Our Trip to the Galapagos Islands -- Part 4 of 5

On our third day, we sailed to Isla Floreana (also called Santa Maria or Charles).  The name "Floreana" pays tribute to Juan José Flores, the first president of Ecuador, under whose government the islands were acquired.

From the dock in Puerto Ayora, you must take a water taxi to your waiting boat.

On the way to our boat, we passed by the waterfront hotels in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz.























This is the boat we took to Floreana.  Since this was a day trip (we didn't spend the night), our boat ride was two hours each way.

There were 8 of us on the boat

After our two hour boat ride, we arrive at Floreana.

Puerto Velasco Ibarra is the main town on Floreana

The Floreana Island is one of the most popular of the Galapagos group because of the extinct volcanic origins of the island and the colorful animals that reside there. During the winter (December to May), pink flamingos and sea turtles nest on this island as well as the “Patapegada” or Galapagos petrel, a sea bird that spends most of its life away from land, is found here. The island is also famous for its proximity to the “Devil’s Crown,” which is an underwater volcanic cone, which appears to be a group of rocks jutting out of the sea in a crude circular pattern. Along the coastline, the beaches offer up two contrasts: one is beautiful, fine white sand, and the other, volcanic remains, which imparts the landing beach with a greenish tinge.

We take a short taxi ride to see the giant tortoises (Galapagueras) in their natural habitat in an area near Asilo de la Paz (Haven of Peace).  Interestingly, it reminded us of Jurassic Park!

Do you see the tortoise in the background (center of picture)

We walked by this one at first, thinking it was a rock

Look at the camera

Jurassic Park

This reminds me of "ET"

I look like a naturalist guide!

On the move

Here are videos that I took of the tortoises.  The first one shows a tortoise and the environment that they live in.

This video shows a tortoise walking, and sleeping tortoises in the background:

This last video shows two tortoises fighting:

After leaving the tortoises behind, we continue on our hike of Asilo de la Paz.

See the face on the distant rock

Another ancient face

Where we stopped for lunch

After lunch, we head to the beach.

Nursing sea lion and her calf

Pelican staying warm, out of the wind

More Sally Lightfoot Crabs

Getting ready to head back to Isla Santa Cruz

The last blog post will be about our trip to Isla Isabela.