Today we spent the day visiting Floreana Island. In the morning, we disembarked for an early pre-breakfast visit to Post Office Bay where we had fun learning about the days when whalers came to the Galapagos Islands and established the first post office. This old tradition has continued, and we had the chance to drop off some postcards and take others to deliver ourselves. We also had an incredible snorkeling experience in the clear waters of Champion Islet, where we observed a number of the fish species that are common to these islands, including the white tip reef shark. We ended our visit to this island with a natural history walk at Punta Cormorant, where we had the chance to see blue-footed boobies hunting. We ended the day by enjoying a delicious dinner on the sky deck onboard National Geographic Islander II.
1/31/2023
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National Geographic Islander II
North Seymour and Rábida Islands
We woke up to a view of North Seymour Island and plenty of seabirds flying along the coastline. At about 1.7 sq km, North Seymour is a small island. The island is an uplifting, which is a rising of the ocean floor caused by the movement of tectonic plates. After a dry landing on the rocky shores, we explored farther inland and encountered a large variety of seabirds. Male frigatebirds displayed courtship rituals, blue-footed boobies danced, and land iguanas basked under the sun. What a great welcoming committee! This island offers visitors an opportunity to learn about the native and endemic flora of the Galapagos. As we walked through the incense tree forest, we observed prickly pear cacti. During our walk, some of us spotted a juvenile eastern Galapagos racer, a snake endemic to the Galapagos Islands. After the hike, we returned to the ship to get fitted for snorkeling equipment and to enjoy an incredible Andean lunch. During the afternoon, we visited Rábida Island, a place covered in red cliffs and a red sandy beach. This exploration was quite exotic; it was almost like walking on Mars with shades of red as far as one can see. During the beach exploration, we had the opportunity to snorkel. While in the water, playful Galapagos sea lions came to play with us and gave us quite the show. After snorkeling, we changed into dry clothes and went for a stroll along the beach. Behind the saltbush vegetation, we encountered a couple American flamingos nesting, some Galapagos mockingbirds, and a few Darwin’s finches. What an incredible day we had in this enchanted archipelago.
