Cuddly                                                                      cold south pacific sunset                                      Hi, welcome to Galapagos

 

   Greetings from a chilly 54 south, that is minutes not degrees!  Our position, although only 54 miles from the equator, feels more like the southern ocean (or Melbourne) in regards to the temperature. The reason for our runny noses is the cold Humboldt current, that runs up the south American coast and nourishes the waters of the Galapagos and makes this a much more temperate place than it's location suggests.

     We arrived at the island of San Cristobal 00 54' s and 89 37' w on the 10th July after a lovely fast and uneventful passage from Manta, Ecuador. By the second night out there was nothing for it, broke out the full wet weather gear, socks boots and beanies. The solitary ship we crossed paths with on the 3rd night was as bored as we were and the Indian captain and Becky had a lovely long chat on the VHF. 

      You know you have arrived in the Galapagos when you have to shoo the seals away so you can drop the anchor. These very friendly characters are also fond of sleeping on any available deck space, so one needs to pull the dinghy on board at night. Today we donned hiking boots and started to explore the very ruggered dry volcanic landscape. George's biggest disappointment was not being molested by a giant Galapagos tortoise. Tomorrow we will visit Pepe the captive tortoise to placate the hunter. We will continue to search for the real thing and follow in the steps of the Darwin!!   

 

handsome!                                                            no scurvy on Avalon                                                concrete, the answer to a growing family