We had a pre breakfast outing followed by a wet landing on a green sandy beach, the color of which is due to the olivine crystals that produce a refraction of light. Behind our landing site we found a brackish water lagoon where a few Greater flamingos were feeding on small shrimp like forms, algae and some other crustaceans within the mud.
As we ventured farther onto the island we encountered approximately 13 Diamond sting rays which were right underneath the breaking waves. The vegetation of the area is limited, but very interesting because some species are really unique such as the Floreana daisy.
A few green sea turtle nesting grounds were seen along the higher areas of the white sandy beach, far away from the breaking waves.
After breakfast we went on a Zodiac ride in search of the rare Floreana mocking birds and some of us were lucky to spot a few of them. Some of the mocking birds were flying, while others were perching on the prickly pear cacti. We also spotted a few blue footed boobies, brown noddies and red billed tropic birds.
After the ride we decided to go snorkeling, jump in the water and swim with some white tip reef sharks and tropical species of fish. Some sea lions also came out to play with us and showed us a great time.
In the afternoon some of us went kayaking along the coast of Post Office bay and we enjoyed a great time along the mangroves and bird rockeries while also viewing some small sea lion colonies. After kayaking we reached the famous landing site called Post Office bay where an old wine barrel was established by whalers some centuries back to have some communication with home. The idea is that you write a postcard with an address and deliver it in the barrel to wait for other people to come around and take it to its destination. We followed in this tradition that started in the 17th century.
