Today’s expedition began early in the morning with a visit to Floreana, one of the most historic islands of the Galápagos archipelago. We started our exploration with a pre-breakfast hike to Punta Cormorant.
After a comfortable wet landing on a spectacular inorganic sand beach, the marvels of the place greeted our senses. The greenish color of the sand was the prefect natural decoration for a fantastic view of the bay. Farther along the trail, we heard a natural symphony of songs played by various land birds found in the area: small ground finches, yellow warblers, and curious Galápagos flycatchers. Greater flamingos feeding in the brackish water lagoon made for a perfect moment to enjoy the marvels of nature.
Once we reached the other side of the isthmus, we enjoyed a magical view of white combined with black lava rocks and Sally Lightfoot crabs. As soon as we came back on board the National Geographic Endeavour, we started navigating to our next destination: Champion Islet.
Home to seabirds and a fish sanctuary, Champion is one of the iconic snorkeling places of the Galápagos Islands. Once we arrived, we got everything ready for deepwater snorkeling. As we entered the water, the marvels of the Galápagos Marine Reserve became clear. Colorful reef fish of different species appeared everywhere. White-tipped reef sharks swam from rock to rock. Most emblematic of all were definitely the Galápagos sea lions, which showed us their swimming skills as they came very close to us.
Once the activity was over, it was time to enjoy a delightful Zodiac ride along the coastal zone of Champion Islet. As we started exploring the coast of the islet, Galápagos sea lions playfully nipped the edges of the Zodiacs. As soon as we reached the cliff area, we enjoyed the presence of many seabirds that found the cliffs to be the perfect nesting spot. At the end of the activity, we finally had the opportunity of sighting one of the rarest birds of the Galápagos: the Floreana mocking bird.
In the afternoon, we visited one of the most historic places in the Galápagos: Post Office Bay. After a wet landing on a marvelous white sand beach, we continued an old Galápagos tradition of exchanging postcards with those left inside a barrel by previous guests. Later on, we had the superb experience of exploring the coastal area of Post Office Bay in a Zodiac.
At the end of our day of exploration, we had a charming gift from Mother Nature as the sun set behind the horizon. There was no better ending to a marvelous journey to Floreana, a living paradise of the Galápagos Islands.
