Pete….
This morning, we had 38 US gallons of fuel delivered in 2*18 gallon drums. About 2 hours later and a bit of spillage, we had it siphoned and transferred into the starboard tank. I now need to know how to check how much space there is left in the tanks - That is 38 US gallons in real money? We want full tanks because it is the same price for a litre in the Marquesas as it is for a gallon here.
In the afternoon, we took a walk around the headland with Graham, Judi and Herbert of “Nomad Life” to find the statue of Charles Darwin and had a couple of beers in town before retiring early.
Fliss….
It really is a pleasure being here as the water is so clear and you can watch the sea lions diving underneath Nadezhda. At night you can see torpedoes of phosphoresce and hear the breathing of the sea lions as they play all around us.
It really is a pleasure being here as the water is so clear and you can watch the sea lions diving underneath Nadezhda. At night you can see torpedoes of phosphoresce and hear the breathing of the sea lions as they play all around us.
This morning Pete launched the dinghy only for one to try to get in with him, lovely! They have no fear of humans and we can get really close to them. In my next life I want to come back as a sea lion here as all they do all day is play, eat & sunbathe, they are also very sociable critters and it’s a joy to see them laying and playing together.
Sea-Lion in a dinghy
Friday 11th May 2007
Pete….
Today we went with Rob and Lilli from "Mariah" for a tour of the island in a taxi. For starters, we visited a tortoise sanctuary where we wandered along manicured paths amongst the arid volcanic rocks and scrubland. We saw lots of large 
tortoises that live over 100 years, little yello finches, mockingbirds and a host of endemic plantlife. The wildlife here has no fear of humans and birds will dance along the path next to you and the tortoises do not mind if you are only a few feet away.
tortoises that live over 100 years, little yello finches, mockingbirds and a host of endemic plantlife. The wildlife here has no fear of humans and birds will dance along the path next to you and the tortoises do not mind if you are only a few feet away. 
Next, we had a superb fruit salad at a mini, gardened cafe where all the produce was picked out of the garden and then on to the local dormant volcano that has a lake in its crater. Fish have been introduced into the lake and Frigate birds were circling and picking them off the surface.
We were then treated to lunch at the taxi-driver's sister's house. First course was fish and plantain soup - YUMMY, followed by.....Fish and Plantain. But this was fried plantain, a different fish, and rice. Again, this was really nice but we could hardly move afterwards when we went to the shore and hunted out the local iguanas on the rocks. These were about 3 feet long and varied in hue between rock colour, rock colour and rock colour with a hint of red. They were very impressive all the same with a "mane" running down the length of their backs.In the evening we all went over to see Graham and Judy on "Nomad Life" for a barbeque. All of us were still stuffed from the lunchtime extravaganza but made a good effort at polishing off the barbeque ribs and pork chops.
Saturday 12th May 2007
Today is boat job day. The headsail had some fraying edges that needed heat-sealing, the old dinghy had a new exterior patch applied, the electric water pump needed fixing (again) and we did a bit of general interior and exterior cleaning and polishing. Otherwise we had a relaxing day and didn’t even get off the boat.
Sunday 13th May 2007
This morning, we realised that there were no water taxis running. We later learned that it was “Mothers Day” and everywhere was closed. Fliss rang her mother to wish her well and found out from the perplexed noises on the other end that it was not Mothers Day in England.
It was blowing a good 20 knots in the anchorage and so, rather than go ashore, we congregated on Nomad Life for the afternoon along with the crew of Mariah.
Fliss….
I misheard “Mothers Day” for “More beer day” silly me! thankfully Graham on Nomad Life put me right, a really nice afternoon telling old sea shanties and exaggerating experiences out at sea. Herbert had to suffer the German Coastguard joke (he’s from Switzerland but it’s close enough)…. The joke is a trainee coastguard receives a mayday call from English boat… “Mayday, we are sinking, we are sinking” the German coastguard say’s “Hello” and looks nervously around for his supervisor, the English boat again frantically say’s “We are sinking, we are sinking”… the German coastguard after a long pause say’s “What are you thinking about”….
