Floreana was the first island to be inhabited by humans. Today there are only a handful of inhabitants. One of the most famous spots on the island is Post Office Bay. In 1793, British navigators placed a large wooden barrel here to leave messages and mail for homebound voyagers. The tradition has continued until the present day. Visitors can leave postcards to be picked up and hand delivered later by other visitors from their destination town. Visiting yachts have added their calling cards, pieces of carved driftwood.

After our early morning visit to Post Office Bay (where we left and picked up some postcards), we boarded zodiaks for a cruise around Champion Islet. A large bull sea lion was in the middle of the bay guarding his territory - a large colony of females on shore. Then it was back to the ship for breakfast, followed by a snorkeling trip where we saw hundreds of schooling fish, including the colorful king angelfish. We played with sea lions, saw a large sea turtle and a white tip reef shark.

Linblad has a great system for boat excursions. Before boarding the Zodiak, everyone dons a life preserver and takes a clip with their room number from a board. When you return, you put the room number tag bag on the board. That way they know you weren't left behind somewhere. When you go snorkeling, there's a box on shore or on the Zodiak to hold your glasses, room tags, etc. Towels are provided on the beach for snorkelers or to dry off your feet after wet landings. While snorkeling, zodiaks follow you and pick you up when you are ready to come back in. The zodiaks have a nice ladder for climbing back into the zodiaks.

Our afternoon outing was to Punta Cormorant on Floreana. The sand on the beach has a greenish tinge due to the large amount of volcanic mineral called olivine. A short trail leads to a brackish lagoon holding one of the largest populations of flamingos in the Galapagos.

In honor of the Flamingos on Floreana, tonights cocktail special was a Pink Flamingo ( a pink pina colada concoction).

A longer trail leads to a beautiful sand beach where sea turles come ashore to lay their eggs. Colorful Sally Lightfoot Crabs can be found on the lava rocks along the shore. (See Crab Photo Gallery for more pictures and information on the Sally Lightfoot Crab).

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