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Galapagos Islands information
Floreana Island
 Floreana
is best known for its colorful history of buccaneers, pirates, whalers,
convicts, and colonists. In the early 1800s British whalers set up a “Post
Office” barrel for letters to and from England.
The practice has continued over the years, and even today visitors may drop off
letters, without stamps, to be picked up by others and hand carried to remote
destinations.
Punta Cormorant offers two highly contrasting beaches. The landing beach is of
volcanic
origin and is composed of olivine crystals, giving it a greenish tinge.
At the end of the short trail is a carbonate beach of extremely fine
white sand. Formed by the erosion of coral skeletons, it is a nesting
site for green sea turtles.
James Island (Santiago)
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 James
(Santiago) has several sites to visit in the region of James Bay at the
western end. Puerto Egas with its black sand beaches was the site of small
salt mining industry in the 1960s. A hike inland to the salt crater is an
excellent opportunity to sight land birds such as
finches, doves,
and hawks. A walk
down the rugged shoreline, especially at low tide, will turn up many marine
species.
Iguanas bask
on the rocks and sea lions
laze in the tide pools. At the end of the trail there is a series of
grottoes or sea caves where fur seals and night herons are found resting on
shady ledges.
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San Cristobal
Island
 San
Cristobal is geologically one of the oldest islands, reflected by its eroded
volcanic peaks in the north and densely vegetated slopes in the south. The
town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the capital of Galapagos Province. A bus
ride through highland farms brings you to El Junco, the only freshwater lake
in Galapagos. Cruise
to spectacular Kicker Rock, or Leon Dormido, the jagged remains of an old
tuff cone whose flanks are covered with
seabirds.
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