Floreana Island, Galápagos

Floreana is one of the four islands visited by Charles Darwin. Then called Charles Island, after King Charles II of England, the official name for the island is Santa Maria. A main tourist feature is the barrel post box at Post Office Bay which is still in use by tourists who pick up mail to deliver to locations near their homes. In the past, probably due to the availability of fresh water, Giant tortoises were common but they served such a good source of food for visiting sailors and others the population was nearly decimated. Efforts by the Darwin Research Station are now being made to breed and  re-populate with these endemic species. There is a small human population (~160 persons) on this island. Two of the pictures in this section show a  Frigatebird in an unsuccessful attempt to capture a baby sea turtle.