The Galapagos
April, 2008
As our time in Costa Rica Yacht Club drew to a close, “Tio
(Uncle) Carlos” the restaurant manager and staff hosted a farewell party in our
honor. It was a somewhat grand affair,
complete with live music. All the
visiting yachts were invited and all of the staff attended. Our stay here was indeed a special time and
in a strange way we can be thankful to whoever it was that hit us and ran away
back up in the Grenadines. Without that event and the subsequent damage
we would not have come here to make our repairs and thus would have missed
these new and meaningful friendships.
On March 3 we bade a tearful farewell to “Tio Carlos” and
the staff of the Costa Rica Yacht Club.
Carlos accompanied us on our trip down the river and Timoteo in his
panga served both as our river pilot and return taxi for Carlos. A week later we learned that on the way home Timoteo
ran out of gas (normal for him) and they spent two hours sitting on the river
waiting to be rescued.
The word, which best describes our passage to the Galapagos,
was perfect! It really paid to carefully watch the weather
patterns and sail in the right direction when conditions were optimum. Every day was comfortable sailing with light
winds, clear skies and flat seas. Night
watches sped by thanks to our MP3 player featuring old time radio shows, music
or books on tape. The off-watch slept in
the after cabin which allowed the on-watch full reign of the main cabin. Ellen slept from six to midnight and Ed from midnight
to six. Early morning breakfasts
together as sunrise brought another day was a treat.
The winds were so light that never once during the nine day
passage did we shorten sail. Once more our
light air “Mainster” and large drifter enabled us to move in winds of 4 to 5
knots while others were forced to run their engines or sit and bang around in
the calm.. We didn’t sail very fast but
there was no hurry. The seas were calm
and we were able to enjoy the quiet time of the ocean rather than the noise and
heat of the engine. If all ocean passages were like this the ocean would be
crowded with boats.
A major milestone in any sailor’s life is the first crossing
of the Equator. We planned carefully and
worked very hard to make the crossing in daylight as we did not want to miss
out on anything. We were not
disappointed. There is actually
something to see! The ocean bubbled and
boiled on either side as if it were a reversing waterfall. Of course we had to request King Neptune’s
permission to cross over through his domain and offer him a token of
appreciation for his gift and for a continued safe voyage. And yes, absolutely,
just ten feet on the other side of the Equator we ran below to check. The water in the sink drain does spin in the opposite direction!
Our landfall was Academy Bay,
Santa Cruz,
Galapagos on March 19, 2008. Since 1998, the Galapagos are listed by UNESCO
as a World Heritage Site and as such has placed severe restrictions on them. The result is that visitor’s movements are
somewhat restricted and supervised in order to preserve and protect this very
fragile habitat. Unlike other countries
we have visited we could not just anchor where we pleased and explore on our
own. Entr’acte was granted a 20 day permit but was required to remain at anchor
in Porto Ayora for the entire time. Most
exploring had to be with a guided tour. To visit another island it was
necessary to travel by inter-island ferry and book a room for the length of our
stay. This was not as bad as it first seemed. The anchorages in the Galapagos are not very
secure and are open to the Pacific Ocean
swell. A boat at anchor is in constant
motion from that swell so it was actually a blessing to be forced to take the
ferry to a different island and spend a few days in a Pension that did not roll
around all day and night. We gave all our attention to setting up our anchors
one time and thus Entr’acte would be well secured for the entire visit.
In many ways, the Galapagos have fallen victim to their
history and reputation. We naively
expected that once close to the islands they would just explode with all sorts
of exotic sea life-----“Galapagos…..Action!!!!!” Alas, we were quite disappointed until we
realized that things were much more subtle than that. The wildlife is indeed there and it is
decidedly exotic. Our harbour tour guide
“Pink Floyd” explained that “you have to
go slowly, look carefully and be patient if you want see something truly
special..” He practiced what he preached.
He was never in any hurry.
Much of what the
Galapagos has to offer can be seen by walking or taking a harbor tour offered
by one of the water taxi drivers. But if
you really wanted to get “up close” with the wild life you had to book a tour. Although we generally are not fond of such
organization, we quickly came to appreciate why things had to be this way. If everyone
could wander around unsupervised there would quickly be nothing left of this fragile
habitat.
It was an easy walk to the Darwin Center
to see the famous Giant Tortoises we had read so much about when we were
children. From La Finca Mariposa we saw
even more of these great creatures as we rode on horseback through the
highlands of Santa Cruz. On Isla Floreana we swam with sea turtles and
sea lions and hiked Isla Isabella to study the giant volcanic crater that is
still smoking and cooling after its recent eruption in 1995. On the island of North Seymore
we explored the habitat of the Albatross, Booby, Frigate Bird and Giant
Iguanas. In all of these situations our
presence was accepted completely as normal and none of these wonderful
creatures evidenced the slightest fear or concern over our intrusion. They were
not at all camera shy! The tours were
very well run, the guides were friendly and informative but those ferry rides
definitely supplied their own element of high adventure!
