Ecstatic to finally be out of the boat yard, we sailed to Isla Isabela, Galapagos in December for some much needed rest and relaxation. Originally we were not going to stop in the Galapagos but we really needed to give the boat a good shakedown and we wanted one last opportunity to snorkel & enjoy the warmer latitudes before our big jump south.

Most cruising boats visiting the Galapagos apply for an Autografó which allows a 90 day stay and the boat to move between the three main islands. It is possible to stop in the Galapagos without an Autografó but your stay is limited to 20 days and the boat cannot leave the original port of entry (i.e. you cannot visit the other islands with your boat). Since we wanted to be in Chile before the end of summer we did not see the necessity to get the Autografó. If we wanted to visit the other islands we could take a ferry. We chose to base our stay in Isla Isabela. . Isabela is the largest of the islands but has the least amount of inhabitants with just over 2000. It also sees the least amount of tourists making it the quietest of the islands; exactly what we needed after being in the yard.



Unfortunately we were not greeted by the welcome wagon upon our arrival. Making a very long story short, we were lucky enough to time our arrival with that of a brand new Port Captain. There is a major power struggle going on in the Galapagos. The Armada is in charge of Ecuadorian waters but in the Galapagos it falls under the National Park. It is the Armada that issues the Autografó and the Park who says a boat can stay without one. The new Port Captain was not aware of this "loop hole" and he would not grant us permission to enter the Galapagos. After having already paid all the necessary fees of more than $750, we were told we had 48 hours to leave! After four days of stress, our agent was able to get it sorted and we were officially allowed to visit the island. Gee, thanks. Needless to say, things did not start off on the right foot. But with the drama behind us, it was time to play.



The Galapagos Archipelago sits at the equator 500 nm off the mainland of Ecuador. It is made up of 13 volcanic islands and 16 tiny islets spread over 37,000 square miles of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Isla Isabela, the largest of the islands, is at the western edge of the archipelago 600 nm off the coast of Ecuador.

The Galapagos, made famous by Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, is revered as the best place in the world for wildlife watching, both on land and in the water. You are able to get up close and comfortable with the wildlife. The wildlife here has little fear because there are few natural predators. They are as curious about us as we are of them.

Many mornings we were awakened by the sea lions and penguins playing by the boat. It was not unusual for the sea lions to jump in the dinghy and sunbathe. The captain was less than enthusiastic to have them in the dinghy and was quick to shoo them away. Fortunately he took a photo before he told this guy to take a hike.



The sea lions did not know what to make of Duke. They would swim alongside the hull checking out Duke tormenting him as he ran back and forth on the deck chasing them.



The small Galapagos penguin was also a regular at Karma. Like a lot of the animals in the Galapagos this penguin is only found here.



It is one of the smallest in the world (as you can see in this not so great picture) and is the only penguin found in the Northern Hemisphere (the Equator cuts across the north end of Isla Isabela).



The Galapagos is a birdwatcher's paradise. The acrobatic frigate bird has the largest wingspan - to- weight ratio of any other bird in the world. They are beautiful to watch fly. The frigate bird does not have waterproof feathers making it unable to dive into the water. They harass the other birds and sealife swooping in and stealing their food.



The frigate bird in the picture below is a male; identifiable by his red chest. The male inflates his chest trying to attract a female. Once a female chooses a male, presumable the one with the best chest, they mate for life.



The blue-footed boobie, is probably the bird most associated with the Galapagos. It is one species of the boobie bird. It is not endemic to the Galapagos but it is the most widely seen here. Boobies are unfazed by humans allowing you to get up close and personal. It is this characteristic that got them their name boobie. When Spanish sailors first discovered the Galapagos they were very unimpressed by a bird that would simply just peer at them instead of fleeing, and so they called these birds "bobos" meaning stupid in English.



Can you guess how this species of boobie got it's name "blue-footed".... Like the red pouch of the frigate bird, the male blue-footed boobie struts his stuff hoping to attract a female by having the "bluest" feet.

