Hi all,

So we left Panama last Sunday for the circa 860nm sail to Galapagos islands, which traditionally involves little wind as we go through the doldrums, although we managed to set off in a blast of wind travelling at an average of over 9kts for 12hrs but eventually dropping to the point of having to motor after 24hours, nevertheless we managed to cover 213nm in 24 hours, a record for Babe! (OK yea I know would do that in 3-4 hours in the Lotus blah blah). Following that had next to no wind for a couple of days so motoring (yawn) until a storm arrived - torrential rain and chance to have an on the deck shower!

On the way had company from a rather old looking dolphin which we sailed past and it decided to turn around upon hearing my Placebo music blasting out – wow a dolphin with taste!!

So part of the trip to the Galapagos included the crossing of the equator (00:30am on Friday), for which we did the obligatory on the yacht Neptune party, fancy dress and a celebratory drink and all, together with a bird that decided to land on the boat and have a rest??

, and arriving in Wreck bay in San Cristobel, (it looks like it’s name J)the first of 3 Galapagos islands that we are visiting, on Friday mid-morning. It’s quite a laid back island with a small town and back-packers galore, though not necessarily cheap (glass of wine = $5)!

Greeted by lots of wildlife – sea lion infestation (including a cheeky little one that perched itself on the back of our yacht, rays a plenty, wild birds in abundance (feathered variety and American backpackers). In the evening the sea lions take over the beach and sea front benches ad are no so friendly whilst giving the place a unique pong!

Decided to go for a tour of the island yesterday, covering the lagoon in the extinct volcano from which the island was formed circa 5m years ago, a trip to the giant tortoise reserve and a trip to the sea to look at the giant iguana’s and sea turtles and to snorkel nearby – OK that’s it Galapagos wild life sorted, back to the bars!

We’re leaving San Cristobel today (assuming we get our papers sorted, which is now looking unlikely!) for Santa Cruz, another Galapagos island, which apparently is a lot more structured / up-market including beaches with grills and stuff – already sounds like the making of a pig roast BBQ!!

Photo’s:

1.       Boys in a storm

2.       Bird on board

3.       Neptune party at the equator

4.       Sailing down San Cristobel island, Galapagos

5.       More birds in the harbour

6.       Can I hitch a ride

7.       Close up of our new member of crew

8.       Volcano adventure – yes it really is a volcano, 700m up

9.       Giant tortoise

10.   Giant Iguana’s

By the way it’s flipping hot and humid here, generally 35deg+ and 60%+, so having to take extra fluid (beer, wine, pina colarda etc) whilst eating little, so both getting trimmer and fitter! Trish missing having a bath, so may check-in at nice hotel in Santa Cruz for a night for a bit of home comfort pampering!

Hope all is well in UK. Heard about snow a couple of weeks ago, though can’t say we’re missing the UK weather or anything else much about the UK, other than the friends that we have left behind.

We’ll update again by circa the end of the week before our largest voyage of 3200nm to the trip to the Marquises (Atlantic was only 2800nm by comparison), so only text updates for the circa 3 weeks during this voyage.

Luv

Paul & Trish

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