29/04/2013, Galapagos
We now have the mainsail back on with its patches so fingers crossed that it holds well (early reefing from now I think!)Tomorrow we will stock up on some fresh produce on a trip out to a finca in the highlands here, then set sail on Wednesday. Now we are in town checking weather information for the crossing and destination info for checking in at the next port etc etc.
Its approx 3000 miles to our next landfall, The Marquesa islands, so once more its Chilli Cat over and out.................until next time.
|
Comments [1]
28/04/2013, isabela island, Galapagos
The crater of the Sierra Negra volcano is the second largest in the world and definitely worth a visit but it was a fair hike for the kids at 16km so we pondered the possibility of doing it on horseback. In the end we favoured the walk as it is the last one we will do for a while as soon we have the three thousand miles of pacific with very limited rambling opportunities!
We set off early in a bone shaker of a truck and had a lovely drive up to the start of the hike through the highlands of this island. Mercifully it was cooler up there and a bit damp which were good conditions for the hike. We had an English speaking guide who set up a good pace and off we went up to the craters edge. I had been to Ngorogoro in Tanzania before but as it is covered in vegetation and wildlife you don't really get the appreciation of its size. Here in Sierra Negra, the craters edge is beautifully green that abruptly stops at the black grey lava flow and you can just about see the other side 12 kilometres away. We walked around the edge for while, munching on the ripe guavas growing freely. We then came to the descent into Volcan Chico, the site of the most recent volcanic activity here in 2005. The landscape was breathtaking, amazing shades of grey, black, red and gold where some of the rock had oxidized and here and there the cactus trees that only grow here, some dating back 700 odd years. No wildlife except us and one mocking bird right at the top (where I was very nervous of the kids getting too close to the edge). Now all we had to do was walk back, Isabella was getting a bit tired by this stage so we had regular breaks on the ascent and she did brilliantly. Now it was just 6k on the straight and down where the kids got a second wind and jogged the last 200 metres to the bus.
Another educational and enjoyable day out!
|
27/04/2013, Galapagos
Charles had a good dive at La Tortuga island, he saw the long awaited hammerhead sharks as well as lots of turtles and rays. The kids and I took a snorkel amongst the marine iguanas close to the boat and then had a picnic on the beach where we witnessed a sea lion surfing in the waves. He then launched himself up the beach and we were clearly in his way so he barked at us and made a slight detour around our vegemite sandwiches before joining his friend on a sun lounger, yes really! Sadly I didn't have my camera to hand to witness this.
Los Tunels, Isabela island
All of us on the combined three boats took a trip on a very fast boat to this spectacular area of the island. We were picked up after breakfast from our boats with an English speaking guide and sped 40 minutes west where we were advised to hold on as we headed into the surf to a small opening in the rocks which would take us into this area. We have all clocked up a few sea miles between us all but we had total respect for the captain who navigated us in there, especially as it was his first time behind the wheel. (glad we found that out after and not before). These tunnels are lava flows that have formed into this large area of tunnels and lava structures in the sea water where the visibility is very good. It is home to a lot of the marine life of Galapagos and the snorkeling promised to be good. First off we had a walk around the area and got really close to some blue footed boobies which was very special. After that we all jumped in the water and drifted with the current. Isabella teamed up with her Dad as I thought the size of him would put off any sharks interested in taking a nip at Isabella! Luca and I headed off, free diving under the tunnels and marveling at the fish. Our real luck came in the last 10 minutes. We broke off from every one and found a huge turtle nibbling away who hadn't spotted us so we were able to observe him for a while before he turned, saw us and whoosh, he was gone! We then had the sensation that we were being watched and a juvenile sea lion was staring luca straight in the face! If he could have spoken he would have said, "can you come and play?" We rolled around with him for many minutes before sharing him with the others. We then got back into the boat and moved to another area where we were able to go with a guide (still snorkeling)
and see white tipped sharks! Luca was not at all fazed which was great. After some lunch the boat headed back and we kept spotting giant rays. Mike, Megan and Charles wanted to get up close so the boys stopped the boat and they jumped in. Mostly the rays were too quick and would dive down but they did manage a few close up moments. It was a great day and a reminder again of how lucky we are.
|
27/04/2013, galapagos
Just a bit of background info on this lovely island, my favorite!