With only twenty days to visit the Galapagos and an upcoming 30 plus day passage looming on the horizon, we wanted to do and see as much on land as possible.

The main town, Puerto Villamil, is on the southern end of the island with a "port" consisting of small wooden docks and a pier on its eastern outskirts. We were anchored behind Las Tintoreras a low-lying volcanic islet.



We were able to land our dinghy at a small floating dock at the "port" and explore the island. The dinghy dock and surrounding area is very popular with the sea lions.



When not frolicking in the water they are lounging. When we would come to shore we would walk by at least a dozen snoozing in the sun ...



Or chilling on a bench...



Looks like I took someone's spot.



As I said, the wildlife is completely unfazed by humans. It was surreal to be so up close and personal. It was like being part of the zoo not just an outsider looking in.

In addition to being playful, the sea lions were very affectionate with each other. Seeing them snuggle and spoon never ceased to put a small on our faces.



Our walk into town was also never short on iguanas.



There are three species of iguanas in the Galapagos; all of which are endemic. The one we saw the most of and found the most fascinating is the marine iguana. It is the only seagoing iguana in the world.



You know the saying, "the proof is in the pudding"? Well, in the Galapagos, the proof is in the marine iguana. They are living proof of Darwin's evolution. Scientists have estimated that these iguanas adapted from their land iguana cousins over 2 to 3 million years ago. In order to survive, the land iguanas needed to find food and on the Galapagos that meant in the water.



In contrast to the land iguana the marine iguana has a flattened snout allowing them to find food in the rocks under water, a flattened tail which propels them more effectively underwater, long claws that allow them to grasp the rocks, and most amazingly salt-eliminating glands in their nostrils which allow them to cleanse the sea salt from their bodies. They can stay underwater for more than an hour by lowering their heart rate by half. They are also the only know animal to be able to reduce their skeletal structure to adapt to environmental changes (for example El Niño) that effect their food source, seaweed. How cool is that?

Another famous reptile of the Galapagos is the endemic giant tortoise for which the islands got their name. Galapago is an old Spanish word for saddle similar in shape to the tortoise shell.



There is only one species of turtle which has been divided into 14 subspecies, three of which are now extinct. These subspecies are distinguished most easily by the shape of their shell. The various subspecies developed out of a need to adapt to their different feeding environments. This difference in their shells was another key factor in Darwin's development of the theory of evolution.





Tortoises that originate from low, arid islands have a higher front ridge on their shell allowing them to lift their heads high to eat tall vegetation.



Tortoises with semicircular shaped shells come from higher, lush islands where vegetation grows closer to the ground.



During our stay we visited Centro de Crianza, the Tortoise Breeding Center. Its focus is to boost the population of Isablea's five subspecies. The Breeding Center houses more than 850 tortoises.



On our walk to the Breeding Center we spotted these beautiful flamingos feeding and bathing themselves.





The greater flamingo is the only species of flamingo found in the Galapagos.

We crossed paths with the turtle below while out on a bicycle exploration of the coastal area west of town.



We rented the bikes in town and set off to see the way to the" Wall of Tears" a little over 5 miles outside of town.



The Wall of Tears is an infamous attraction on Isabela. It was built by a penal colony in the 1940's. The wall is over 300 feet long and 20 feet high. The only purpose the wall served was punishment. Day in day out the prisoners built the wall in the grueling sun and heat.





We made several stops on the way to and from the wall:

It was a hot day so we stopped at this estuary for a quick swim. This was the water supply for the penal colony. Although the estuary leads out to the open ocean, it is mostly fresh water.



We ate our picnic lunch atop this lookout,



We checked out this lava tunnel,



Spied on the crabs,



And paid our respects at this very old cemetery by the sea.



Having explored the coast and waters of Isablea we wanted to get up into Sierra Negra, a chain of five young and intermittently active volcanoes.



We hiked to Volcan Chico, a fissure of lava cones northwest of the main crater.



In the picture above you can see two distinct lava flows. The darker one is from a newer eruption. The lighter colored lava is older. The difference in color is due to the vegetation that is finally starting to grow in the older lava.



