January 15th: San Cristobal to Floreana to Isabella

Today was another early morning-we left San Cristobol at 7am for Floreana and Isabella.  Floreana is a small island to the west of San Cristobol and south of Santa Cruz.  It has less than 200 inhabitants.  On our two hour boat ride, we discussed the formation and evolution of the Galapagos Islands.  These islands were created by a hot spot and move east along the Nazca continental plate.  Thus, the youngest island is Isabella and the oldest is San Cristobol.

We snorkeled around a small tuff cone on the outskirts of Floreana.  Once again, it was spectacular to be submerged in an underwater marine world.  I swam with schools of fish and even saw three sharks by the sea floor.  After snorkeling we embarked on a hike on the Floreana mainland.   It is interesting that the elevations on each island produce distinct habitats and climates.  The coast was very dry and mostly barren.  One of the only plants we saw was the cotton tree.  However, as we ascended elevation, we became surrounded by green and vegetation.  I felt as if I was walking in the rainforest.  The land became greener because the highlands were very humid from warm air rising.  We learned that many of the animal species, such as lava lizard, are only found on this island.

After we arrived at Isabella, the largest island in the archipelago, we brought our bags to our hotel.  We had a group dinner with grilled swordfish, steak, soup, rice, and ice cream.