Salsa af Stavsnas - Whales, Vulcanos and Bananas 01.23S 91.42W

Whales, Vulcanos and Bananas 01.23S 91.42W

Salsa af Stavsnas

Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde

Sun 19 May 2013 03:06

So night has fallen, the stars are shining and the last thing we saw from Galapagos was the tallest vulcano (about 1800meters high) Northern Knoll. We also saw the reason sailors feared Galapagos before modern navigation. There is a saying about the islands: Now you see them, now you don't. As the current brings up cold water from the depths of 3000 meters along the slopes of the vulcano islands, it collides with the warm air and the sun. So mist, fog, clouds etc form around the islands.At the same time every island has its unique currents that can bring ships out of course and drag them on the reefs of lavastone.

Tonight the air is still a little bit chilly as the waters are still cold. As we left the islands there was the same animal experience we have had for there three weeks we have been here, sealions, manta rays, boobies, fregatt birds etc, but with one addition, W H A L E S.

H U G E whales where about 100 meter from our boat and I felt, thanks for staying there. We saw the back of one and Salsa was small compared to this giant mammals that disappeared hunting in the deep, and came up again with a breath that could lift a car on top of the cascade of water shooting from their breathing hole.

As most sailors do, it is hard to resist buying a stock of bananas when you leave shore. Everybody tells, you, they will all ripe at the same time.

So we just bought half a stock for 3 dollars. We went up to Finca again to stock on fruits and vegetables for the journey.

Fun to be there again. A fruit ranch down here does not look the way we think. They grow tall trees and create a forest and then in the shadow they have banana trees, Mango, Oranges, Citrus, Grapefruit, Passion fruit, Papayas you name it.

Once we are back to the boat there is a full days work of cleaning and packing everything so it lasts.

The banana stock is easy to clean, you take the whole stock and sink it in sea water. Soon enought cockrouches big as half of a banana come out and try to swim for their life. Actually carrying a stock of banana is not fun when yu have read that the tarantella, cockrouches ans small poisenous snakes love to live in these stocks. So when the banana stock is clean you hang it in the aft of the boat, high up. It looks ver exotic and it is fun to see your green bananas and think that it will be lovely out at sea.

Now, we went to Finca tuesday this week because we thought we would leave thursday. Then Windarra was coming in and we just had to postpone the departure for the joy of catching up with them. So we left today with a stock of yellow bananas that taste very very good.

But they are already ripe. So what happens at sea? Nobody told us before. Bananas start to fall on deck like apples falling from a tree.

You start out collecting one banana thinking: OH! a banana fell! Well after a while you dont think that anymore, you just have to take them down before they destroy themselves. So now we have a banana cake and banana smoothie in the fridge, plus we have bananas for breakfast, lunch and dinner tomorrow...

So we are heading for 2degrees South, hoping for more wind, the current is great, with the wind of 9 knots we make 6.3-7 knots (SOG), makes us feel like great sailors.

The kids are not happy to leave Blake and Sophie behind on Windarra, so right now we have two tired kids on board that fell asleep fast after some discussion on where to sleep. Both of them slept on Windarra the night before yesterday (that was strange and nice, Ellinor and I alone on Salsa!). Then last night was farewell party on Windarra, with tuna sushi (namnam), grilled tuna and coco rice, what a treat!