Isabela Island

Blooming cactus

A good catch by local fishermen

Flamingos

March 8, 2015

Isabela Island

Yesterday 15 of us took a day trip to another island, Isabella. It was about 40 nm away and in a speed boat took about 2 hours. When we leave on Tues it will probably take us ..

about 8  hours to cover the same distance again. At 20 kph in a small boat it was a very bumpy ride. Alarms were set for 5 am for an early start.

It was worth the trip as each island has its own unique features and flora and fauna. Isabella is the largest and youngest. There are a number of volcanoes on the island and the last eruption was only a few years ago. The second largest crater in the world is here, 11 by 9 km. A trip to see it wouldn't fit in a one day tour, however. The jeep did take us near 2 high points where we climbed to get a panoramic view. It looks like Arizona with the cactus and lava rocks. Some sailors stayed for a few days if they had crew to mind the boat at anchor.

There are a few remnants of the US presence during the Second World War. Nearby are remnants of an old, infamous, Equadorian penal colony from 1949 to 1956,  the Wall of Tears. As punishment the harsh guards ordered the building of a tall rock wall that caused many deaths and was never finished or needed.

We saw some pink flamingos on one of the lagoons, and took a hike through a mangrove swamp. Where that trail came out on the beach,  there were a number of local fishermen standing in the water dragging a large net across the rock strewn waters. When they pulled it up near us it was full of various types and ages of fish including puffers.  It was fun to watch as the encircling birds waited to get their share. If a fisherman threw a small fish back a bird would likely catch it before it hit the water.

After lunch we did some snorkeling in a spot where the penquins were known to be. You could watch them swimming and catching fish. They prefer cooler weather than it is now so there were not as many out. They are the most vulnerable species to a warming of the water which occurs with an El Nino year. There was a 60% chance of that this year but doesn't look like it is going to happen. That is good news for marine life which drops off with the heat. Also good luck for sailors as the wind is less favourable for sailing west as well as stormier.

School Contacts

March 5, 2015

School contacts

As part of the BPO mission we have been trying to make some contacts with schools and students both here and at home. The challenge has been that this is summer vacation for the students. In the Galapagos they are off for the 3 months of Feb, March, and April. Eduardo, with the National Park, has facilitated a number of interesting contacts.  On Fri am there was a Skype call with a school in Pennsylvania that Tim on No Regrets arranged. The students there have been following our progress and had a chance to ask questions. In the afternoon a group of us visited 2 schools and met with administration and some teachers. Today some students are visiting a couple of sailboats to see what they are like and ask questions. Emails have been exchanged with staff for ongoing contact. Internet service is relatively poor and expensive on the islands so wifi sites generally are not used by the schools.

I'll share some of the ideas presented to us. The first school visited was a private one from preschool to Gr 12, Colegio National Galapagos. It was started by the Scalesia Foundation to support the concepts of sustainability and conservation. The school is built in the woods in the highlands and looks like you are at a camp predominantly living outdoors. Looks very appealing! There are a number of teachers from other countries. It has an English immersion curriculum as well. It has been given Unesco support for promoting peace and preservation.

The other school visited was a local high school which also gets some funding for their programs on the environment. With 800 students there is a bigger variety of programming. They have started an IB program. There are also studies of the local culture, cuisine, music, dress that are required. English is the second language studied.

When the Galapagos was first designated as a World Heritage Site there was some resistance from the older generation because it puts restrictions on what they can do. The school students have contributed a lot toward changing that reaction with marches, displays, and general support. As in many places in the world there is a conflict between conservation and tourism dollars.

As teachers and parents elsewhere, they would like to see children spending more time on outdoor activities. Ironically, the kids here do not have much contact with the sea. They don' t normally swim, sail, snorkel or visit other islands as only the tourists can afford it. Any personal contact with people from other places is considered a good learning experience.

Santa Cruz

Floor of lava tunnel

Giant Tortoise hissing at us!

Entering lava tunnel

March 6 2015

Santa Cruz

 This island is the main tourist area with the airport. The shops are more plentiful and more expensive. Again there are water taxis to take you to and from the boat. All the crew members are enjoying some independence. There are also a number of crew changes being made here as there is relatively good flight coverage. (It is going to be a 36 hour trip for Barb.) Some are flying home to see family or take care of business. Others are joining to help with the next 3 week passage. Another boat, Libby, has joined the fleet from California. The captain, Terry, was originally from Toronto.

On Thurs we did a bus tour of the highlands. This is a newer volcanic island and we travelled to the highest point for a wonderful view of it and many of the surrounding islands. We hiked through a lava tunnel which was interesting, as well as dark, wet and long. We visited a coffee and cane sugar farm that showed the traditional methods and sold organic coffee and some pretty rough rum.

