He picked us up at 9am on our boat. It turned out that our group had swelled to 3 lanchas of about 6 people each. Each boat had its own lancha driver, and Fabricio drove one boat and was the official park-authorized tour guide. Fabricio was born in the Galapagos and has lived almost all of his 28 years on Isabela. He's a handsome enterprising young guy, and knows enough English to get by.
Los Tunneles are collapsed lava tunnels on the shoreline, about 20 miles south of Puerto Villamil. The lancha ride was about an hour over the open ocean, along the coast. There was big swell with a light chop on top. With twin 100-HP Yamaha outboards, our boat could fly when the waves weren't too bad. At one point we got to a place where there was obviously some current (the waves were steep and choppy), so we slowed down to negotiate the waves.
The entry into the tunnels area is very tricky. There is a small channel between breaking waves, and the driver has to time his entry between sets of waves. Once inside, all was calm. But it looked like a moonscape.
The first stop was a small islet, where there was a small colony of Galapagos Penguins. These little guys are only about 12-16 inches high. They are the only penguins found in the northern hemisphere (the north end of Isabela extends slightly over the equator, and there are some penguins there). They were cute and we could get pretty close in the boat.
Next, we progressed in the boats through a series of small lagoons. On either side of us were lava islands and arches. The boats stopped at a spot and we were able to get out and walk around a big pool of water. In this natural pool we could see sea turtles, sharks, Eagle Rays, parrot fish, and of course the odd sea lion, just swimming lazily by. There were actually multiple pools, all connected by natural archways. So the animals could swim, we could observe, and nobody bothered anyone. While scrambling around the rocks, we also saw marine iguanas and the famous blue-footed boobies (a bird with azure feet).
When everyone had their fill of the pools, we loaded back up in the boats, and moved to a spot where we could snorkel. This was similar in terrain... multiple connected pools. When all 18 of us got in the water, it was hard to see much. But Fabricio did his best to show us the things there were to see. He showed us a cave with a bunch of Galapagos sharks, resting. He showed us some large sea horses (there were 2 pair, each about 6-7 inches high). Then he pointed us toward a lagoon a little further on, and said "go swim with the turtles". For me, this was the coolest part.
I am not quite sure why, but there were 10 or more sea turtles in this little lagoon. And they weren't afraid of us at all. As long as you held still and weren't thrashing around, they'd swim right by you. I got well away from the other snorklers (who WERE thrashing around), and just hung out. In the Caribbean, you barely glimpse a sea turtle before they swim rapidly away. I even saw a couple of guy turtles nosing around a cute girl turtle.
Later, in the boats, we went around a small point to a larger lagoon, and in this lagoon there were literally a hundred or more sea turtles. Everywhere you looked, there was a giant sea turtle head popping up. This area may well be a mating area for the sea turtles. There were some really nice beaches nearby for laying eggs. (In San Cristobal, we saw sea turtle tracks all over the Puerto China beach, so we know it's the season).
On the way back, in the ocean, we saw a squadron of at least 4 big Manta Rays. These guys are huge--about 6' long and 8' wide.
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At 1/27/2010 2:24 PM (utc) our position was 00°57.95'S 090°57.73'W
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Labels: Galapagos
Labels: Galapagos
There are a few more tours that are possible in Santa Cruz--and a lot of full day boat trip excursions. Plus some SCUBA diving. But the harbor is really rolly, boats are jam-packed in there (mostly live-aboard Galapagos tour boats). The swell forecast was still such that no one wanted to pay $120-$160 for a scuba trip. So we left with s/v Visions of Johanna on Sunday for Isla Isabella.
Labels: Galapagos
As you get off the water taxi, right in front of you on the left is a couple of restaurants and a supermarket and hardware store. Being so convenient, these tend to be a little pricier than going further into town. But this supermarket tends to carry more gourmet stuff than the town market.
Orientation: The main street that runs along the waterfront is Av Charles Darwin. This has mainly tourist shops, travel agencies, and restaurants. The main street that runs up away from the harbor is Avenida Baltra.
Banks: The first stop was of course the ATM machines. There is an array of 3 different ATM's right on the harbor next to the supermarket. But if you need a real bank, there is a Banco Pacifico on the malecon street a couple of blocks from the water taxi docks. The BP has 2 ATMs in its building. There is also another bank up Baltra.
