Overnight the catamaran traveled to Floreana island which is ~ 3 to 4 hour cruise south of Santa Cruz Island. See interactive map at: http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com/html/galapagos_interactive_map.html

Monday, we woke up to a lovely warm breezy morning and watched the rising sun as it peeked around a mountain on Floreana Island. I loved the way the boat was always moored in ‘position’ so that our first sight of the island was so picturesque.

Quite a few shipmates were up early and already on deck, surveying the ‘catch of the day – a Balao with a crab on its red-tipped lower jaw. (#613) had the misfortune of landing on the lower deck enroute to Floreana Island.

Perhaps we would be having seafood for dinner? :o)

Liz reminded us to take our postcards with us as we would be visiting the 18th century Barrel Post Office. There was a slight glitch in this plan as we needed to have purchased post cards on the first day of our cruise if we wanted to leave them at the Barrel Post Office. It’s too bad that Liz’s bosses would not take her advice and have them for sale on board the Queen Beatriz.

Nevertheless, we never tired of the vista as we travelled in our dinghy towards the shore. We were thrilled to see 4 penguins swimming in the water, not in a hurry to get out of our way. Our wet landing was uneventful and we again, were greeted by several sea lions and blue-footed boobies who were soaking up the rays. There was a lone fisherman in the bay ……………….. so quiet, so peaceful, so picturesque.

Our guide had us stash our snorkeling gear on the beach and once that was done we followed a narrow path that lead to the infamous Barrel Post office. Having seen photos of this place did not prepare me for the ‘feelings’ that came with it. The thought of 18th century English and American whalers using the barrel to keep in touch with their families struck me as being surreal and I felt so fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience it.

We spent a long time flipping through cards and then left our post cards behind in exchange for cards that we could deliver close to home. The post card for our daughter arrived 3 months later. There are 2 more postcards that are still ‘in transit’.

The morning excursion ended with a short beach snorkel. I don’t recall anything remarkable about it ….. the grey cells are shriveling!

During the lunch hour Sean and some crew members played a game of rugby on the beach. They had a riot and enjoyed teasing Sean who was a good sport. I missed the diving off the sun deck, but apparently it was quite remarkable.

After the game the team returned to the ship and you can see ‘mama’ Pat surveying the athletes and making sure they got back on board safely.

After lunch the anchor was pulled and the captain steered us in the direction of Punta Cormoran. It’s another site on Floreana Island.

The catamaran was moored in front of Devil’s Crown, which is an almost completely submerged volcanic cone. Erosion has resulted in several jagged peaks, making it look like a devil’s crown.

The chilly water was somewhat rough and we were cautioned to stay together as we snorkeled (drifted) the exterior of Devils Crown towards a somewhat calmer interior. Aubrey would protest my use of the word ‘drifted’, as I literally pulled him towards calmer waters LOL!

The rock formation was really quite spectacular and the fish quite brilliant. We saw angelfish, Moorish idols, parrotfish, hogfish, various colorful wrasses, white-tip reef sharks, and last but not least some playful sea lions.

After the snorkel we returned to the boat and once again became ‘quick change artists’ and donned our walking gear.

Within the hour we were back in the dinghies headed for a wet landing on a green beach. The sand is made from olivine crystals, formed by volcanic silicates of magnesium and iron. There was a display of dead coral & shells gathered for our viewing.

We followed the trail that led us to a ‘brackish’ lagoon where we were hoping to see flamingos. The term brackish refers to a mixture of sea water and fresh water. Other than a few varieties of shore birds, it was pretty quiet. I do remember certain birders lagging behind hoping to see some birds :o)

Once again, the lava lizards had to get out of our way as we/I struggled to keep up with the sprinting guide. "Bird" ‘almost' caught up to him at the end of the day.

It’s a good thing the lizards have the ability to regenerate tails!

This was mating season and the female lizard had a beautiful bright red throat.

We continued on and followed a trail that would take us to a beach where turtles lay their eggs and hopefully we would see ‘many many’ rays and sharks feeding on algae in shallow water.

We were not disappointed, as we saw the silhouettes of many sea creatures feeding in the shallow waters. When walking on the shore, we were instructed to shuffle our feet rather than lifting them to walk so that we would not walk on a ray’s tail.

The huge mounds and craters in the beach is where the sea turtles have laid their eggs (#676)

Alas, you can see long shadows bringing us to the end of a perfect day in paradise.

Dinner that evening was Ellen’s favorite! At Jane’s request, the chef had prepared Ellen’s favorite meal … beans ‘n rice! It was delicious and I doubt that there was any left over. We were happy to have Liz join us for dinner!

Take note of Ellen’s tee shirt. She’s doing a ‘dry run’ in preparation for St Patty’s day tomorrow. I want one just like it :o)))