Galapagos Part 3 Isabela, Puerto Villamil

 29/4/2013

         

 One of the main reasons for deciding to apply for an Autographo, was to enable us to spend time at Puerto Villamil, which is not a port of entry into Galapagos. So it was surprising to learn from other cruisers ,en route, that they intended to only visit Villamil, for the 20 day single port stop, and then head on to the Marquesas. It seems that provided one makes this arrangement with an agent beforehand, that this is in fact possible. Bolivar’s representative in Villamil, JC de Soto, does all the liaison between the yacht and the Port Captain, and we saw many boats doing just this.

View from the anchorage

There is a lot to see on Isabela, so one can see why people choose this option. However, this is not an anchorage where I would be happy to leave my boat unattended, while we took ferries to San Cristobal, or Santa Cruz. One would have to book tours, and stay overnight in hotels before returning the following day on a ferry. Most people obviously feel the same, so they stick to a couple of day tours on Isabela.   

We, on the other hand have seen so much, that we have no burning desire to do all the Isabela tours! The anchorage is quite small, tucked in behind a reef, and the boats swirl around in circles with the tides, so it is important to stay on the boat at anchor, long enough to experience the different tides. But that’s no hardship, as all around you the wildlife is putting on a show!

The Port Captain in Villamil is a tough task master, and is very quick to expel any cruiser who chances his arm, by overstaying an Autographo, or trying to slip in a second stop, without the Autographo, or slipping ashore before the Port Captains inspection.  While we have been here, at least 5 yachts have been forced to leave for one or other reason.

That said, the town itself is very quaint, with many little restaurants and hostels lining the sand streets. It’s a much more relaxed and laid back place to rest and prepare for the next long haul. The wildlife is all around you, sealions cheekily taking over beach recliners, Marine Iguanas basking on the volley ball court, with Boobies, Pelicans, Frigates, and even the little Galapagos Penguins fishing and feeding around the anchorage. One has to catch a water taxi to the boat dock (Embarcadero), and walk a mile or so into town. 

We have seen Turtles, White tipped sharks, Turtles all happily feeding around the busy embarcadero. During one spring low, we watched in fascination, how the incredibly fast swimming penguins, scream around the shallow pools, nailing the fish caught in the shallows. The only thing faster in the water is a jet ski!

Daily we have been able to watch the Blue Footed Boobies mutate from funny clowns, into synchronized Exocet missiles! They appear to fly much higher than our Gannets, and when they spot their target fish, they bank, fold back their wings and dive with great speed, hitting the water like a bullet. When they hunt as a team, the leader lets out a squeak, and all the other participants peel off and dive, hitting the water like tracer bullets. This synchronized attack, apparently disorientates the fish shoals, which scatter in all directions, making subsequent target selection easier, for the rest of the flock.

At times, they will choose a target right next to the boat, and one gets a heck of a fright, as the Booby missile hits the water! Their success rate is pretty good too, and they swallow down surprisingly big fish in a few gulps.

Pineapple picking

Coffee in Galapagos? Yes!! 

Mr Farmer harvesting a pineapple

Farmboy does his bit, picking papaya

 We took a taxi ride out to a farm, on the fertile slopes of a nearby volcano. On the way out, we drove through terrain that looked more like Aunt Mabel’s totally burnt apple pie, with plates of blackened crust curling upwards! At the farm, we walked around with the farmer, picking and choosing all the fruit and veg we wanted, directly from the plants. For $21 we bought 5 Papayas, 2 big Pineapples, 12 oranges, 12 tomatoes, 6 Passion Fruit, a massive hand of Bananas, 6 red and green peppers, a bunch of basil, a bunch of coriander, some white onions and a watermelon! Not necessarily cheap, especially when the $10 taxi fee is added, but….. everything picked in a state to ripen during the next 3 weeks at sea! (Problem is that its all ripening already)

Back in town, we ate lunch at one of the many restaurants, for about $5, We walked around the town, and looked at the Local Apostolic Church. It has to be the nicest churches ever, with Francis of Assisi welcoming  worshippers at the entrance, and all of the stained glass windows depicting one or other of the species unique to Galapagos. The inside too, was light and airy, and inviting.  None of the dark and somber atmosphere with which we are familiar.

