2nd March 2014

01:28:79S

90:50:56W

Set sail today at noon bound for French Polynesia 3000 miles away. Alistair arrived on Friday pale and spaced out but happy to have got away.  He is now beginning first night watch of what could be a 3 week voyage. The Pacific is gently rolling and we have  breeze and a nice current carrying us all along the Milk Run.

None of us were sorry to say good bye to Galapagos, the wild life and scenery were wonderful but the bureaucracy was horrendous and we all had terrible difficulties with fuel and gas.  The officials fleecing us every which way and giving Paul and Suzanna ( ARC Rally Control) a real headache. I have to say they were brilliant.

Ali was welcomed with open arms by us all and Harry and Imo wizzed him off to sample the highs and lows of Puorta Ayura, returning sometime around dawn. Poor old Harry had more than a hang over afterwards, a number of the sailors have had poisoning from local refreshment. Anyway Ali is now one of the gang though he'll have to wait until we're on shore before he can party again. You know what they say about drunken sailors.

Prepping true boat in the heat and humidity was exhausting. We went to the Saturday market early yesterday along with the rest of Santa Cruz, lots of stalls selling huge hands of green bananas, all the ARKy folk snatching up cabbages and green apples and discussing the ripeness of melons.  We piled back to Hebe laden with fruit and veg then the precarious journey from taxi to the quayside onto a water taxi then on board.  Not like the delivery service in Las Palmas. 

 Last night the church on the dock held a mass for the fleet, not many turned up and it was all in Spanish but I could make out a blessing for our voyage which was nice, it was also wonderful to sit still in the peace of the church, and to marvel that its all the same, just the languages differ. They don't need an altar guild as all the flowers are plastic or silk.  Or a choir for that matter as we had piped music, rather groovy upbeat S. American style.

Imo did fab mashed potato with chicken for supper as comfort food. ( Will do more pics tomorrow)

So signing off in the dark as we head into the night.