Galapagos Day #6

We started off the day at the Post Office Barrel, on Floreana Island, where whalers would leave a pick up mail primarily bound for England. When the whaler got home, he would deliver any mail from the barrel that was going to a neighbor. When we checked the barrel this morning, we found mail going to China, Israel, Holland, and many spots in the U.S. Brett and I have a card to deliver to Carlsbad!!! We also left a batch of cards. Who knows how long they will take to arrive!!!!
We rode the zodiacs around a small islet – Champion – looking specifically for Charles Mockingbirds. We saw one – it s small mean bird our naturalist told us. They eat babies of all kinds, with their very strong beaks.
Brett got ahold of some diving weights, so he was very happy snorkeling today. They have wetsuits for everyone on board, but only the naturalists have weights. So, one of them was not going, and Brett got his weights. He found one of those crazy sea lions that thinks he’s Dexter – romping all over the place, trying to have his picture taken. Brett got a good photo, but you’ll have to wait to see it!!!
Finally, we went on a hike at Punta Cormorant. There’s a brackish pond here, where you are likely to see flamingos. There are 480 flamingos in the archipelago, divided up between 20 brackish ponds. Sometimes they have seen 125 at this pond, but not today!!! (None for us!) But when we got around the pond to the beach we saw HUGE batches of sting rays – 20 at a time, and everyone wanting to take their picture. It was a little nervewracking!! But no one got stung – some people felt them sort of float by in the surf. It was crazy!!!
How can tomorrow be the last day of the Galapagos for us???
Adios