Panama to Galapagos Islands - February 27 to March 6, 2003

It was late morning when we managed to escape from Balboa and the weather was lovely, sunny and warm with a light breeze. We cruised away at 6.5 knots under full jib and main, but by 2030 conditions had died down and we were reduced to 4.5. Leaving the Gulf of Panama was quite an interesting experience as freighters and cruise ships were passing from all directions. In the dark, this proved to be interesting, particularly with one small cruise ship that appeared to be zig-zagging around in front of us. As we were under sail, it was a little disconcerting and so the spotlight was used frequently against the mainsail to increase our visibility to other vessels. This seemed to have worked for the strangely moving cruise ship as they altered direction away from us. The wind picked up about an hour later and we started to move again. The sky cleared and out popped the Southern Cross...

We caught our first fish of the passage, which proved to be quite tasty. The passage was peaceful and we spent plenty of time catching up on some reading. Natasha discovered the new meaning of cruising clothing, donning pajamas to keep off the burning sun. Over the seven day transit, almost 800 nautical miles, we only encountered one squall. We averaged about 6.5 knots overall.

On the morning of March 6 we approached the southern most island, Isla San Cristobal. The Galapagos has an interesting history and due to various "rediscoveries" of the islands by the Spanish and English, each island has three names. It was used as a hideout by the buccaneers who frequently raided Guayquil. Because of the peculiar climatic phenomenon resulting from the equatorial position and the cold Humbolt current, the islands are often shrouded by a misty cloud layer that has earned them the name "the Encantadas", or the enchanted islands.

As we approached Isla Santa Cruz, and Puerto Ayora, the sun rose in the sky to burn off the misty layer. We had a few initial problems anchoring due to the many boats at anchor and the silty sand that wouldn't initally hold our delta anchor. We finally managed to get good holding and prepared for breakfast. We noted that most of the boats employed a stern anchor, so we prepared to deploy our fortress. Fasto, who turns out to be the Port Captain's son in law, assisted us in deploying the fortress. Because of the numerous inexpensive water taxis, there was no need to use our own dinghy, nor is it permitted anyways. Fasto was able to arrange for diesel and water delivery to the boat before we finally departed. Although his cost was a little higher than in town, he did all the hauling and transport for us. He was also able to provide extra tanks if we needed them. We concluded that employing his services was well worth the extra few dollars.

It took us two days to check in as the Port Captain's office kept asking us to come back later. The officers were very pleasant and Captain Quintana was very courteous and helpful. One of the Port Captain's office buildings had a lovely mural painted on its side, and we soon discovered that there were many murals throughout town.

We took several days to explore the town and we visited the tortoises in the highland area. The lava tubes were fasciniating - essentially caves that were carved out by moving lava flows and left hollow. There were several sinkholes in the uplands where these caverns had collapsed, leaving vast holes with steep sides - kind of the reverse of the Canaima Tepui in Venezuela.

We also took time to visit the Darwin Foundation and the assorted tortoises, including old "George", the last of his kind. There were many young tortoises for breeding, and many offspring being reared for release.

The story of the decline of the Galpagos tortoise is a rather sad one. The most obvious problems involve the competition with introduced species such as goats, pigs, cats, and dogs. But most fascinating was the popular use of tortoises as long-term food for buccaneers and explorers. Because of their slow metabolism, tortoises can survive for 180 days or more in the bilge of a ship, making them ideal fresh food for long voyages. They were harvested by the hundreds by passing vessels in the last century. Because the ideal nesting areas were located nearer to the coast, the females were most commonly removed due to their close proximity to the beaches. Fortunately, the tortoise project seems to be very successful.

One morning we watched in fascination as a group of cattle and goats bound for Guayquil were loaded into a wooden barge. They were to be moved to an awaiting ship at anchor. Watching the fellows move the cattle was quite amazing as the animals were herded down a narrow stone walkway and had to jump down into the waiting barge! How they moved the cattle from the barge to the ship remains a mystery to us!

It was difficult to decide if we should take Darwin's Passage around the islands, or if we should just hire a charter boat. In the end, we decided to take the 85 foot catamaran, Nemo, for a 5 day exploration. This turned out to be a very good idea, and the cost was close to what we would have had to pay for taking DP. In the end, Nemo was a good decision. We managed to get in two dives a day using Nemo's tanks and two hikes each day. Fabricio, the naturalist onboard, had a graduate degree in biology and knew his subjects well. We enjoyed his knowledge and learned quite a bit. The captain, Rodrigez, was very pleasant and relaxed, which made the trip much more fun. The crew, Walter, Guido, and Luis, were a continual source of fun, and the mechanic, Phillipo, was extremely pleasant despite the challenges of a broken generator. It's amazing how a good crew can make such a tremendous difference on the enjoyment of a cruise.

Natasha and Peter had to leave for home, but Barry and I chose to stay another few days on the Nemo. We had the opportunity to see Isla Daphne Major, the home for the book "Beak of the Finch". The island is essentially the top of a volcano peaking above the surface of the water. The immense crater has become the courtship site for frigate birds and boobies, and numerous finches flitter about the sparse vegetation.

We picked up our next crew on the trip back from the Nemo to Puerto Aroya. To our tremendous amusement, we had a new guest aboard - a young sealion had decided to make home of our swim platform!!

We had prepared DP prior to our departure on the Nemo, and we were pretty much provisioned. We did a few last minute jobs with our new crew members and pulled anchor on the 20th of March.