The Galapagos
The passage between Isla Cocos and the Galapagos included a
first ever for all but one of the crew, and that was the crossing
of the Equator. Of course as is tradition by all vessels crossing
the equator a small party and offering to Neptune must be made!
And that we did! Dylan handed over specially delivered certificates,
authenticated by the signature of Neptune himself, to all of
the crew on board!We also indulged in a feast in Neptunes honor.
Arriving in Galapagos we anchored in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz.
We set a stern anchor, which was good practice for the future
as we used it very often in the Marquesas. As Frank and Jake
were already aboard we waited for the arrival of Paula (Frank's
wife) and Netta, our 5th crew member for the passage to the
Marquesas to arrive. After collecting them at the town dock
we spent a few days in the town and just had to stop at the
Charles Darwin Research center. A highly educating tour of the
premises ensued meeting Goerge the Lonely tortoise. He is the
last of his kind in the world!
We moved on to Pueto Villamil, Isla Isabella. The bay offered
some good protection and the surroundings were great. Seals
abounding in the water and clambering on to any vessel not inhabited
by humans, including our dinghy! What a mess! Hair everywhere
and a tough job of cleaning up the dinghy! The rocks were inhabited
by large red and yellow land iguanas sunning themselves as well
as small little penguins who waddle about and have a good time
swimming in the fresh waters! We also enjoyed a planned tour
up the mountain to view the second largest crater in the world
on horseback. It was great fun. Some of the horses could have
been mistaken for donkies or mules but they managed to get us
all safely back to the start without any major incident! It
was great fun to walk down to the craters, which are filled
with fern growth and smell richly of sulphur, the colors were
a real treat to see and it allowed the horses a much deserved
break, not to mention the riders too! On our last night here
we ate at the local beach side restuarant. Our waitress happened
to be none other then Miss Galapagos herself. Her parents owned
the restuarant. It was a wonderful meal and we left for Baltra
to refuel.
Arriving at Baltra we anchored off of the navy base and spent
three days procrastinating whilst the navy officials decided
if they would sell us fuel. In the end it turned out they would
not and so we moved onto Wreck Bay, Isla San Cristobal. We said
goodbye to Paula and Jake who had to catch their flight from
the airport located on Baltra too. What a great change to be
in Wreck Bay. The benefit for Dylan was that here there were
two amazing surf breaks and accompanied by seals early in the
mornings he enjoyed himself immensely! We also managed to purchase
fuel at an exorbitant price through a corrupt port official!
However we were in no position to argue so did what was needed
to be done and got on with the remaining tasks at hand. After
a peaceful break in this sleepy little town we were ready for
the big stretch across the Pacific to the Marquesas. So saying
goodbye to the Galapagos we stretched our legs one last time
for the next 15 days with a dockside walk and set out into the
setting sun full of jeer and excitement.