This island was originally called Albemarle or Santa Gertrudis depending on when you were around! It is the largest island in the archipelago having around 58% of the land area of the Galapagos. It consists of a chain of 6 volcanoes which are relatively young and intermittently active. One of them, Wolf, is the highest point in the archipelago at 1700 m altitude. It was only in 1973 that Isabela was recognized as the third canton in this province. Its main town is the delightful Puerto Villamil which has sand streets and the corrugations that reminded us of our landrover trip in the NW of Australia! Like the other islands, its waters are filled with amazing marine life and land dwellers that continue to fascinate us. Where else in the world can you have your morning cup of tea looking out in the anchorage at blue footed boobies and pelicans whilst occasionally being diverted to the playful behaviour of the sea lions right alongside the boat? Overhead the beautiful frigate birds soar amazing us with their flight skills........not a bad start to the day.
|
26/04/2013, galapagos
Despite the charms of Santa Cruz, we had all had enough of rolling around so we upped anchor (s) and sailed off to our last island in our Galapagos cruise. We had high hopes of this island. We started off with a good sail in light winds whch depleted so engine on for just the last 40 minutes. The anchorage is small and boats swing around 360 degrees so there isnt always space but we were lucky. We had a great spot at the head of the bay looking out on the rocks which were covered in blue boobies and even penguins! The current is cool enough here for the penguins but its not the case on the other islands that we visited.
I love this place! The streets are corrugations and sand and it has a really good atmosphere. At first appearance it looks geared towards the backpacker generation. We went ashore via water taxi, stepped over some sleeping sea lions and walked the kilometre into town. Charles booked a dive for the following day with Matt as his buddy (the conditions are not the best for me to have another dive, I will find a quiet bay and go from our boat in the next islands).We joined the happy hour at a cool beach bar and made sure we were back at the jetty for the last water taxi home at 9 pm!
|
24/04/2013, galapagos
Really the anchorage is very uncomfortable and not great for a restful nights sleep, but hey we didn't have to contend with the sea lions at night. There was of course a lot to see here but we were saving time for the next island as the snorkeling and diving there promises to be very good.
We did like the town here though, lots of places to eat and drink and dinky tourist shops to browse in. The supermarket here was okay so I stocked up on some dried goods and the following morning we took a trip to the local markets for some fresh produce. Not a massive selection but that's part of the challenge and fun eh?
We did take a nice hike from town through the cactus and mangrove countryside to Tortuga Bay. Just a few kilometers littered with finches and marine iguanas to fascinate us. The beach was wide and silver sand with a great breeze happening, for a moment we thought we were back in Australia! We were not able to swim at that beach due to the current but we turned inland at the end of the beach into a sheltered lagoon where we coul swim to our hearts content and chill out under the trees, bliss.
|
23/04/2013, galapagos
We were picked up at just gone 6 for our 2 tank dive. A very fast dive boat ride out to the Gordon rocks site was our destination where hammer heads and turtles and other sharks were a likely spot. Don't know what happened with me, entered the water commando style and all was cool, started the descent and then could not get my air. Embarrased to say that I got into a bit of a panic as there was a lot of chop and instead of air into my lungs all I got was sea water. Just had to get out, which I did and then spent the next 2 hours wheezing away. Asthma/panic attack thing. Anyway, the others had a great dive but the current was strong and they had to hold onto the rocks a lot and observe! On the second dive they were SO lucky, a 6 metre whale shark was just 7 metres away from them, just a baby one but what a treat. Apparently this is a rare find here and soon became the talk of the dive shops in town! What a shame I missed it, but I was able to enjoy it through the enormous smile on Charles face when he surfaced! What a treat!
Pretty tired when we returned after the butt numbing boat ride so we caught up with the kids, had a great value local lunch and crashed for a while. The kids had a great morning with Matt and Orshi. They took them to the Darwin research station and to the best gig in town (as far as I am concerned anyway), the fish market. It is an open market with its back to the sea and as the guys and preparing the fish they have to do battle with the sea lions and penguins. Honestly, the sea lions should be re named sea dogs. The 3 we saw were sitting and begging for scraps, and when the fishmongers back was turned, they would leap up and sneak bits away. I could watch it all day!
|
22/04/2013, Galapagos
The next big island is Santa Cruz, we reckoned about 6/7 hours away depending on conditions. As it was it was very light winds but we tried every sail we had left to get the most out of what mother nature could throw at us. Travelling between the islands was great, we saw many more sea lions, rays throwing themselves up in the air, a couple of turtles and many sea birds. We caught a lovely Bonito but as they don't taste too good he was lucky and was able to see another day!
On the way we made a brief detour to Santa Fe. The national park boat beckoned us over and told us we could tie up to one of 5 mooring bouys they had, great we thought! The current was strong so we had a quick snorke off the back with a float line to hold on to. Loads of little fish and a shark spotted. In the lagoon nearby we could see sea lions so we dropped the dinghy in and anchored in there. it was fabulous, snorkeling with the sea lions, they would come up close and play a bit and warn us off if we got too close! We also saw marine iguanas, boobies and reef fish. The marine park guys then wanted to check our permits and of course, we did not have permission to be there so we were politely asked to move on. Which we did, arriving in Academy Bay after lunch. Not a great anchorage, rolly and limited space so a stern anchor is needed. The town is lovely though and no sea lion problem! We booked into a dive for the morning, great!