Marine Iguanas warming up in the late afternoon sun at the beach bar

Further down the beach, on the far side of town, we found a special little Beach Bar, Casa Rosada, where they have a daily 2 beers for $5 Happy 2 Hours, with live music, sometimes a talented local Ecuadorian, other times a Cruisers jam session. As the sun sets lower in the sky, so the Marine Iguanas emerge from the surf, to sun themselves on the walls of the Beach bar. While feeding under water, their body absorbs salt, which they excrete by sneezing streams of salt water.

Note the "sneeze trails" in the sand

Closer to the Embarcadero, is another little beach bar, where a Pilsener Grande(600ml) costs $3.50 and the wildlife provides free entertainment.

We also took a taxi ride out to “the wall of tears”. In 1947, a group of 330  Ecudorian prisoners, and 33 policemen guarding them, took over the infrastructure left by the Americans after the war. To keep the prisoners busy, the Police guards made the prisoners erect this huge dry stone wall,. The police motto was along the lines of “the strong will survive and the weak will die”

Pointless exercise

Looking for flamingoes

The wall is a fitting tribute to completely meaningless hard labour. Around the wall, we saw a number of Giant Tortoises “in the wild”. One fellow was determined to walk slowly down the middle of the road. Our taxi driver asked me to pick him up and put him down on the side of the road. Knowing what tortoises are prone to do when picked up............

 I approached this task with great care as he was a very big fellow! I stood with legs wide apart, astride him, and picked up my first and only Galapagos Tortoise… all 45-50kg of him. He was very well behaved, and decided not to pee on me, which was a great relief!

Flamingoes found...................4 to be exact!!

Now its time to say goodbye, to Galapagos, and get ready to leave. Diesel and gas are a bit of an issue here. Foreigners are supposed to get a permit from the port captain for the amount they require, and then pay $5./US gallon. Locals buy it for $1.0/US Gallon, and are very keen to break the port captain’s monopoly, and offer it at lower prices!  To try and stop this practice, the Port Captain issued a decree that foreigner were not allowed to buy diesel. He then got hoist on his own petard, as when he tried to kick out a few yachts whose time had expired, they just refused, and simply said, “we will not leave until you supply us with the diesel we were promised a week ago. You cannot send a boat away on a 3000 mile voyage ill prepared. If you insist, we will report you to the International maritime search and rescue people!” He changed his mind and drove the skippers concerned to the garage himself, let them fill up their jerry cans, and said” Now you leave!” We were lucky to have our names slipped in amongst those needing diesel, and were allowed to fill up with the 6 gallons I requested!     

DIY LPG refill

      

In Panama, I had tried to top up a 9kg gas bottle, which still had 5kg left. “No can do”, they said. Gas is also subsidized in Ecuador, and a 15kg bottle costs only $10. (R85).  In comparison, our 9kg bottles in RSA are approaching R300! But, you have to fill the bottle yourself! Yesterday on the net, a fellow cruiser offered anyone in the anchorage, who had US fittings on their tanks, the chance to refill from the Ecuadorian bottle he had bought for $10 + $80 refundable bottle deposit, as it still had lots of gas in it! Well, the RSA 9kg exchange bottles, which we have been using and refilling for 5 years, just happen to have US fittings! So , I hoisted the 15KG bottle (upside down!) up the mast with a halyard, strapped it to the mast to keep it still, and using his connection system from Ecuadorian fittings to US, gravity filled my bottle to the brim. There was still enough left over to fill “Scott Free’s” bottle, and one other cruisers to boot.

Embar

Embarcadero.............ferries, fishing boats, Taxis Aquatico and dingies

With a last check on the weather, we have collected our Zarpe, 5 dozen eggs, 2 cases of beer, and are just waiting for the bread and cabbages to be unloaded from the supply ship tonight or early tomorrow. then it’s “ goodbye Galapagos”! We have really loved it, and can cross off one item that must be high on everyone’s bucket list! Next stop Fatu Hiva. 

