880 miles turned into over a thousand, tacking, driving, feathering, and going to weather from Panama to the Galapagos Islands. At one point in our journey, we found that 44 minutes north of the equator would take us well over 12 hours, in cold winds, dressed in jackets and pants. We pounded into the sea, waves only at around 4-6'. The chill in the air was unexpected, night watches had us drinking coffee and bundled up, just to stand a 3 hour watch. Our spirits remained high, though, as the excitement was building. 6 days after leaving Panama City, we finally reached these incredible islands offshore, the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.
Our crossing of the equator was anti-climatic, somewhere around 4:30am on Saturday, October 3, 2009. We went to weather, sailing at what seemed an eternally slow speed of 7.5 knots. And for Sea Child, this was slow. She is built to race down waves, reach across the ocean, and going to weather was painfully slow. Finally, after beating across the equatorial current (from south to north, at 1.5 knots), we arrived at Academy Bay, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, Ecuador. The sun had burned through the clouds, the winds backed off, and we were at anchor.
These magical islands astounded us, their landscape similar to Maui, where the coastal plain is arid and barren, the upper "highlands" with their greenbelt of vegetation beginning at about 1600' altitude. The journey across the sea had us dreaming of the marine life here at Galapagos, we all pictured Blue Footed Boobies and Giant Iguanas; silky Sea Lions and Lonesome George, the only remaining giant tortoise from the island of Pinta, all awaiting our arrival. Stunned by fatigue and natural beauty, we immediately immersed ourselves in all that Santa Cruz has to offer: Visits to the Charles Darwin Research Center, hikes to Tortuga Beach, and tours to outer islands, including Floreana and Isabella. Our visit to the Galapagos will last only 6 shorts days, as the Marquesas Islands awaits us, 2,700 miles away.
We expect to re-provision within a few days and we have already taken on the necessary extra fuel and washed piles of laundry. In the meantime, wandering around Santa Cruz, discovering the fabulous restaurants, shopping, and of course, the incredible wildlife that is the Galapagos, is a well earned respite from the sea. As we plan for our next leg, we enjoy today. These are the days that we will think back on in the future, over lemonade on the front porch. These are the islands we will treasure, with family and friends. This is the story we will tell, again and again. And the adventure continues.
Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Academy Bay, Puerto Ayora.
Latitude: 00°45' S Longitude: 90°19' W
