GALAPAGOS ISLANDS DAY 7 - FLOREANA ISLAND (25/05/09)

Liz as usual was up at the crack of dawn. Looking over the side of the boat into the clear water she noticed dozens of turtles swimming around the boat. She ran to get her snorkeling equipment stopping only to wake Adam up for an early morning turtle swim, a fantastic start to the day.

On Floreana Island is the famous Post Office Bay. Once a legitimate way of sending post is now a tourist attraction. If you like you can leave a unstamped postcard in the box and the idea is that others that come by look through the addresses and deliver any near to them by hand when they get home. If you post one you must also take one in return.

A Brown Pelican in flight.

Every week the crew have a football match against other boat crews. The other boat this week weren´t very good, the San Jose won 10-0.

After the football match we went on a panga ride and spotted this turtle coming up for air. These turtles can stay underwater without air for up to five hours.
This large circular rock formation is known as Devil´s Crown, shortly after we came snorkeling here and saw some amazing fish including sharks.

One of the beaches on Floreana Island has a large proportion of green Olivine crystals in the sand. When the sun is at the right angle the beach has a green glow.

After a short walk we came to Floreana Flamingo Lagoon, one of the only places on the Galapagos where flamingos are found.

The bright pink colouration is caused by the krill that they sift out of the water with their specially designed beak. Pink flamingos in zoos normally have artificial colourings added to their food to save disappointment.
As they wade through the water they sway their heads from side to side, filtering the water through their bill. As they do this they make a curious slurping noise like someone finishing a drink with a straw.

We were very happy to see the three flamingos that were there since they migrate between several lagoons and are not always on Floreana Island.
The pinks in the dusk sky beautifully complimented the pink flamingos.

This was our last night on board (boo hoo) so the crew all dressed up especially to wish us farewell with a flamingo pink cocktail and a specially baked cake.
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