Wednesday, April 27- on the Samba. Our itinerary has us exploring the oldest islands in the Galápagos. We sailed during the night to arrive at Floreana islands this morning.  We are out on the pandas by 6 am for an early hike. These pre-dawn mornings give us a better chance to see the most wildlife, before the heat of the day. After walking a bit we come to a lagoon where there are Flamingos. Unfortunately they are on the opposite side of the pond and there is no way of getting there. It is also a bit foggy this early so the pictures are not the clearest. Flamingos are not as abundant as they used to be on these islands. There is less food for them and during a storm, their lagoon was flooded by ocean water.  We also see small birds like warblers. And larger birds like frigates.

These pangas transported us to our snorkeling and hiking sites. Our drivers were Camilo and Ricardo. Two amazing guys.

Yellow warblers that we saw throughout our trip.

This is as good as it gets for the flamingo.

We continue to walk and arrive at this beautiful secluded beach. Before long someone spots sting rays in the water. There were quite a few. One of the passengers, John, came close to one and the ray's tail cut him between his toes. This was very painfull and the pangas were called in to pick us all up as John would not be able to walk back.

Sand piper

Sting ray

Back on the boat, it is time for breakfast. What a spread! We realize that for every breakfast there is an abundance of fresh fruits, eggs, fresh juices, etc. the other meals offer potatoes or rice or yuca, fresh fish, chicken, beef or pork, and two or three dishes of vegetables. Meals start with soup or salad and finish with dessert every day. 

Around 9:30, we are off snorkeling. We are given a wetsuit and snorkel and mask if we don't have our own. The crew helps us get everything right. We jump into the pangas and are taken to Champion Point. It's my first time snorkeling in a wetsuit. OMG so easy to float. It gives me confidence that I need to do even the deep water snorkeling. We saw schools of fish, parrot fish, puffer fish, Angel fish,  sea lions and more. It was amazing. Others saw a white-tipped shark, but I somehow missed it. Ron was excited as he came nose to nose with a sea lion. Unfortunately the underwater camera wasn't working. We were back on the boat by 11:30. Time for a warm shower before lunch at noon. After lunch the afternoon activities are described. We go to Post Office Bay to "mail" our postcards. There is a tradition. You place your card in a mailbox but it only gets delivered if a traveler from your town, city or surrounding area happens to visit the Galápagos Islands. That person will take the card and be responsable for it's delivery. Our group checks the cards to see if anyone of us can take one or two. Only the couple from Sweden take one as someone left a card address to someone in Stockholm. I thought that we might find André and Wendy's but it wasn't there.

Small mailbox for worldwide access.

We get back to boat and we have time for water activities. I am the only one who chooses to use the paddle board. Ron and three others decide to kayak. We are in the pangas until we find a calm area to drop us off. This lagoon like area is amazing. There are sea lions, sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, and sea iguanas. The water is crystal clear. It was a wonderful way to spend an hour. We then go to shore where we meet the others and we walk to a lookout. 

John was kayaking 

Sea turtle 

Back on the Samba around 5:30-5:45. Time for a beer before dinner.

The sun went down around 6 every night. Got a few good sunsets. Also tonight was the official introductions of the crew. They served us a glass  of Champagne. 

Our fantastic crew. Our guide, Darwin, is on the far right. 

We have dinner and then we get updated for tomorrow's activities. Looking forward to get going again tomorrow.