Floreana Island

We sailed south during the night and were off the shore of tiny Floreana Island in the morning. The evening before the captain had told us all to get our postcards written because we would be stopping at the post office this morning. Soon after breakfast we all scrambled into our pangas and went ashore to mail our cards and letters. No postage would be required. This is the post office we found. It was established by the sailors of old as a way to communicate with their families. We pulled out the pile of mail inside the barrel and several of us read off the addresses. Any of us going that way were encouraged to take mail and deliver it to the addressee. We brought home two cards to deliver to people in Maryland. I am curious to see if any of the ten cards we wrote will ever be delivered.



After we left the post office we went back to shore and waited to be tendered back to our floating home. The La Pinta is a beautiful boat with three decks and comfortable places to rest and enjoy the ocean.



The crew issued the gear for snorkeling when we returned. I got the gear and thought I would try, but I was just too afraid to jump into that deep ocean. I couldn't make myself do it. About half the passengers snorkeled and frolicked in the water with the fish and the sea lions. The rest of us opted to see the fish through a small glass bottomed boat. We were able to see the beautiful tropical fish, sting rays, sharks and sea lions swimming beneath us. It was a beautiful sight. Dennis spotted a Floreana Mockingbird on shore which made his day. This mockingbird is found only here. There are only about 150 individuals of this species remaining. The naturalist was just as excited as he was.



In the afternoon we went ashore again and walked across the island. It was a beautiful walk. There was a lagoon full of flamingos (the flamingo pictures did not turn out too well, but we got some better ones later.) There were beautiful flowers and lots of birds. This yellow warbler was a new lifetime bird too.



A beautiful deserted beach greeted us on the other side of the island. The footprints in the sand are mine. We were the only people there. We were unable to swim because there were stingrays swimming right off shore, but it was a lovely place to rest and enjoy God's beautiful creation.


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Jean's condition remains unchanged. She has been is a coma for a week now. Today she had a tracheotomy and a feeding tube inserted. This will make her long term care easier. Continue to pray for Jean and for Bill who still cries.