Panama to Galapagos ...
June to July 2016 845nm
Once through the Panama
canal and anchored on the Pacific side we spent a few days stocking
up with supplies, topping up our fuel and water and exploring.
We took a bus into the
city. One has to have a swipe card for the buses and as we didn't
have one the bus driver very generously took us anyway and the
connecting bus didn't have facilities for cash either so a gentleman
used his card and wouldn't accept any reimbursement. We were
entertained by a very talented guitarist. A nice welcome to Panama...
We had a fish meal at the
fisherman's harbour overlooking the local fishing boats
then explored the Old
Panama City
Brother
Ralph looking debonair in his Panama hat
We had to do the official
paperwork to clear Panama which can be quite tedious!!!
A picture of the Captain
says a thousand words....
On the 11th of
June we set sail for Galapagos, stopping at the Las Perlas islands
34nm offshore to wait for good weather
Our first stop was
Contadora island where we celebrated with Pina coladas and freshly
caught tuna marinated with limes, coconut milk and red onions. The
next day we carried on to Isla Del Ray for the night stopping at Mogo
Mogo to clean the hull of barnacles and slime. It was here that Ralph
got bitten by NoNo sand flies and his legs had more than a hundred
bites which took more than a week to heal!
The next 24 hrs we
celebrated his 70th birthday..Part NZ time and Panama
time.
Two days later we left the Panama islands bound for Galapagos.
Our friends Peter and
Cathy (SV Leto) also bound for Galapagos had been having gearbox
issues since installing a new propeller so we kept in radio contact
and were delighted to hear that the mechanic had given them the
“thumbs up” and they were only a day behind us.
It took us 12 days to
arrive. We had a difficult passage as the winds were either non
existent (In the doldrums) or 15-20 knots right where we were headed
so we tacked and motorsailed probably covering twice as many miles
than if in a straight line.
I had to strap myself in
to my Galley safety belt in the bouncy conditions and we used a lee
sheet on the sofa when the conditions weren't favourable to be in the
bunk.
We saw lots of dolphin
circling in large schools and leaping out of the water and tail
flapping as they herded fish in a team effort. One morning when we
rolled out the furled sail there was a very indignant red footed
booby preening itself and despite us sitting within a few metres of
it, it remained for sometime before flying off after having a rest.
On the 9th day
we had 4 pilot whales pass by our stern. Storm petrels followed us
picking something out of the water as the boat left a churned up wake
and at night terns and boobies circled us and dolphin could be heard
blowing as we took our turns on watch. We had a full and waning moon
for most of the voyage which was great.
On day 11 Cathy and Peter
(SV Leto) caught up with us, despite having a major oil leak into the
sump..A difficult job for them to clean up at sea!
We had crossed the equator
during the night so the next day we celebrated with balloons tied to
the rigging and a musical ensemble on deck as Leto motored past us.
It was mirror calm and we
saw lots of turtle floating on the surface basking in the sun.
Now in the Humbolt current
it was noticeably cold on night watch and we had to find warm clothes
and bedding..A strange phenomenon being on the equator!
Rubbish accumulates very
quickly and takes up a lot of space. The next picture is how we deal
with it.
2 full size rubbish bags
are compacted into 1 empty soda bottle by cutting plastics, tinfoil
and polystyrene into tiny pieces. Organic waste goes overboard and so
does non waxed paper after being shredded. Tins and bottles are sunk
in deep water. The tins rusting away and the bottles probably
becoming a home for a sea creature
On the 12th
day..24th of June we arrived at San Cristobal Island. The
officials are very strict about bringing barnacles in so Eric and
Ralph went overboard in the chilly water several miles out to clean
the hull. There were only goose neck barnacles which are prevalent in
all oceans but to be 100% sure that we would be allowed entry they
cleaned them off.
As the sun came up we saw
the first sight of Galapagos
Our agent Bolivar Pesantes
and the team of officials boarded for inspection and paperwork
necessary for entry into Galapagos. This cost us $1515 USD! We had a
representative from the police, navy, immigration, customs,
quarantine and a diver. A very thorough inspection was made for pests
which involved opening every cupboard, drawer and hatch. Then the
boat was sprayed. We had to leave the boat for 4 hrs while the
insecticide penetrated then dispersed
Water taxis were a
convenient and safe way to get ashore as there was a heavy swell
running into the anchorage and the seals like to cohabit the
dinghies. This cost $1 USD/person/each way.. This became quite costly
so we made sure our time ashore was well planned to involve most of
the day
We spent 4 days in Wreck
bay seeing the sights. The National Park visitors centre was a
worthwhile visit with history of the Galapagos islands and Charles
Darwin's research.
The foreshore was
interesting with seals, iguana, crabs and birds and we swam in the
surf with the seals
The seals enjoyed sleeping
on our boarding platform and were most vocal if disturbed!
We walked the trails to
lookouts enjoying watching the little finches of which there are 13
species evolved from one to adapt to the environment
Frigate birds were
roosting in trees below the lookouts and we were able to go very
close to them without them being alarmed
We refueled with diesel
($3USD/gallon ) and took on water ($3USD/20L) and with our Zarpe in
hand (written permission to visit another island)
We departed the next
morning being the 29th of June for Villamil, Isabela
Island 82nm away to a more sheltered anchorage.
The supply ship was in the
harbour offloading containers as we left
This was an overnight
sail. We had to slow down near the end to arrive in daylight. Another
$50USD to enter and exit!
Here we could take the
dinghy ashore but we were not allowed to explore the lagoon anchorage
by kayak without paying for a guided tour. Peter and Cathy had been
here 15 years ago when there were no restrictions on where you could
go by water or land under your own devices.
After paying so much to
come to the Galapagos on our own yachts it was hard to accept the
restrictions but we did find some things we could do without putting
our hands deeper in our pockets.
One was a walk on the
boardwalk through the wetlands where we saw flamingo and other birds
and a stroll through the tortoise breeding sanctuary
We enjoyed watching blue
footed boobies roosting on the rocks and diving in unison for fish
along with pelican as we sat in the cockpit at dawn and dusk
Another day we snorkeled
in a part of the lagoon which is not restricted where there were
seals, iguana, ray, turtles and penguin. Unfortunately the photos I
took underwater with my GoPro got accidentally wiped!
On the 3rd of
July it was our 40th wedding anniversary and we celebrated
with breakfast at the Booby trap cafe. James Hinkle (USA) is the
agent for the island and he runs a cafe with his wife. We hung out
here a lot as he was a wealth of information and the WiFi was good.
Cathy and Peter had
informed him of our anniversary and they had arranged celebrations
with bubbly and cake. Thank you Cathy and Peter!
With full tummies and a
desire to burn some calories we set off to see the “Wall of tears”
This was an onerous task
set for prisoners from 1946- 1959 with no purpose apart from
demoralizing their spirits and burning energy. Many died at the wall.
We took some side trails
and walked to numerous lookouts and had a picnic lunch at the highest
peak where there used to be a radar tower
Our days are now numbered
as to when we leave the Galapagos for the Marqueses. So we are taking
on water and food stores for the trip and plan to leave in a few days
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