Boat Parts: Puerto Ayora is surprisingly well stocked. We haven't seen a store like Bodega Blanca in over a year... it was a combination of West Marine and Ace Hardware (with a little bit of Home Depot thrown in). For marine parts, they had everything from a marine toilet, to marine quality line, to stainless steel rigging parts, to anchors, to watermaker parts and supplies, to electrical stuff like amp meters, etc. They also had a reasonable array of dive gear. Plus all the tools and home building supplies you would expect to find in an Ace Hardware. Bodega Blanca is half a block up from the malecon on Marchena (a few blocks beyond Banco Pacifico).
The next store was Electronautica, which has a lot of boating electrical stuff, including battery chargers, VHF's and GPS's, dinghy and outboard motor stuff, and a lot of computer stuff, too. They also had a very good fishing and diving section, with repair parts for dive gear that I've only ever seen in a dive shop. Electronautica is on Calle Binford, half a block up from the Banco Pacifico on the malecon, on the left.
The third stop was Mechanica Gallardo, which is more of an electrical / automotive type place, with an in-house machine and welding shop. I noticed that they had batteries (so did Bodega Blanca). We bought a belt for our watermaker there, and Visions had some stuff welded. We noticed that they had 8D batteries, and other sizes too (sorry no 6v). They are on Av 18 de Febrero, about halfway between Marchena and Baltra.
We also saw a Setmabas office somewhere in town, which we know from Manta, they do liferaft and fire extinguisher servicing.
Laundry: Visions had their laundry done in town at the price of $1 per kilo, which is about $6 for a reasonable size laundry load, wash-dry-fold. We saw several laundries, but they liked one that was where 18 de Febrero crosses Baltra.
For lunch we went up Baltra away from the harbor, a couple of blocks to Charles Binford, a cross street that has a bunch of local eateries. Here, instead of the tourist lunches for $10 pp, we got a nice 'almuerzo' (soup, main course, juice) for $3 pp.
There are a LOT of restaurants in town, mostly on the waterfront. The only other place we ate in town was at El Penon, across from Banco Pacifico. They had OK prices, decent food, and good wifi.
Internet: You can get limited internet via wifi in the harbor. Look for the REDGAL signal. This seems to be free/open wifi. However, it is slow, and they also have a firewall that blocks Airmal Telnet, outgoing SMTP mail (but not incoming), and some websites. Access to one of our financial institutions was blocked, but others were not. In town there are a number of internet places, they are not hard to find, and usually cost around $1.50 to $2 an hour. We were looking for a restaurant with wifi, and ended up at El Penon, across from Banco Pacifico on the malecon road. They had wifi good enough for Skype. There is also a table in the back that has a wall plug nearby.
Groceries: Besides the one on the waterfront, and various small tiendas scattered around, there are open air veggie stalls up Av Baltra a few blocks at the corner of 18 de Febrero. The big new supermarket is Mega Primavera a couple of blocks from the veggie stalls down 18 de Febrero, and the 'Feria' market, held on Sat and Weds, is another block down 18 de Feb. If you've come from Ecuador, be prepared for a shock at the veggie market... the quality is marginal and the prices are high. We paid $2.50 for a head of lettuce and another $2.50 for a head of brocolli. Apples were 3/$1.
Visions also dug up 'Galadristribution', a company that services the live-aboard cruise boats with higher quality deli-type products, including good wine and cheeses. They are located on Calle Charles Binford on the way to Bahia Tortuga. The owner is Aussie and speaks English. 09-744367.
Note that the availability of ANYTHING in the Galapagos is very dependent on when the supply boats come in.
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At 1/18/2010 12:21 PM (utc) our position was 00°57.95'S 090°57.73'W
Labels: Galapagos
You are supposed to set a stern anchor in Santa Cruz. This is for 2 reasons... very tight quarters, and a large swell that rolls around the point. We don't like stern anchors. They can be dangerous in certain conditions, and they are a pain to set and retrieve.
Our friends on Visions anchored at the back of the anchorage, in a place where they felt they could live without a stern anchor. So we anchored next to them, also without a stern anchor. The wind was blowing pretty good, keeping us (mostly) lined up with the swell. (2 days later we finally broke down and set a stern anchor).
Tomorrow we do some touring of the island, before putting Scott on a plane home on Saturday.
Labels: Galapagos
Labels: Galapagos
Labels: Galapagos
Labels: Galapagos
Labels: Galapagos, On Passage
Labels: Galapagos, On Passage
Labels: Galapagos, On Passage
Labels: Galapagos, On Passage
Labels: Galapagos, On Passage
Labels: Ecuador
Labels: Ecuador
Labels: Ecuador, Maintenance
Labels: Ecuador