AM: Post Office Bay
Wet landing at Floreana Island; a very short walk from the beach leads us to the famous Post Office Barrel. Claimed to have been first setup in 1793 by Captain James Colnett it remains the oldest functioning “post office” in the Pacific side. The system was that whalers and fur sealers would leave addressed letters in the barrel to be picked up by homeward bound colleagues. In the spirit of maintaining tradition, visitors today are encouraged to send a letter or a post card to their loved ones back home on the middle of their cruise.
PM: Cormorant’s Point & Devil’s Crown
Wet landing. On arriving, the observant visitor will notice that olivine, a volcanic crystal, has proffered a subtle green hue on the dark beach. Our walk takes us past island-endemic Scalesia plants to a large, shallow, lagoon often inhabited by a variable number of shockingly pink greater flamingoes. Continue through a forest of “palo santo” trees to arrive at a powdery white-beach, a nesting area of green turtles. As we paddle barefoot in the shallow water we will spot diamond stingrays and white-tipped reef sharks. This coral-sand beach marks the end of our trail, and we head back to the olivine beach we landed on, to swim or snorkel amongst Sea turtles, Reef fish, Sea-lions and with luck, see white-tipped reef sharks. A small colony of penguins can sometimes be observed as well.
Continue towards one of the favorite snorkeling sites in the islands: Devil’s Crown, an eroded volcanic cone, home to an abundance of fish and marine animals. Here we’ll swim with large schools of yellow-tailed surgeonfish and creole fish; with some luck, we may spot Sea turtles, spotted eagle-rays, parrotfish, and even hammerhead sharks! The jagged “ecrowni” is a roosting area for boobies, noddies, tropicbirds, and frigates.
Then we will head to Champion Islet also happens to be the last remaining home of the island-endemic Floreana mockingbird which we may be lucky enough to see from our pangas.