Floreana Island
Today we visited an island which has a perfect balance in between wildlife and human history. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Floreana was a common stop for whalers, buccaneers and pirates. Being one of the oldest islands it has a lot of endemic species. Legends and unique species got mixed for us today.
Among the different chapters of this island history we should mention the facts that Floreana was the first inhabited island of the archipelago, and that Darwin visited this island during his trip in 1835. He met the governor of Galápagos, Nicolas Lawson, who told him he could recognize the different tortoises species by looking at the shape of their shells. Whalers kept a wooden barrel that was used (and it is still being used today) as a Post Office. Today many efforts of conservation are invested in Floreana as we will try to restore this island as an example of balance between nature and human presence.
We enjoyed an early hike that took us to one of the main nesting sites of green sea turtles. We encountered the Floreana lava lizard and the Floreana mockingbird, the hairy scalesia and the beautiful yellow flowered bush Lecocarpus, all species that are just found on this island. We snorkeled with sharks and sea lions, and we enjoyed the company of bottlenose dolphins.
Stories of the past got mixed today with the beauty of the nature. As I mentioned before, we experienced the perfect equilibrium between nature and humans today, and the most amazing feeling is the opportunity to become part of nature ourselves! We felt part of this place as visitors, as observers of these wonders or as another one of the species sharing this home of ours.