Galapagos ..............Part 2 Santa Cruz and North Seymour

                                                                                   

                              20.4.2013

We had an easy and enjoyable 46 mile motor sail, in light winds, from San Cristobal, passed the island of Santa Fe, to Academy bay in Santa Cruz.

This is the main tourist centre of the Galapagos, and is by far the busiest town. It is also home to the Charles Darwin Research Centre.

Academy Bay/Puerto Ayora

Not quite the original!

 The anchorage itself is quite tight, and is wide open to the prevailing swells. The wind however varies in both strength and direction, making a stern anchor essential. 

This in turn adds a whole new host of problems and challenges, with boats dropping stern anchors over other folks main anchors etc etc. Recovering stern anchors in such tight areas can also be difficult, so most people hire a water taxi to assist ($2), which involves the yachts retrieval personnel (me), releasing the stern anchor rode, climbing on to the taxi,….. which motors back to the drop point, and said personnel pulling his arley off to lift the anchor on to the taxi boat. The next challenge is to get the stern anchor, chain and rode back on to the yacht, then recover the main anchor, before the boat swings round and clobbers someone else!

In fact the Taxi Aquatico men are pretty efficient, and nobody uses their dinghy, for the simple reason that there is nowhere to leave the dinghy ashore! The authorities are extremely tough about all passengers and taxi drivers wearing life jackets at all times, which is not a bad thing when one considers the speeds at which these guys roar around the anchorage. The big question, however, is why these same authorities do not require taxis to have lights at night!! Go Figure !  (as the Americans would say!)

Main Street

Charles Darwin Street

Mary also desinged T-shirts in her past life!

Our first day trip was to the Darwin Centre, which is a kilometer walk down the waterfront. Along the way we passed the many of the tourist shops, all with their versions of “I love Boobies” t-shirts, and other crafts and trinkets.  The centre itself is the actual Research HQ, and only a limited aspect is open to the public.

Galapagos Mockingbird

This includes a walk around laid out paths around marked flora and animal pens, including the breeding pens of the Giant Tortoises.

Large dome tortoise - the biggest of the species 

The biggest of the 10 remaining species can be seen there, along with the orangy yellow Land Iguana. 

We enjoyed the walk, but found that we did not learn a great deal that we had not learned in Wreck bay, but found this graphic depicting the converging currents around the archipelago.

Converging currents surround Galapagos

  

A challenging promise- "We promise to tell your story and to share your conservation message"

We did however walk past the memorial plaque to “Lonesome George”, which marked the exact extinction date of the 11th species of Giant Tortoises.

Check the halfbeak pelican 

Along the way to the centre, we also passed the Fish Market. This has really become a tourist trap and attraction, with all the Sea Lions, Pelicans, and even a large Grey Heron, bickering and squabbling around the fish cleaners doing their work; sitting between his legs, standing up an leaning on the table, just willing a head, or chunk of entrails to come their way!

In the late afternoon, tables and chairs are put out, and one can buy a fillet of fresh fish right off the slab and have it prepared and cooked for $5. We tried to go at 6.00pm and the queue was far too long already, so we went to an adjoining restaurant, where we had an excellent grilled wahoo, chips and veggies, with a nice view for $7.

We drew money at the local bank, and almost had to step over Marine Iguanas to go inside. Outside, on the sea wall, a whole bunch of young iguanas lay basking in the sun.

We also booked a day tour up to North Seymour island, at $145 each. We swallowed hard, and paid, as we had heard that it was the one  “do not miss” tour in the Galapagos.

Santa Fe 111

It was superb… a fantastic wildlife experience right up with some of the very best that we have been lucky enough to experience. It involved a 45 minute bus ride to get from the south of the island to the north shore. From there, we boarded a luxury motor yacht, and did another 45 min boat ride around Baltra island, (where the USA built the airport to protect Panama, after Pearl Harbour in 1942), to the small, flat, uninhabited island of North Seymour.

