Position 10.27.875S 138.40.067W

It was time to move to pastures anew. We had to weigh, not one, but 2 anchors, so instead of setting sail at 7am, it was nearer 8am by the time we got under way.

It was always going to be a motor sail, as we were going against the current and the prevailing winds but we made good time and made landfall by 5pm. We were going to anchor in the Bay of Virgins.

Apparently it was originally called the bay of penises (because of all the rock formations that look like phallic symbols) but the missionaries added an ‘I’ to the word verges and made vierges.

Anyway, the anchorage was pretty busy (which as you know I don’t particularly like busy anchorages) and we struggled to find a space.

Added to that, the anchorage is very deep and the holding was a problem, as the bottom was shale and rocks.

It took us 3 attempts and a change of anchor type to get hooked. and it was tight for space.

The rock formations are amazing, towering high above you. The mountains are home to wild goats, which can be heard bleating and seen high up on the rock face.

Speaking of faces, the rock formations look like faces.

 It is fascinating seeing the images change as the light changes. There is one outcrop that looks like George Washington’s face

Badinguet, one of the boats we transited the canal with, was already here when we arrived, it was the first time we had seem them since the canal.

A very nice young American, Alex and his Galapagan friend, Diego, dropped by to say hi.

They offered to chill some of Roger’s beer for him when we mentioned having no fridge. The only proviso was that he went over and drank it with them.

Roger and I went ashore in the morning to take a look see. They have a little quay that the barges unload on and the dinghies tie up on, but it took a bit of climbing onto as we were at low tide.

It is a nice little village, very clean and orderly.

There were lots of children around.

It is not easy to tell the girls from the boys, as they all have long hair and are gorgeous.

But they were having a great time, playing in the surf with their little plywood ‘make do’ surfboards. It was nice to see them having fun without the need for adult supervision.

We met Edwige and Desiree, 2 ladies who had a little food stall. They had the most delicious looking cakes for sale. They also had banana pasties and other snacks.

 They are down by the dock every day there are boats in. We had a couple of chicken sandwiches and a chunk of cake for lunch, washed down with a cold can of soda each.

It came to 900cpf’s (US$9), which wasn’t bad.