Day 4 was spent around Isla Floreana. Fortunately the seas had been much kinder to us in getting there. Our first activity was a little different. We took a walk around the island, but there was strangely very little wildlife on this island. This is apparently due to a whaler, in 1819, lighting a fire on the island which burnt out of control and engulfed the entire island.

The first sight was a funny little concept, a postal service of sorts. After writing on a postcard, you deposit the card in the postbox without the need for a stamp. The idea is that someone passing through who either lives or is travelling near the destination of the postcard will take it and deliver it or send it on your behalf. In turn, we all searched through the existing cards to see if there were any we could deliver.

This postal service continues the tradition that sailors used to use many years ago. When passing the Galapagos, they would leave word in a postal box on the island. Other sailors would then collect and deliver these messages in their travels.

Further on we found the remains of an old homestead on the island. This was from some early European settlers who arrived there and encouraged others to follow. A few people did including the self-proclaimed Baroness von Wagner Bosque who apparently took a few lovers for herself. Disappearances and murders are said to have followed, and as a result only one family from these settlers remained.

Our last stop on this walk was a lava tunnel. There was a wooden ladder leading into the huge tube. Inside was dark and empty. Water prevented us from going too far in, but the tunnel seemed to continue for quite a while.

We made our way back to the boat then sailed to our snorkel spot, around a rock formation called The Devil's Crown, which rose out of the water resembling, well, a rocky crown. Unfortunately the water here was quite cloudy so we didn't see too much, except during a few breaks of cleaner water.

At one point we notice a huge dark cloud looming below us in the deep water. It wasn't until a large fish swam into the cloud and the darkness separated around it that we realised it was a massive school of smaller fish.

Not long after most of us were freezing cold so it was time to get back on the boat for lunch. We then made our way around the island a little further and took one last walk. We landed on a beach our guide had described as a green sand beach, as the sand contains olivine. None of us were quite sure when we got there if we were on the beach he was talking about, but apparently we were.

From the not so green beach we crossed to another beach, past a lagoon with a few flamingos in the distance, to a white sand beach with some turtle nesting sites. While no turtles were on the sand during the day we could see their tracks as well as a few of their heads popping out of the ocean.

Back on the green sand awaiting the dinghy we finally spotted some more blue footed boobies. They flew in and landed near where we were standing, though they unfortunately had their feet mostly hidden so we still didn't have any great photos of one!

The day up until now had been quite rushed, as our crew had wanted to make their way back to Isla Santa Cruz and the main town of Puerto Ayora in time for dinner rather than simply moving in the night. We later discovered this was because they all lived there and wanted to get off the boat to see their families.

We arrived at the port right on dinner time which was great as we were all quite hungry, however just before we anchored, the boat turned around and started sailing back out to sea at full speed. Confused, we went out to the back deck to see what was happening and discovered that somewhere along the way the rope attaching the dinghy had snapped and the dinghy had been lost!

So there we were having a bit of a chuckle while the crew used a single torch to try and spot the dinghy in the pitch black of night in the middle of the ocean. Needless to say it wasn't found, and we eventually returned to port for dinner. Being anchored in calm waters and knowing that we weren't having to sail any more we were able to enjoy a few beers that evening!

LAPFWT