
In the afternoon we visited the legendary post office barrel of Floreana. This barrel became the most important mechanism of communication on this side of the Pacific Ocean. The users of this system were the English whalers. Later on we enjoyed kayaking and Zodiac riding amongst sea lions. At the end we celebrated with a drink at sunset and discussed the great experiences of the day.
