Almost ready for the big off

Catacaos
Graham Shaw
Mon 2 May 2011 14:25
We are still in the Galapagos Islands, but will be departing tomorrow for the longest passage yet.  I have to say I am not looking forward to this long trip, but it has to be done.  If the wind is good we should make it in three weeks.  Yes, I said THREE weeks at sea.
 
Back to the Galapagos: I managed a dive which was fab, seeing 30-plus sharks, turtles, huge eagle rays and manta rays, plus loads of sea lions swimming around us.  In our previous blog we mentioned that the animals seem to have no fear of humans, so they all swim in very close proximity to you. Just getting a shot on the camera is hard, as they are so fast.  One of the other things interesting with the diving is the thermo currents, which are really very strange. It is like diving in a fussy sea, and also there is not really any coral as I have known it in the Caribbean, so I expected it not to have much life, but in fact the place is teeming with stuff.  The sealions are such fun in the water - they are so curious, and swim around you all the time doing acrobatics, it really is quite amazing.  We also had a number of them parking themselves on the bottom step of the boat, and also one night one tried to get into our cockpit.
 
We have toured around the island as much as we are allowed.  Because it is a National Park you are only allowed to go to certain areas, which are quite small, with the rest of the island being left to nature.  We managed a tour to the lava tunnels, which were a first for us, walking through one of these.  Not for the claustraphobic.  Then a big cycle back to town 20 km, thankfully all down hill ( we took a taxi up with the bikes). Tortuga beach, which is number of miles walk to, great for snorking and swimming, infact Gray went for a dip with a shark right next to him!  The beach goes on for miles, with powdery sand.  Las Grietas, which is a huge cut in the rock formation, where you can swim in fresh water, was a little nippy
 
So now we are just stocking up the boat and fixing the last bits and pieces before the off, including fuel topping up, which I have to say is such a big palaver.  First you need a permit for the exact amount required, then you go to the fuel station, check in the office, get your bit of paper stamped, then return to the fuel station, have your paperwork checked by policeman, fill your cans, give the exact amount of money only accepting 20 and 50 dollars notes, then get a receipt which needs stamping again, which then is returned to our agent. 
 
There are lots of other boats anchored here so socialising if quite high up on the list of stuff to do. Also Lucas has found a park which we manage to visit regularly.  Amongst the boats arriving here in the last couple of days are Evita and Salamander, both of whom we first met in Grenada.  Lucas is certainly going to miss Eva, Oskar and Raul, the kids on Evita, but we will all catch up again in the Marquesas, evrybody's next stop.
 

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