The giant tortoises were living in the area around where we stopped for lunch and it was easy to enjoy seeing many of them.

In the evening most got together to celebrate Jesse’s (on Om) birthday. There has been no lack of chances to visit, drink and eat ashore.

There is a large Darwin research station here as well as another turtle breeding centre. There is a lot of work being done to remove introduced and invasive plants and animals and keep the unique ones alive. We have made a short visit but will return. This am they helped arrange a skype session between them and some schools back home. The Shanks’ daughter’s classroom is one of those participating. Rob and I are awaiting a much needed fuel barge. There is a school visit this afternoon that I will attend. We are here on a tourist visa and found out that it does not allow you to do any volunteering which is a different visa.

On Sat we are taking a 2 hour hired boat trip to Isabela Island where you can see the penquins and flamingos. I’m just listening to a weather warning about high winds for the next few days. Hope our anchor is well set for leaving the boat. It would be great to have the wind stay for the days starting the 10^th when we leave. We are starting on those plans.

Remaining Days in San Cristobal

Kicker Rock Channel

 

Kicker Rock

 March 4, 2015

Remaining days on San Cristobal

The trip to Kicker Rock was a highlight for the 10 people who went Sun.  The rock is 10 miles from the harbour along the coast and water is several hundred feet deep. There is a large fissure in it that you can snorkel one way through. As well as lots of fish, there were sharks, sea lions and sea turtles. They had a great hot lunch back on the boat. It was much better than the one on Sat’s tour- white bread, bologna, cheese and a banana!

Mon was a boat day. Barb and I worked on laundry and shopping. After phoning a Spectra watermaker in the US, Rob managed to get the watermaker working properly. Actually the watermaker was working, just the digital display didn’t provide information on what was happening. Turned out one of the connections had some corrosion and after cleaning everything was fine. After changing all the fuel and oil filters, the engine and generator still didn’t keep running. Rob finally found a leak in the fuel line, repaired it and all is well. A few more repairs were added to the fuel gauge where our previous leak was, and it was up the mast to adjust the mast head lights. Every boat seems to have some projects on the go.

Tues was our last day in Wreck Bay. Bob and Barb have been packing in the sightseeing as Barb leaves on the 8^th. Rob and I took an afternoon’s hike on trails in the National Park. There was a great view point above the harbour and a stop at Darwin’s Bay and Lovers’ beach. There were lots of large iguanas, sea lions, and crabs on the beach as well as good surfing waves. Back in the bay it was fun watching the sea lions trying to board the boats. Fun, that is, for us as they couldn’t get on to Maggie. They will welcome themselves to your decks if you have a swim platform. One cat owner woke to see a sea lion looking at him through the hatch over his head and bunk.

Wed was the travel day to Academy Bay on Santa Cruz island. Unfortunately it was another motoring day. The World Arc boats, about 14 of them, were leaving as we arrived. It was quite the sight with spinnakers up. This is another “around the world” rally that left the Caribbean a week before us. This is a crowded, rolly anchorage so we waited for their departure. We are here until the 10^th.

San Cristobal Island

Blue footed Booby

Giant Tortoise

Admiral and Captain of Maggie!

Maggie at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno harbour

Town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

 San Cristobol Island, Galapagos

March 1, 2015

Today, Sunday, Rob, Bob and Barb and a few other boaters went on a day long diving/snorkeling excursion to Kicker Rock. Both the diving and snorkellng are supposed to be very good there. I'm waiting to go on a shorter one.

On Sat we took an island tour with an English speaking naturalist guide, a trip well worth the money. The highlight was a visit to Galapaguera, which is the turtle breeding centre on this island. There are 2 more, on Santa Cruz and Isabella. What Darwin found so remarkable here was the different species on each island, their characteristics shaped by their particular environment. That is true of the finches as well as the turtles and other animals. The types of animals present are ones whose ancestors could survive days and weeks at sea without food or water. There are currently 10 different species of turtle with 3 that have become extinct.

The turtles in the sanctuary on San Cristobal weigh up to 200kg and average 60 years old. Life expectancy is between 120 and 170 years. These are land turtles that have different habits than the sea turtles. They are fed 3 times a week and given pools of water for cooling and drinking.

After the nesting period, the rangers remove healthy looking eggs and incubate them 160 days. It takes 30 days after hatching for the newborn to dig itself out of its protective coating of mud and feces. They are then placed in pens divided by age. It takes about 5 years for the shell to be hard enough to withstand predators. That is when they would be released into the wild or kept for breeding. The sex cannot be determined until about age 15 and breeding begins at 25. Everything seems to be on a long time frame which makes study difficult. "Genesis", the first turtle raised here is only 8 years old.

