Galapagos Floreana Island

Floreana Island is the best place on Earth if you want peace and escape from the noisy world.

To the north of Floreana is located Post Office Bay, a charming place where you can follow the tradition of pirates and whalers of the past.

There still is a barrel where these people left mail, and every ship that passed by would look through the mail to see if they were heading to where the mail was addressed and then take it.

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Over the years thousands of ships have stopped to send and receive mail at Post Office Bay. Many have posted a sign of driftwood or other materials memorializing their visit. This is the only area in the Galapagos were graffiti is still acceptable.

The tradition lives on, and you can leave a letter for a loved one in Galapagos Floreana. Hopefully, it will be delivered by someone in the next week or so.

Floreana is one of the oldest Islands in Galapagos. It illustrates the aging process of a volcanic Island.

Unlike the younger western Islands, Floreana's volcano has been long extinct and is in the advanced stages of erosion.

The erosion process gave the Galapagos Floreana Island the nutrients and soils need to sustain plant life.

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The combination of this rich soil and a good water supply have given the highlands of Floreana a diversified landscaping of native and introduced flora.

Floreana with its caves and shelters were used by early buccaneers, as well as the first official settler of the Galapagos Islands.

He was an Irishman named Patrick Watkins who was left alone in 1803 and then settled to sell supplies to whalers.

Later residents included convicts, pirates and colonists and in the 1930's there was an intriguing history involving love, hate, and even mysterious deaths, according to John Treherne's book: The Galapagos Affair

Galapagos Floreana Island has an incredible wildlife. The famous Galapagos Finches, sea lions, marine iguanas and a lagoon populated with greater flamingos that share their home with pin tail ducks and migratory bird species that come from the Northern hemisphere.

The legendary Floreana mockingbird is extinct on the main Island, but there is a small thriving population on the small islet of Champion located off the north side of the Floreana.

The symbolic Charles mockingbird was common on Galapagos Floreana back in 1835 when Charles Darwin landed on this Island.

He captured many of them, and these birds became an important fact for the development of his Theory of Evolution.

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Devil's Crown

In the later summer months, it's a bit cold, but the shivers are well worth the view! You'll enjoy yourself seeing sharks, schools of tropical fish, corals and countless other Galapagos Marine Life

Other Galapagos Floreana Visitor Sites:

• Black Beach
• Post Office Bay
• Punta Cormorant
• Champion Islet

In Floreana Island you can also go Birdwatching to the highlands of this Island. Visit Asilo de la Paz, which is the natural water source for the Island.

Another interesting hiking adventure is to the flamingo lagoons and the nearby marine turtle nesting place.

Galapagos Recommended Reading:

The Diving Guide: Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands, is world renowned for adrenaline-charged diving and unique, fearless wildlife. These "Enchanted Islands" beckon both divers and non-divers from around the globe who come to dive with whale sharks and walk with giant tortoises. (This is the best diving guide I've ever read)

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