|
19/04/2013, galapagos
This is the first island we came too and the anchorage was lovely. For about 100 years, this island has been inhabited mainly because of its plentiful supply of fresh water It is also the capital of the province of Galapagos. The water taxi service here was great. For a dollar you could get to the town jetty, you could of course try it in your dinghy but within 5 minutes of docking it, it would be full of sea lions thinking it a great new home! The town was pleasant enough, some small scale hotels, shops and restaurants along the front. Whilst here, we enjoyed a great land day. Between the three boats we hired a taxi and driver for the day (only 70 dollars) ,and we piled into the back of the jeep with some of us almost riding shotgun and headed off. First stop was the lagoon at El Junco. The small freshwater lagoon is 650 meters above sea level and is the inside of a dormant crater. This is where the frigate birds come to clean off the seawater from their wings, and also court the lady frigate birds with their elaborate red throat showing off! We had a walk all around the lake and saw plenty of frigate bird action. It was also nice to have a good leg stretch. After that we continued through the highland mists to the Cerro Colorado. The landscape and cooler climate looked like it would offer up a Scottish castle at any time! Cerro Colorado was built in 2002 with the aim of increasing the population of the endemic giant tortoises. It is a large site, 12 hectares and the animals can wander freely and we visitors stay on the path to view them. They have an okay visitor centre where we could learn more about these enormous creatures, plus a great volunteer centre where we witnessed the good work being done there. We were lucky, a party of noisy school kids were just leaving as we turned up and then we had the park to ourselves. A pleasant walk around the paths bought us to various spots where we could see them. I just missed a huge one lumbering back into the thick undergrowth but the others that we could easily see were still impressive. It was lovely to just sit quietly and observe. It reminded me of my safaris in Africa, but much tamer! Our driver then found a good restaurant for lunch over looking the bay in the distance. We all enjoyed the good value meal ($8a head) then onto Puerto Chino beach. This was a nice expanse of white sand with some great surf to play in. There were plenty of sea birds to observe as well as the amazing red crabs. All pretty bushed after our great day so back to the boats for an early supper and rest. The sea lions had other ideas though and I spent an interesting night chasing them off deck and out of the cockpit area. The cheeky things are very smart and let you think that the defences we put up would be enough, when in fact they have worked out how to get through them. I caught one just about to slide down onto our cockpit cushions and settle down for the night! Me waving frantically at him with the fly swatter seemed to do the trick but he let me know that he was not at all happy with much baring of teeth.
The rest of the time in San Cristobal was spent enjoying the town and catcing up on some boat jobs. Matt and Orshi have done a brilliant job polishing up the stainless steel which is no mean feat! Charles also managed to take the main sail over to Santa Cruz where someone was going to help us get it restitched. Fingers crossed for that.
|
09/04/2013, Galapagos
We arrived here a week ago and what an experience. For many years I have wanted to visit these islands, but they are not exactly on the beaten track (which is of course its appeal and uniqueness). On my sabbatical 11 years ago I was very close to making it here from Peru but time and finance constraints prevented m. SO to say we are happy to be here is a HUGE understatement.
Any landfall after a week at sea is a delight but to be coming into the Galapagos on your own sail boat is an amazing experience on many levels. Firstly it is not easy for cruisers to come here, the red tape and expenses incurred have many cruisers sailing right on by these days. No mean feat when you consider that the next landfall is a good 3 weeks ahead!
We took the decision early on that we would visit here and enlisted the services of an agent in the first island.
For those who don't know, a little background..............
The Galapagos islands are located on the equatorial line of the pacific ocean, 1000 km to the west of continental Equador. They consist of 13 major islands, 6 small ones and over a 100 islets and rocks. The islands maintain several habitats with special characteristics that act as refuges for food and the reproduction of different terrestrial and marine animals.
The colonization of the islands goes back to the 17th century with the arrival of the first buccaneers who used the islands as a refuge, then Norwegian whalers lived here setting down the first establishments. Tourism, fishing, agriculture and handicrafts are the main sources of income here with tourism being the main revenue source. Around 19 thousand people reside here in the populated islands of Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabela, Floreana and Baltra.
In the mid 1500's the Bishop of Panama ended up here on a boat due to poor winds and strong currents, he declared it a God forsaken place and was very grateful when the winds changed and he could leave a few days later, minus two of his crew who died due to the apparent conditions on land. Many pirates took the same view on subsequent visits. In 1835, HMS Beagle arrived here after charting areas of South America . On board was the 26 year old naturalist Charles Darwin. He took a different view of the islands and its inhabitants and based on his observations he deduced his revolutionary "Theory of the evolution of species" which was published in 1859.
In 1959 the islands became a National Park in order to protect its bio-diversity and in 2001 UNESCO included the marine reserves in the list of natural heritage sites.
|