Also on the tour was a visit and hike UP to a freshwater lake in a volcano crater. In the "highlands" the weather is much cooler and wetter which felt very refreshing. The plants, of course, flourish here. We visited a nearby town to take in the beautiful farms and some of the local history. The day also included a visit to a beach. Despite the abundance of jellyfish it was beautiful with a great surf and sand.

We have done a long hike from town to the south coast beaches and cliff faces. We saw our second blue footed booby out there as well as meter long iguanas. There is an excellent interpretive centre in town that warrants another visit when we are more rested than that first day.

Last night we had a group dinner in the covered yard of one of the local families. Except for Rob it was a lobster meal. They had arranged for local entertainment, a band of various traditional instruments. It allowed for lots of good visiting and dancing.

While I have been down below writing this I have missed some excitement around Maggie. The boat moored upwind from us has broken free somehow. Thankfully it has not drifted into any boats and some boaters in the harbour and water taxi drivers have managed to get her anchor down before she reached one of the cruise ships. The owners haven't returned yet but I heard the message on VHF to report if it starts to move again.  Updates on all tomorrow.

Arrival in Galapagos

Our Drifter Buoy

Rob and Bob deploying drifter buoy

Divers preparing to inspect our "bottom"!

Arrival of clearing in party!

Land - first time in a week

Iquana

Ubiquitous sea lions - smelly!

Arrival in Galapagos

Feb 26, 2015

What an interesting place this is! We were so excited to get off the boat and start exploring that I didn't take the time to write this blog entry for a few days.

At about 88 degrees longitude ( Galapagos at 89 37) we deployed our drifter buoy. This is a weather recording station that sends reports to NOAA. It will track such things as water temp and currents as it drifts in the Pacific. Each boat will deploy theirs at a different location. The position of each can be viewed online. The Atlantic has good coverage from commercial boats but the Pacific not as much so cruising boats are important in their deployment. It was quite large and heavy to be stored in the cabin so we were happy to have an opportunity to deploy it early in the trip!

We ended the passage Thurs am, motoring at a speed to arrive at the north tip of San Cristobal at sunrise. The next few hours we could see the coastline and the increase in animal life. There were many sea turtles, sea lions, dolphins, and a variety of birds. These islands are volcanic in origin with the east islands the oldest. It is obvious looking at them with the shapes of the lava flow and the large rocks of lava. At sea level it looks quite barren since rainfall is slight during the dry season which has just ended.

As soon as we arrived in the bay, the officials were out to the boat. There was the water taxi driver, 2 divers, and 7 others. The divers found the hull very clean after Rob and Bob's thorough scrubbing job. After about an hour with them checking things and us filling out forms we were officially in. Thanks to good preparations all the boats passed their inspections.

There are free mooring balls and water taxis for $1US a trip. You are not allowed to use your own dinghy. The first view ashore was such a surprise! There are sea lions everywhere, lying on the stairs up the dock, on the beach and rocks, on the park benches, in the fishing boats. Also on the rocks are large iguanas and red crabs. We just enjoyed the sights, took photos, and swapped travel stories with the other boaters.

Crossing the Equator

Chart Plotter showing us just south of the equator!

King Neptune and a Sea Nymph!

No wind!

Feb.24,2015

Crossing the Equator

Another milestone on the trip - entering the southern hemisphere.
Dan emailed a welcome to his ocean!
We were watching to see any changes. The latitudes on the chart plotter turned to S. The water temp has gone from 34.5 to 31.5. The cold Humbolt current comes north along SA and turns towards Galapagos. The nutrients it brings are the source of the abundant sea life there. The current will now push us to the islands. The wind turned to the southeast as it should.

We motored south to the equator as there was still not enough wind to sail. That was not the direct line to the islands but we wanted to cross in the daylight with everyone awake. We did a few of the traditions associated with the crossing but drew the line at shaving heads and a dunking. "Neptune" had his trident and his nymphs dressed in lines and shawls. A dram of spirits was given to the sea and, of course, to the crew. Afterwards we could sail for a while and conditions were great. Some new vocabulary for us: We were "polliwogs" who had never crossed the equator. Now we are "shellbacks". Also, when doing the Panama Canal we were "Y-jobs", those doing it for the first time.

Feb.25/2015

We did get some sailing in today. We struggled to get the spinnaker up and working only to have the wind die out. Instead the guys decided it was time for bottom scrubbing which has taken the last 3 hours. Although we were only drifting 2 knots with the current, the swells have been large so it was hard work. Rob has the usual pink hair from the antifouling paint. He was thrilled with how the hookah worked, however. It didn't come with the needed weights which would have helped.

If we continue to motor we will arrive tomorrow morning (Thurs) in Porto Banquerizo Moreno. On arrival our time zone moves an hour earlier. The boats that left 3 days before us are already in.  We are watching out for any sea life welcomes.