Floreana Island
Our invigorating morning started with a Zodiac ride around “La Loberia,” a beautiful lava area surrounded by a bizarre vegetation combination of black mangroves, prickly-pear cactus, ice plants, and salt-bush. Nevertheless, sea lions were encountered lying down at the beach. Some seabirds, shorebirds and a great blue heron were seen. Furthermore, keeping our eyes towards the water, sea turtles and stingrays were found as well.
After this non-landing visit and, in order to keep the tradition of the hand-delivered mailing system of the whalers in the past, we did land at Post Office Bay. Actually, this was the first post office in South America.
In the late morning, we continued our activities in the marine world. At Champion Islet the playful sea lions showed us their acrobatic performances. Nevertheless, in the glass bottom boat we could admire the richness of the underwater ecosystem as well.
In the afternoon, we started our water activities at a geological formation known as Devil’s Crown. It is an underwater parasitic cone with a complex current system, hence its name. Thousands of fish, sea turtles, white-tipped reef sharks and spotted eagle rays were seen during the “parachuting snorkeling.”
Finally, we finished the day with an outstanding hike at Punta Cormorant. Although cormorants don’t live in the area, flamingos were feeding in a brackish lagoon. The lagoon served as a mirror, so we could be delighted by the reflection of their bright pink plumage. What an exciting day we had!
Our invigorating morning started with a Zodiac ride around “La Loberia,” a beautiful lava area surrounded by a bizarre vegetation combination of black mangroves, prickly-pear cactus, ice plants, and salt-bush. Nevertheless, sea lions were encountered lying down at the beach. Some seabirds, shorebirds and a great blue heron were seen. Furthermore, keeping our eyes towards the water, sea turtles and stingrays were found as well.
After this non-landing visit and, in order to keep the tradition of the hand-delivered mailing system of the whalers in the past, we did land at Post Office Bay. Actually, this was the first post office in South America.
In the late morning, we continued our activities in the marine world. At Champion Islet the playful sea lions showed us their acrobatic performances. Nevertheless, in the glass bottom boat we could admire the richness of the underwater ecosystem as well.
In the afternoon, we started our water activities at a geological formation known as Devil’s Crown. It is an underwater parasitic cone with a complex current system, hence its name. Thousands of fish, sea turtles, white-tipped reef sharks and spotted eagle rays were seen during the “parachuting snorkeling.”
Finally, we finished the day with an outstanding hike at Punta Cormorant. Although cormorants don’t live in the area, flamingos were feeding in a brackish lagoon. The lagoon served as a mirror, so we could be delighted by the reflection of their bright pink plumage. What an exciting day we had!
