Almost ready for the big off
Catacaos
Graham Shaw
Mon 2 May 2011 14:25
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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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