Pursuit

It's time to go. Our visas have run out and I have seen enough sea lions, iguanas, tortoises etc. to last me a long time. It has been an amazing place to visit but I am very excited to set sail to Easter Island. It should take about 20 days to get there, but depending on wind and seas...maybe more, maybe less. I got the zarpe today and we got our passports stamped out, so we are good to go. Boats need an agent when they check into the Galapagos and I ordered some diesel through the agent I was using. I generally have an idea of how much I'll need when I get fuel so I was a little surprised when I ordered 130 gallons shortly after arriving and it didn't fill the tanks. I asked the agent's employee when he came out with the numerous 20 gallon jugs, if they were all empty when he was finished pumping them into my tanks, and he said they were. Later, I was speaking with another cruiser who ordered fuel from the same agent and he jumped down into their boat to verify that the jugs were empty and found that there was a lot of fuel still left in them. I ordered another 45 gallons and when he arrived, his boss was with him. Again, I asked if the jugs were empty and he said "yes", while shaking them to show that they were "empty". I jumped into the boat this time and checked for myself. There was about 15 gallons left from the 45 gallons they brought out still in the jugs. Busted! I turned to the owner and said "what the @#$*!". In the end I only paid for 135 gallons of the 175 delivered and he also knocked a bunch of other charges off too. It is sad, but I have found that people along the way think cruisers are walking ATM machines and they all try their luck. I have sadly learned to trust none of them. Always check! Regardless, I now have full tanks of fuel, water and all systems are ready. Next stop, Easter Island. 2000 nautical miles South-Southwest.