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In
1832 the Galapagos were officially claimed by Ecuador and "Charles"
Island was renamed Floreana, after the first president of Ecuador.
It
is best known for its colourful history of buccaneers, pirates,
whalers, convicts, and colonists. In 1793 the Post Office
barrel was established by British whalers to send letters
to and from England. This tradition has continued over the years,
and even today visitors may drop off and pick up letters, without
stamps, to be carried to far destinations. Leave your postcard
in the barrel and see how long it takes to be delivered!.Close
to Post Office Bay is the place where the first families arrived
to live in the Galapagos - your guide will explain the history
and mystery of this story.
Recommended
sites are Punta Cormorant and Devils Crown:-
Punta
Cormorant: The sand of the landing beach contains a large
proportion of fine olivine crystals, a glassy volcanic mineral,
giving the beach its olive-green colour. Here you can see sea
lions.
See
also one of the probably best flamingo lagoons before you finally
come onto a white beach, whose sand is as fine as talcum powder.
Formed by the erosion of coral skeletons, it is a nesting site
for green sea turtles. A good chance to see rays, sea turtles
and crabs.
Around
the lagoon it is also possible to see a variety of shore birds,
pintails, stilts, and other wading birds, as well as numerous
and unique species of plants.
Devils
Crown: a marine site located a short distance from the island.
It is an old eroded volcanic cone and a popular roosting site
for seabirds such as boobies, pelicans, and frigates. Red-billed
tropicbirds nest in rocky crevices. The centre of the cone is
an outstanding snorkelling spot full of sea lions and colourful
fish.
Stories
tell that the first colonist of the Galapagos, an Irishman named
Patrick Watkins, was stranded on Floreana in 1807 and
lived by selling food supplies to visiting whaling ships. |
