The days are slipping by without much in the way of events, other than ticking something off the ever growing list of jobs to do.

I have replaced the broken zip in the tent window and repaired the rear window. Roger has been steadily ticking off jobs. Not necessarily urgent jobs, more like the little jobs that make life easier and take longer to get around to doing. So although not earth shattering, the days, while generally lazy, are productive.

Otherwise it is just the usual routine, dinghying ashore for Almurza or cena, checking e-mail while enjoying a fresh coffee at Max’s (the only place on Isabela that actually serves REAL coffee), stopping by the cake shop for cakes or bread then back to the boat.

The anchorage is emptying little by little as one by one the boats set sail for the Marquesas.

I think you get to a certain stage where you just feel it is time to go. It seems that we all felt the same at around the same time. It’s good, because your mind is focussed on setting sail, changing scenery and moving on, not on the long passage ahead. Whereas when you arrive, the long passage preys heavily on the minds of the less ardent sailors amongst us (I put myself in this category).

Hopefully Rob & Sheralee, who have been in Sta Cruz for the past week or so, are feeling the same by now.

I have been promising myself that I would ask at the restaurant where we eat (El Encanto de la pepe) , if I could watch how they make their Rice with Prawns ( Arroz con Camerones) as both Roger and Sheralee rave about it.

Anyway, I was ashore by myself today and went to get a takeaway for Roger, who was busy on the boat.

So I asked if I could watch, I was immediately ushered into the kitchen where Ruben Dario (the chef) works his magic.

This dish is so simple and the prawns can be substituted with chicken, or fish or even pork. Some of the ingredients are written here phonetically as I do not have the Spanish spelling for them.

This is for one serving (albeit a healthy serving) of Ruben’s Rice and Prawns

½ a knorr or Maggi chicken stick cube

2 tbs of butter

Yellow colouring ( Achiote)

A teasp of ‘Alino’ ( liquidised garlic and cumin)

½ an onion, thinly sliced

½ a green pepper, thinly sliced

A handful of frozen peas and carrots (diced carrots, not whole or sliced and tinned would do at a push)

A Handful of Prawns (for the British readers we are talking sizable King prawns, not the tiddly little things they call prawns)

IMPORTANT NOTE FROM RUBEN…..DO NOT USE OIL, ONLY BUTTER

Melt 1 tbsp butter and the stock cube in a wok, add the yellow colouring and garlic/cumin paste, Stir all the time.

Add the onion, peppers, frozen peas and carrots and stir. Next add the second tbsp of butter and then the prawns, keep stirring.

Add a little water then a large portion of boiled rice, mix well until the rice is a nice even yellow colour and keep stirring, until the prawns are cooked (they will be opaque when cooked). Serve immediately with a side of salad…..yummy!

Well so much for the anchorage emptying, 4 new boats have arrived over the past 2 days.

We had an interesting night last night. A cold front was coming through and it brought torrential rain with it. By 05.00 our starboard water tank was full to overflowing, so I got up, dismantled the rain catcher and closed up the tank and went back to bed. Not more than 30 mins later I was up again, as the port tank was just starting to gurgle that it too was full.

Cold and wet, I scrabbled back into bed, oh what I wouldn’t give for a night of uninterrupted sleep.

No sooner had I dropped off than Roger sat bolt upright and then leapt out of bed. He started the engine as we were inches from hitting the fishing boat behind us. I leapt up and took the helm as Roger shot forward to check where the anchor chain was.

What had happened is that the fishing boat had swung and we hadn’t. I asked Roger how he knew and he said he didn’t, something had woken him. Now in the saloon on our boat, we have Roger’s late father’s sailing cap hanging up. Roger reckons his dad keeps an eye on things for us. So we marked it up as another one to his dad.

With our departure from Isabela imminent I will give a quick précis of what’s what and who’s who for any sailors who may venture this way. So you non-sailors can go and get yourself a cuppa.

The Skinny on VillaMil, Isla Isabela

Clearing in and out: Call in to the port captain as soon as you arrive. The best time to catch him seems to be just after 4pm. Don’t sweat not getting your clearing in papers immediately, just keep checking to see if your boats name is put on the board outside the front door.  When you go to get your Zarpe, you will probably get your clearing in papers at the same time. The cost for each is about $4.40.

While we were here Elcie, actually cleared into the Galapagos in Villamil.  It took some convincing the port captain, who hadn’t read the new regulations. But a call to their agent seemed to take care of things. Another boat got their international zarpe here as well. The Port Captain tried to charge $140 but once again after a call to their agent, it miraculously dropped down to $13!!!

Agents: it may seem a lot of money to pay ($300) but they are worth every cent. We used Bolivar Palma at Naugala. His e-mail is naugala {CHANGE TO AT} hotmail {DOT} com he speaks a little English, but his e-mails are usually in English (I think his son writes them). Bolivar is ‘the man’, knows all the right people and seems to be a bit of a mover and shaker (as much as an Ecuadorian can be).