Monday 14th May 2007
We went into town for a few provisions and organised a delivery of water and fuel to Nadezhda. Back at the boat, we had 6 * 20 litre water containers delivered and the tank swallowed them up, so when Diego called to pick up the empties, we ordered another 6 containers that were to be delivered by 15:00.
Saturday 12th May 2007
Today is boat job day. The headsail had some fraying edges that needed heat-sealing, the old dinghy had a new exterior patch applied, the electric water pump needed fixing (again) and we did a bit of general interior and exterior cleaning and polishing. Otherwise we had a relaxing day and didn’t even get off the boat.
Sunday 13th May 2007
This morning, we realised that there were no water taxis running. We later learned that it was “Mothers Day” and everywhere was closed. Fliss rang her mother to wish her well and found out from the perplexed noises on the other end that it was not Mothers Day in England.
It was blowing a good 20 knots in the anchorage and so, rather than go ashore, we congregated on Nomad Life for the afternoon along with the crew of Mariah.
Fliss….
I misheard “Mothers Day” for “More beer day” silly me! thankfully Graham on Nomad Life put me right, a really nice afternoon telling old sea shanties and exaggerating experiences out at sea. Herbert had to suffer the German Coastguard joke (he’s from Switzerland but it’s close enough)…. The joke is a trainee coastguard receives a mayday call from English boat… “Mayday, we are sinking, we are sinking” the German coastguard say’s “Hello” and looks nervously around for his supervisor, the English boat again frantically say’s “We are sinking, we are sinking”… the German coastguard after a long pause say’s “What are you thinking about”….
Monday 14th May 2007
We went into town for a few provisions and organised a delivery of water and fuel to Nadezhda. Back at the boat, we had 6 * 20 litre water containers delivered and the tank swallowed them up, so when Diego called to pick up the empties, we ordered another 6 containers that were to be delivered by 15:00.
Nomad Life Leaving for the Marquesas
Graham, Judi and Herbert returned to Nomad Life with their final provisions raised their mainsail and anchor and set off with a fond farewell and fanfare towards the Marquesas. We wished them safe passage and good winds soon had them out of sight over the horizon.
Having gone back into town, we returned and had the next delivery of water and fuel. The water tanks are now full and the final gallon of fuel had to be given back because the fuel tanks are also full. We are pretty much ready to follow in the wake of Nomad Life – and maybe catch them up?
Fliss…
We have decided to leave on Thursday after looking at the Pacific chart and seeing how many islands we would like to visit before running to Auckland, our friends Richard & Sam (Kiwi’s who are entertaining Pete in NZ) emailed us to say “Get here ASAP as it really is simply beautiful” enough said, time to get our heads around the long-haul to Fatu Hiva, 3000 nautical miles….. Richard & Sam did it in 18 days but at times didn’t enjoy the passage, on one occasion they had the spinnaker flying at 04:00am and were hit by a black squall which sent the boat spiralling out of control with no other option but to cut the halyard, Pete and I are not brave enough so we’ll keep doing what we have been doing and shorten sail at night.
Tuesday 15th May 2007
We visited the National Park Information Centre this morning. It seems that a lot of money has been spent on the buildings and displays although, from the visitors book, very few people actually visit it. We were alone except for a French couple. The Galapagos islands were originally a base for English pirates who would attack Spanish ships in the area. Following this, the islands were used as a prison and various attempts were made to colonise them and use the convicts as labour. During this period the local wildlife was hunted to near extinction and many non-indigenous species were introduced that did for the flora what hunting did to the fauna. It is only in the last 50 years that value of the unique environment has been properly recognised and National Parks set up to protect it. We are surprised that the local wildlife has not learned to fear us.
Fliss…
We have decided to leave on Thursday after looking at the Pacific chart and seeing how many islands we would like to visit before running to Auckland, our friends Richard & Sam (Kiwi’s who are entertaining Pete in NZ) emailed us to say “Get here ASAP as it really is simply beautiful” enough said, time to get our heads around the long-haul to Fatu Hiva, 3000 nautical miles….. Richard & Sam did it in 18 days but at times didn’t enjoy the passage, on one occasion they had the spinnaker flying at 04:00am and were hit by a black squall which sent the boat spiralling out of control with no other option but to cut the halyard, Pete and I are not brave enough so we’ll keep doing what we have been doing and shorten sail at night.