The land Iguanas from Baltra, have another unique place in history. Between 1942, when the airport was built, and when the troops and personnel moved to the island, and 1947, the Baltra Land Iguana was completely wiped out.  It is the fastest ever documented extinction of a species. A combination of domestic dogs, cats and rats that moved on to the island with occupation, and the “target practice” habits of the marines, were to blame. A bit later, it emerged that another group of US scientists had in 1932 discovered that North Seymour which had an identical environment to Baltra had no Land Iguanas. They introduced a small group to North Seymour to see how the prospered. They are today, the last rediscovered descendants of the original Baltra Iguanas, and are part of the Darwin Centre breeding program.

From the motor yacht, we were taken ashore by rubber duck, and ushered there by a 6-7ft Galapagos shark, circling the boat. Ashore, we found ourselves walking into a theme park of “Love is in the air!” We arrived in the middle of the breeding season of Swallow-tailed Gulls, Blue footed boobies, and both the Magnificent and the Greater Frigate Birds.

Handsome pair

Then I do my little dance......

Then a little kiss.........

Then...........

Voila!!

We were able to watch the adorable, and slightly comical, Blue Footed Booby mating dance, where the male displays his beautiful bright blue feet to his mate, by dancing from one foot to the other, and ending his display by throwing back his head, making a very distinctive whistle, simultaneously lifting his wings to full stretch.  Couples mate for life, and their displays of affection, beak pecking and grooming, are quite touching.

We saw their life starting from eggs being sat upon, through fluffy white snowballs, to the demanding squawking of patchy feathered juveniles.

Another species that mate for life........Swallow-tailed gull on egg

Kids can be so demanding!!

We also saw breeding pairs of Swallow-tailed Gulls with chicks, the only gulls to fish and feed by night. We had observed them swooping around the boat at night, on our approach to the Galapagos, but had not known what they were. We learned that they use the iridescence and bow waves created by boats to assist in their fishing efforts.

Greater male frigate on nest duty

Magnificent Frigates, with a slight purple tinge to their black feathers, and Greater Frigates, with a green tinge, nest in the same rookery, with both sexes taking turns to sit on the nest. 

Magnificent female at the back.......Greater male in foreground

Magnificent female on nest duty

Frigate birds can have a nasty side to them, as they steal all their food from others, be they seagulls or Boobies. They even steal young booby chicks from any careless parent.
The fickle male Frigates are in fact selected by their female partners each year. To be selected, the male has to prove his nest making skills, (3 or 4 twigs and a bit of poop sticking them together), and attract the females, by putting on one of the most spectacular mating displays in nature!

Sitting on his creation, he proceeds to blow up his bright red throat pouch to a spectacular size, and when he sees a female flying overhead, he spreads out his 6ft wings, and calls out in an evocative gobble, gobble, gobble, chant, supplemented by a resonant drumming sound as he beats his beak on his tight as a drum throat pouch!

He is not a fussy guy, as he seems to go through this routine when any female that flies over…. Not any particular female! It apparently takes up to 12 hours for a male to blow up his pouch to full proportions. He has to let it down a bit at night so that he can sleep!

Result of all of the above!

More demanding kids!

Still needing parental care!

The system obviously works, because everywhere, frigates, male and female, were sitting on nests, fluffy youngsters, were demanding feeding, young teenagers were flapping their wings in exercise routines to prepare for their first flights.

Baltra Land Iguana,  rescued from extinction

A Darwin Finch

We saw some of the now indigenous to North Seymour, Baltra land Iguana’s happily chewing on their chosen food …cactus plants, and some Darwin Finch nests, where one species has specialized in nests in Cactus plants.

It was a truly fantastic day. Still pictures can never capture the full effect. Thankfully we have got lots of great video footage which we will have a chance to edit into another of The Journey of Sheer Tenacity clips when we get home, but that’s half a world away right now!
Footnote:
All our pics are taken with our little Canon D20 "point and shoot" including the underwater shots