He will also take care of your sailing plan. Every boat has to have a sailing plan. It is mandatory. But before you start panicking, don’t, you don’t need to have a sailing plan ready when you arrive, saying where you intend to go and when, what you do, is e-mail him a day or so before you wish to sail somewhere, he amends the sailing plan and lets the appropriate port captain know, so all is in place before you arrive (or leave). It works very well and gives you much more flexibility.

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Dinghy dock: Take care when you first dinghy ashore, as there are drying flats and rocks everywhere. Best watch the tour boats and track where they go and until you are comfortable, go in on a full tide. Once you are in, if you go behind the main jetty (where the ferry docks) you will see a small blue pontoon with a covered seating area. This is where the boat tours go from. You can tie up around there, but keep the blue landing platform clear for the tour boats. When you tie up, if you are going to be any length of time, don’t forget to allow for the tide range (roughly 1.5 mts). We have been told that the only thing that sometimes goes missing is the fuel line, so everyone takes theirs off. You will also need a painter from the transom as well as the bow.

Garbage: There is usually a skip on the main jetty. Unlike Academy bay, they do not charge here for trash, but you take it ashore yourself.

Fresh Water: Max at the Albemarle Hotel produces all the R/O water for the entire town. He sells it at $1.50 for 20 liters.

Fuel: You can take a taxi to the gas station on the outskirts of town, for a bout $10 and pay $1.02 per gal for Diesel. Or you can get Fabrisio to get it for you at a cost of $1.50 delivered to your boat (he may try and charge you $2.00 and only deliver to the jetty) in 20 gallon tanks, which you then have to man handle aboard to discharge. Gasoline is $2.00 delivered to your boat. Fabrisio’s cell no. is:080927845

Provisions: There is a farmers market on a Saturday morning at 05.00am at the first Volleyball court. Alternatively, on a Sunday morning the supply boat arrives and then Daniellito’s has a good supply of quality fruit and veg. They always have eggs and usually you can buy frozen prawns and chicken at $6 a kg. Luis will also take orders for ‘green’ fruit and veg. Simply tell him what you want and when you want it and he will get it for you and deliver it to the jetty.

Ice: is 50c a block from the very first tienda on the left hand side of the road (opposite the post office) when you enter town.

Internet: there is Easynet and another small internet café, charging $1.50 to $2.00 per hour, but if you go to The Albemarle Hotel and get yourself a beer or a coffee (the only place on the island that serves fresh coffee) you can usually hook into their wifi.

Laundry: The Concha de Perla Lavendaria is the best. As you walk towards town, about 150 yards from the dinghy jetty, on the right hand side you will see a little sign for the laundry. Turn right down the asphalt track, follow it round to the right past the big house under construction, the nest house on the right (also still under construction) is the laundry. The yard is usually full of clothes drying. Roxanna washes, air dries and folds your laundry for $1.50 a kg. It is always nicely done and we have never lost anything (nor gained anything). They weigh it when you drop it off, so there is no quibbleing and it is usually ready the next day.

Propane: I wouldn’t recommend trying to get your propane filled here as it has to go to Sta Cruz and comes back on the supply boat (so takes a week!). We watched them loading up the trucks for distribution, they throw the bottles around. Also when they drop them off, that is exactly what they do, drop them off the back of the truck.

Restaurants are plentiful and Desayunar, Almeurza or Cena will cost between $3 and $5 depending on where you eat. A la carte varies. Food is generally reasonable quality.

Tours, for snorkelling and diving then Fabrisio is your man. Los Tonales costs $300 for a boat, which will take up to 6 passengers or 6 adults and 2 children at a pinch. So check out the boats in the anchorage to see if you can drum up a boat load.

Alternatively, tell Fabrisio if you want to do a trip and he will try and make up a boat load. Isla Tortuga diving trip for a twin tank dive, using their tanks but with your own equipment will cost about $120 per person for 4 people. I think it is about $150 if you use their equipment??

The Tintorettos snorkelling trip is $30 per person, but we had no problem doing it in our own dinghy (when there were no tour boats doing it).

The Volcano trip. Check on the weather, if there has been a lot of rain, don’t take the horse riding option, it is very tricky and dangerous. This trip is often very wet and this can often make visibility poor.

For Omero’s farm visit, call Luis. It is $30 for the truck, no matter how many people you get to go, so go around the anchorage and see if you can drum up a truck full. Not only does it make it cheaper, but it is more fun.

Bike hire: If you take a right turn just as you get into town (before the post office), go past the first Ferretaria about 150 yds on the right hand side of the road, you will see a small shack offering bikes for rent and surfing lessons and board hire. The bikes are $2.50 an hour or $10 for 5 hours. It’s a great way to see the town and attractions. There aren’t many bikes available, so get there early.

Chandlers/ironmongers (Ferretaria) there is one immediately you turn right when you get into town , the second is about 25 yds past the bike rental shack. If you go past Daniellitos to the supermarket/hotel on the corner, they have a good selection of ironmongery in a corner at the back of the store.

The Albemarle Hotel is an SSCA cruising station and is situated on the beach front opposite the port captains office, just past the public showers and toilets. So that’s about it, enjoy Villamil, Isla Isabela.