Academy
Bay is the center of
tourism in the Galapagos and as such it is bustling with activity night and day. To sit in the cockpit with our morning coffee
was always a treat. Every morning and afternoon sea lions would
swim slowly by on their own private agenda which always included climbing at
will aboard any vacant dinghy or boat to lie all day in the sun, sometimes in
groups of two or three. The sea turtles
and rays were always present while at any time there would be a cry from somewhere
“Galapagos Shark, Galapagos Shark!”
These guys must be the national fish of the islands because the locals
are so incredibly proud of them and never miss an opportunity to bring them to
your attention. Everything stops when
one appears. They look every bit as
sinister as any other shark but they always swim away and never appear at all
aggressive, not at all like their Atlantic and Caribbean
relatives.
Our favorite attraction in Academy Bay
were the Blue Footed Boobies. They are
impossible to describe. All day long
they circle the anchorage, swoop down with perfect form from incredible
heights, dive to quite a respectable depth, surface swallowing their catch and
take off again, only to repeat the entire process hour after hour. They were like fighter planes, most times
diving alone but many times they would attack and dive in a formation of up to
ten birds at once. When you least
expected it, SPLAT! So close to the cockpit that the splash would spray the
entire cockpit. The Boobies alone made
the entire trip worthwhile. Their mating
dance is priceless! “See my feet, how blue
they are?”
The Galapagos are not
at all as primitive as they once were. On
shore everything we needed to live aboard and provision for the long passage to
come was available at reasonable prices and very convenient. Ecuador has changed their currency
to the US dollar so even using the ATM was easy without any service or exchange
conversion charge. The grocery store,
the hardware store, the post office, anything you need is within walking
distance with prices slightly higher than in Costa Rica. Nowhere at any time did we see or hear of any
stealing, pickpockets or beggars. The
streets are amazingly clean and free of all litter. The absence of fences,
barbed wire and window bars were a welcome change. Many of the locals travel on exotic fifteen speed
mountain bikes which line the streets in surprising numbers, all conspicuously
without locks.
On Tuesdays and Saturdays
there is an open market where fruits and vegetables are available at reasonable
prices. A local breakfast ends your
shopping spree. The plate of the day is
2 fried eggs, corn meal patties, chick pea beans, and sausage and coffee for
$2.00! They also have a full pig
roasting as well.
Every evening the local families gather at the park on the
waterfront. The men play volleyball and cards. The children play on carousels
and swings while the women supervise and generally enjoy family life, all to
the tune of the music of the street vendors who sell snacks and ice cream from
their carts. There is definitely an old world family atmosphere.
The Galapagos are definitely a busy place. Interaction with other yachts is rather
limited. Everyone knows that their time
in these islands is finite and everyone is focused on getting the most out of
each day, either taking the next tour, making some necessary repair or in some
way preparing for the long haul to French Polynesia. Most acquaintances seem to be made on tours
or at cyber cafes as all the yachts are catching up on correspondence, sending
their latest updates, getting what little weather information there is around
this part of the world or using Skype for that last minute phone call.
Our days were indeed full but we always found time in the
evenings to meet at one of the great restaurants ashore and share our
discoveries. The Galapagos reminded us
of the Azores of thirty years ago when it was
far less expensive to eat in the local restaurants than to deplete our ship’s
stores only to replace them later at the outrageous Polynesian prices.
As our final week
began we received an e mail from old friends Wolfgang and Uli on Golden
Tilla. Wolfgang is pictured in “The
Voyage of Entr’acte” in the Canary
Island sequence sitting
on several cases of Heineken beer in a fold a boat dinghy. We have maintained this friendship for twenty-four
years throughout the world. We rendezvoused in Spain
in 2003, the Azores in 2004 and now in our
golden years we would meet again here in the Galapagos but they were two weeks
away and we would miss them by a week.
We pleaded our case with the Port Captain and were granted a one week
extension. We could stay at least until
they arrived and then race them across the Pacific to French Polynesia and hopefully
celebrate Bastille Day together in Tahiti.
Years ago the old timers refered to us as “The Kids.” Now
the torch has been passed and Brandon
and Jamie are now “The Kids.” Where have
all the years gone? They are a delightful young couple from Santa Barbara and provide that fresh air of
youth, wonder-lust. At twenty-five they
have a one-year plan to enjoy a little adventure before they settle down to the
rigors of life. Part of their plan is to
get married when they arrive in Tahiti. We admire them, enjoy their company and wish
them well!
So, once again it is time to single up the lines and make
ready for sea. Entr’acte is ready for
this next adventure. This is the passage
for which she was built all those years ago. This date marks a virtual landmark
in the lives of all three of us. A
culmination of the past thirty-one years which have been a long up- hill climb, first to build
Entr'acte, then learn to sail her and year after year extend our horizons and
experience to prepare for this one
passage. We feel like skiers
herring-boning up a long steep hill and are now poised at the top of the
mountain for the incredible down-hill run.
We are as ready as we will ever be. Next news from French Polynesia and Tahiti!
OK, here we go!
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