We spent today visiting Floreana Island. In the morning, we disembarked for early pre-breakfast kayaking where we saw many sea lions playing along the shoreline. Afterwards we visited the Post Office barrel, 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 over the years; we participated by dropping off some postcards of our own, and taking some others to deliver. We also had an incredible snorkeling experience in the clear waters of Champion Islet where we observed several fish species common to these islands, including the whitetip reef shark. We ended our visit to this island with a natural history walk at Punta Cormorant where we observed blue-footed boobies and flamingoes. We ended the day having a delicious dinner on the sky deck of National Geographic Islander II.
10/29/2024
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National Geographic Islander II
San Cristobal Island
Our day in the Galapagos began at Punta Pitt, where we made a wet landing on volcanic sand, greeted immediately by a baby sea lion and a white morph red-footed booby at the shore. We started our ascent up the hill, spotting numerous red-footed boobies along the way and even a blue-footed booby! The landscape was breathtaking, with vibrant red hues in the vegetation and layers of orange tuff stone creating a stunning backdrop. In the afternoon, we explored Cerro Brujo on the western side of San Cristobal Island. After landing on semi-volcanic sand, we strolled among large colonies of sea lions, leading us to a stretch of pure, powdery white sand. We joined our wellness specialist for a stretching session, then walked along the beautiful beach, marveling at the unique volcanic landscape around us. Before the sun set, we returned to National Geographic Islander II and our captain took us to Kicker Rock, an iconic eroded ash cone and a nesting site for many seabirds. With the rock glowing in the evening light, our guests raised a final toast to celebrate an unforgettable day in this extraordinary place.
