On anchor in Academy Bay

Galapagos, Ecuador

Here is some information and observations on the Galapagos. This is a little long winded compared to most of my reports, so if you just want the action, don't bother reading this.

On the morning of our approach to the Galapagos, the sky was heavy with gray clouds laying on the horizon. Based on the latitude and longitude on our GPS, which we plotted onto our chart, we knew that we might be able to see land. We were approaching two islands, the small and more distant Santa Fe, and the larger, closer Santa Cruz. It was very hard to distinguish land from clouds on the horizon, but we saw Santa Fe first, because of its 2,800 feet of elevation. When we could see the islands better, they both appeared to be mostly baron rock that shot up out of the ocean.

Before long, we spotted a sea lion playing or fishing in our wake. We have seen many sea lions since then, but the first siting brought such enthusiasm from the crew.

Although we had been motoring for about one day, because the wind was not favorable, when we turned around the southern end of Santa Cruz, we set our sails and shut down the engine to sail the final 12 miles, even though it reduced our speed by half. I was surprised that we could be so relaxed about getting to land after nine days at sea.

When we got to our anchorage, we circled a couple of times to choose a good spot. Tour boats take most of the anchorage. We lowered our anchor closer to the open water where the ocean rollers come in from flow of the Humboldt Currents.

The Humboldt Currents do much more in the Galapagos than create rollers. Ocean currents determine more of the world's weather than most of us appreciate or understand. For example, England is significantly further north than Maine, but England is much warmer because it is on the receiving end of the Gulf Stream. This, "river in the ocean," flows all the way from the Yucatan Channel and brings moist, warm air that makes England reasonably warm, and prevents harbors from freezing all along the coast of Norway. One might say, England and the European continent have been taking advantage of American imports for millions of years.

In the Galapagos, the result of ocean current is the opposite. The Galapagos Islands are on the equator. Before arriving, I worried about how badly the heat would make us suffer. Now I understand that the Humboldt Current that flows all of the way from Antarctica brings cool water and cools the air as it flows. During the time of our stay, which is the hottest time of the year, the temperature has not been above 80 degrees. At night, we cover up with sheets and quilts. We shiver when we shower, and the seawater temperature is generally below 70 degrees. This weather is nothing like I expected.

Unlike most foreign countries that I have visited, very few people here speak English. We have found the people to be friendly and helpful. They appreciate any attempt we make to speak Spanish.

The shops are generally open from 9:00 AM to about 1:00 PM. Then they close until 3:00 PM when they open until 8:00 PM. All business seems to be family owned and operated.

The Galapagos are on the cusp of a new mode of operation. For some years, the Ecuadorian government has been discouraging and preventing tourism in the Galapagos on the basis that tourism would be bad for conservation. Within the last year, they have reduced entry requirements significantly. All of the books on travel to the Galapagos are out of date. They say such things as, "If you intend to visit the Galapagos, you will need to write a letter in Spanish to the Ecuador Navy and the Ecuador Department of Natural resources at least three months in advance of your planned visit and then you might be allowed entry. We were welcome when arriving unannounced.

I read recently that the best hope for some endangered wildlife in Africa is tourism. The economics of tourism are so much better than poaching. Poachers are becoming tour guides. Local residents are lending their support and work for the survival of endangered species because it is good for the local economy. There is a lot of work to do to protect the endangered species of the Galapagos, and it would appear that the Ecuador government is trying to raise money with tourism and using the money for conservation work. At the same time, they are isolating tourists to certain areas and keeping them under the complete control of professional touring companies that are tightly regulated by the government.

The Galapagos Islands are the result of one hot spot under the surface of the earth. Periodically, over several million years, the hot spot would heat up so much, that it would break through the earth's surface and form an island. Between these periods of volcanic activity, the earth's crust would move and take the last island with it. So each time the hot spot boiled over, it created a new island.

It was easy to see that volcanoes formed the soil of the Galapagos and that the islands were fairly new compared to most of the earth's land surface. Volcanic rock was present everywhere, and vegetation was mostly shrubs, cactus, short trees, and undergrowth. Much of the island's surfaces were baron rock.

Of course, the animals of the Galapagos are the most famous attraction because there are so many unusual animals that only exist here. Blue footed boobies dive from the sky right next to seaside restaurants, foot long iguanas sun themselves on the city sidewalks, and unusual birds are everywhere. None of the animals are afraid of man, so they are easy to get close to. Sea lions swam right next to our boat on anchor, and pelicans landed on our bow and allowed us to get within a few feet to take pictures.

My only disappointment was the diving. It is not unusual, in the Galapagos, to swim with hammerhead sharks, sea lions and thousands of fish. When we went snorkeling, the ocean was a bit rougher than usual which resulted in lower than usual visibility. All that I saw was a sea lion surfacing and diving off in a distance from where I was, and one fish that came curiously up to my mask, as if to say, "Why did you come today?"

We plan to leave the Galapagos tomorrow to begin our 3,000 mile sail to the Marquises. We hope for and expect the best sailing of our journey to be on this portion of the trip. The Southeast Trade Winds dominate this portion of the world from just south of the Galapagos to the Marquises and current flows in the same direction that we are going. This should make for excellent sailing.

Best regards,