The four hour hike took us past the crater which at just over 6 miles wide is the second largest in the world. Volcán Wolf sits 5600 feet above sea level and is the highest point in the Galapagos. Unfortunately it was a very misty day and we were not able to see much of the crater.

It was otherworldly, it is how I imagine Mars to be like.





The colors of the rocks were stunning.







This lava tunnel looks like a luge...



Although the weather did not cooperate and we were ill prepared for the freezing rain (my fault, of course) we really enjoyed our hike.



Another day excursion we did was to Urbina Bay. On the western shore of Isabela, this bay is only accessible by panga (small boat).



A volcanic eruption in 1954 formed this bay when a chunk of seabed , including a coral reef, was lifted 20 feet above the water's surface.









In addition to hiking along the lava paths, we snorkeled through the various ponds formed by lava archways. This excursion was a great opportunity for Clint to try out his new GoPro (thanks mom). I hope you enjoy the show...




If I had not dubbed in the music you would have heard me laughing at Steve Irwin "petting" the shark.

We also had a great time swimming with the turtles. If you have ever been curious about seeing it from their perspective I think you will enjoy this video.


Only in the Galapagos can an amateur do the "turtle cam".

Isla Tortuga, a popular dive spot, just east of Isabela.



Isla Tortuga is the remnants of a very old volcano that is slowly sinking into the ocean. If you were to see an aerial shot you would see how what looks like a large rock in the picture above is actually the rim of the volcano.

The ability to get up close and personal with the wildlife of the Galapagos is what made it so remarkable for us. All of it was spectacular but we had two very memorable "National Geographic" moments that stood out for us. The first was an acrobatic display of head over tail flips by a group of manta rays just off our bow while we were enjoying our sundowners. It went on for at least twenty minutes. Unfortunately we did not capture it, we were too busy enjoying every moment of it; so you will just have to take our word for it.

The second was a seal feeding on a fish right by our boat.





At first we thought he was playing with it, tossing it in the air, and then we saw that he was trying to devour it. Fortunately we had the handy GoPro nearby and we were able to capture this amazing footage.



It is hard to tell from the video, but at one point Clint jumped in the water and tried to swim close to the seal. Not a good idea, the seal was not in the mood to share. After the seal made an aggressive move toward Clint (what was he thinking anyway, these are wild animals) he quickly got out of the water and filmed using his handy dandy "selfie" stick.



One of our last "excursions" was to a local farm to stock up on fruits and vegetables for our upcoming passage. Our thinking was if we picked them ourselves, instead of getting them at the farmer's market, we could get them at various stages of ripeness and hopefully we would have fresh fruit and vegetables for most of our trip south.



We went with our Scottish cruiser friends David and Gitte from Aros Mear. Just a side note David is in his 80's, still cruising aggressively and looks great. They also made the trip to the volcano with us and we could hardly keep up with him.





It was a great success. We got oranges, bananas, avocados, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, carrots, and fresh eggs. Now that's organic.

So, with our stores full, the boat ready, me kind of ready, and Clint raring to go we got in touch with our weather routing service and told them we were ready to set sail. They responded that's nice but there's no wind. The recommended we stay put if we did not want to have to motor for the first week. WHAT!!! It never dawned on us that we would have no wind. We were worried about dealing with too much wind. Okay then, we will wait for wind.

Remember that Port Captain? Well, he did not make our departure any less stressful than our arrival. To spare you the details of another long story; in a nutshell, he told us too bad; "you have to leave even if you have to go to sea and drift". Our 20 days were up and we had to leave. Well how is that for a fine send off party? We politely responded that we would leave when we felt it was smart to do so and until that time arrived we would stay on our boat. Eight days later and after several visits from the Aramada with a bunch of legal threats; we got our wind and left.

The Galapagos are amazing and we enjoyed every moment of it. It was just a shame that we were not made to feel very welcomed. Oh well I suppose there are assholes everywhere even in paradise.

On that note, I leave you with this one last image....nothing was going to spoil our day