Allen and Mary's Great Adventure in Ecuador: Wednesday (March 19) -- Post Office Bay, Champion Islet and Punta Cormorant (Floreana Island)

Post Office Bay (Floreana Island)

According to Wikipedia - Since the 19th century, whalers kept a wooden barrel at Post Office Bay, so that mail could be picked up and delivered to their destination by ships on their way home, mainly to Europe and the United States. Cards and letters are still placed in the barrel without any postage. Visitors sift through the letters and cards in order to deliver them by hand.

So here we are on Floreana Island, at Post Office Bay. We sorted through hundreds of postcards and found one from a woman addressed to her mother in Charleston, which we hope to deliver in person very soon. I wrote a card to granddaughter Zoe in Hendersonville and left it there for the next traveler headed that way. I hope that she will tell me when she gets it.

Zoe's postcard getting postmarked -- stamped with a lava rock

Zoe's postcard

Carolyn's postcard getting skull-stamped

Lava Tunnels

The next opportunity on this island was to explore some "lava tunnels" -- involving scrambling down through a cave in the dark. Allen wasn't confident of his knees, especially in the dark, so he stayed behind, waiting on the beach among crabs, iguanas and other wildlife. Ashley, Carolyn and Mary went ahead to the lava tunnels, where Mary and Carolyn peeked in the entrance and Ashley went all the way in, as these photos of Ashley's will attest:

On the way in

The dry part of the lava tunnels

The girls hiking to the lava tunnels

Our guide Pablo down in the wet part of the lava tunnels

After all this activity, we all enjoyed ourselves on the beach. All enjoyed except Allen, who had a disaster trying to snorkel, with multiple cuts on my feet and legs and bruised ankles. And finally inspected my ancient goggles to learn that they were broken beyond repair. Carolyn snorkeled and Ashley and Mary played in the surf.

Champion Islet & Punta Cormorant

At Champion Islet the four of us tried the glass bottom boat that comes with our ship. It was a little like snorkeling -- but dry, no work, and fast. We saw some good sized white tipped reef sharks, and loads of playful sea lions.

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We re-positioned our ship for a wet landing and short but fascinating and beautiful hike to a deserted beach. Deserted, that is, except for wildlife. The beach was loaded with sea turtle nests, requiring us to walk well away from the dry sand beach, almost in the surf. I saw my first moray eel (creepy!), rays, pelicans, and sea turtles mating (tough job for the male).