Two Haddock but no chips
04 April 2016
We finally lifted the anchor from 11 metres after its four week rest on the bottom. I think that's a record.
Unfortunate we picked one of the windless days to make the 40 mile crossing from San Cristobal to Santa Cruz. Uneventful would make it sound exciting and all we did was burn up precious fuel. Predictably it's been blowing since we got here.
Santa Cruz is just a bigger version of Cristobal. Busier with more tourist haunts of the food and drink variety with a liberal sprinkling of Tour the Island shops.
It's pretty busy and this is still off season. Backpackers everywhere. However, as the local scandal is that as Ecuador is now broke owing to the collapse in oil prices, the rumour is they will increase the Galapagos tourist tax from $120 to $2,000. If that happens these islands will be serving drinks to tortoises and alcoholic marine iguanas as I doubt there will be many tourists. A lot of unemployment but not many tourists. But indirectly can rely on the politicians to do the right thing.
(Just a bit of local background for you!)
The fish market stall us hilarious with pelicans queuing up with the locals for some freshly landed fish.
There's a good bunch of cruisers here and we had over 20 people on board last night for cruisers popcorn. All are leaving over the next two weeks so there will be a small flotilla heading west. All blathering on the SSB net.
We walked across the island yesterday to Tortuga Beach for a swim and a gawp at the iguanas. Quite pretty but man is it hot. I guess that's what it's like down here in equator land. The problem is, or are, that one perspires a lot (as only horses sweat as my old dad used to say). Consequently frequent showers would be the order of the day......if we had water. So, instead we have a "bird bath". Quite an art but it does the job. We think.....or maybe just stink.
Good news is you build up a good thirst for Happy Hour which is where we're going right now. There's a street, a whole street given over to al fresco dining. Just like Marrakech but fish heads rather than goats heads
Yummy.