Tuesday 15th May 2007
We visited the National Park Information Centre this morning. It seems that a lot of money has been spent on the buildings and displays although, from the visitors book, very few people actually visit it. We were alone except for a French couple. The Galapagos islands were originally a base for English pirates who would attack Spanish ships in the area. Following this, the islands were used as a prison and various attempts were made to colonise them and use the convicts as labour. During this period the local wildlife was hunted to near extinction and many non-indigenous species were introduced that did for the flora what hunting did to the fauna. It is only in the last 50 years that value of the unique environment has been properly recognised and National Parks set up to protect it. We are surprised that the local wildlife has not learned to fear us.
Fliss…..
The Galapagos Islands translated means “The Enchanted Islands”.
San Christobal didn’t escape murder, mystery and intrigue….. in the 1950’s a wealthy titled baroness arrived unexpectedly with her three lovers in tow…. Her plan was to build a millionaires hotel…. Two of hers lovers died in suspicious circumstances and the baroness disappeared and to this day no-one knows what happened to her….
In the 1960’s (I think) Equador offered to lease The Galapagos Islands to the United Kingdom to pay back some debts accrued, The United Kingdom declined but a few years later realised the value of the Islands. Equador had great pleasure in declining any offers. America has also tried to lease the Islands but at the last moment political pressure by the people of Equador vetoed the deal… than god for that! Can you imagine the sea loins frolicking amongst the Mc Donald and Kentucky Fried Chicken wrappers!.
Pete….
In the afternoon, we went off around the coastline in the dinghy. Just around the corner from the anchorage we found a colony of Blue-Footed Boobies roosting on the rocks. They have bright blue webbed feet, long beaks and gawky eyes.
In the next bay, we turned off the engine and rowed quietly towards where the sea-lions were basking. A youngster popped his head above the water to tentatively see what we were up to and became bolder when two others joined him. They spent 20 minutes bobbing their heads up to watch us and then would chase each other around and under the dinghy. One of them kept coming to the surface and slapping the water with its tail in an attempt to splash us. It was absolutely magical since we were entirely alone with the show to ourselves.
Fliss….
For me this has been the highlight of our time in the Galapagos, it was so sweet!!!! The water was so clear that we could see them diving down under the dinghy… they were so close to the side that we could have touched them but you can’t as the babies will be abandoned as the mother can smell you on them.
It’s so funny to them swimming upside down with their noses in the air, they stay like this for ages and they seem to prefer this.The wildlife here has a wonderful life, they play and bask in the sun. Galapagos is without a doubt their islands and humans are just visitors.
Pete….
Back at Nadezhda I returned to the more mundane job of replacing a split bellow on the main bilge pump. This was the usual nightmare of needing to get two pairs of hands into an unreachable spot inside the rear locker. Another job off the list.
Wednesday 16th May 2007
Fliss went off into town to get final provisions and I spent the time in the internet café updating our Blogsite.
Fliss….
There wasn’t that much choice at the Municipal market (veg & meat) and I only managed to pick up two cabbages and really had to dig deep for green tomatoes, whilst digging I noticed a huge cockroach, yuk, so when I get the vegetables back to Naz I will wash them in a mild bleach solution to kill the eggs, if any. A tip from the galley, if you wrap your tomatoes in silver foil they stay green for much longer!! Also keep banana’s away from other fruit and veg as they give off a gas that makes other fruit/veg ripen faster.. Pete and I have learned quite a bit from other cruisers about keeping provisions longer. The drying banana’s was a roaring failure though!
Re our cockroach problem so far so good and we haven’t seen one in months so fingers crossed we have beaten them, but we will keep playing safe when bringing produce onboard.
Pete….
In the evening, Rob and Lilli came over for a glass of wine to wish us bon-voyage for the following day.
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