General

San Cristobal is the eastern most island in the Galapagos, the fifth largest, home to the oldest permanent settlement of the islands, and is the island where Darwin first went ashore in 1835. Its official Spanish name comes from the patron saint of sailors Saint Christopher.

In 1858 Manuel Cobos and Jóse Monroy, formed a company to harvest the moss orchilla which was used for dye. Cobos went on to form a centre producing leather form feral cattle, processing fish and tortoise oil, then later went on to form agricultural centre, and finally starting sugar cane factory. When a penal colony was built for prisoners from mainland Ecuador he took it over and treated convicts as slaves to use on his plantations. He was finally assassinated by his workers in 1904.

It is 730m high and 558kms and the capital is at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. It has the largest freshwater lake, El Junco(see below), in the Galapagos and we took a trip up to look at it.

Sealions

Sea Lions are everywhere, on the rocks, on the beaches, on the piers, the stairs and the boats. They stay overnight on our rear platforms, in the warm water coming out of the fridge cooling system, and swim with us when we are swimming – blowing bubbles, summer salting around us and doing rolls.

Sealions jump right up over the stern sterns of fishing boats into the cockpits and jump in and out of dinghys if you leave them in the water. They are all over the docks and stairways and beaches here that there is park liaison person on the dock keeping an eye on them and the visitors. They are just so social and friendly. Here are a few photos of our funny friends. We will miss them.

We knew that we had to keep the sea lions of the boarding platforms and not in the yacht. As has been mentioned in Santa Cruz we were told they were unlikely to come aboard and for the first two nights we had them up on the seats in the cockpit, cleverly we now had a fender barrier to keep them on the boarding platforms. Some of the big ones could make a real mess, but most times it was not too bad. When the big ones get aboard you can feel the boat move and sometimes there is a very noisy discussion between them about who should be there.

Sealions on the yacht

Every morning first thing you would be greeted by at least one friendly sea lion, sometimes two or three per side. First you want to do is have a swim, then clean the boarding platforms. Sometimes you had to use the hose to get them off.

Sea Lions on other boats

They can leap over a meter onto a boat so they climb in and out of any boats they can reach , this includes leaping onto the back of fishing boats or any RIBs that someone is careless enough to leave at the dock.

Sea Lions on the Town Pier

The Sealions climb up onto the pier via the pontoons for the taxi boats. They also love the stairs and arranged themselves one per stair all the way up some days. They don’t mind climbing over their mates to get a spare tread to themselves. All the seats on the pier are fair game.

Sealions on the beaches and rocks

There is fencing on the wall around the town on all the beaches and the rocks that separates the beach from the walkway so they cannot climb up. On the walkway at the western end of town they sit happily in the shade with the beach users – keeping a lookout under the lifeguard tower with the lifeguards as well. The only general rule around town is to try and stay 2m away from them, but at times this is difficult as they are all over the paths. They would also often come and find you to play in the shallows and it was amusing to see them lie on their backs and sleep in the sun with their heads underwater.

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno 

The town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the Capital of the Galapagos and looks more up market than touristy Santa Cruz. There was tno rubbish laying around and everything was very clean and tidy. The this attention to detail in the many different styles of paving, with the overall cleanliness gave the town a lovely feeling. There was also a huge variety of architecture. Given the variety of construction materials and styles we are sure the building regulations here are either don’t exist or are just ignored.

There are many sculptures around town celebrating the wildlife especially the great frigate bird, the Blue Boobies, Tortorises, Iguanas, Crayfish and more.

Current Interpretation Centre

The visitor interpretation cente was built in 1998 and gives a very good summary of the natural history of the islands and some simple pictures to explain the issues. Some of the interesting points are : 97% of the land is national park, the remaining 3% is designated to population areas. By 2023 the Galapagos Marine Reserve covered 142,759 sqkm, while the Hermanded Reserve will protect another 60,000 sqkm. There are 13 large islands and more than 200 islets and rocks. There are four large currents and a fifth small current which flow past the Galapagos archipelago. All of the endemic flora and fauna originated from central and South America but with human habitation came many introduced species.

Information Sections

The centre deals with the flora and fauna, geology, the history and economic situation in the islands.

The main economic activity is ecotourism and having a port and an airport near the town with daily flights from the mainland has caused conservation challenges including the introduction of the black fly which sucks blood form humans and animals leaving a poison that has caused the death of animals . It has also a lot of guayaba berry and blackberry. Trying to manage the sustainability of the fishing industry has also caused issues.

Due to the intensive use of the highlands of San Cristóbal and the presence of goats and aggressive introduced plants species, many native and endemic plant species have been decimated. Through the use of helicopters and land hunters in the last three years, they have eliminated approximately 3,500 goats on San Cristóbal, with an estimated 3,000 still remaining in the northern half of the island. Some of these hunters were form New Zealand. Their complete elimination is critical for the endangered plant species. New populations of the beautiful Critically Endangered Galápagos Rock Purslane, Calandrinia galapagosa (probably San Cristóbal’s rarest plant), and the Endangered  Lecocarpus darwinii were discovered. Many were under pressure from goats. The population of Calandrinia was fenced in 2003, as were other small populations of the same species in 1992-93. More Calandrinia were found on the north coast in June 2002. 

Vegetation Zones

The vegetation zones on the island are very evident and dictate where various birds and animals are found. These zones and the interaction between them is critical to the ecology of the islands. The early settlers neglected the importance of native vegetation. On The high islands like Santa Cruz, San Cristobal and Isabela the vegetation changes from semi dessert to verdant forest depending on the height above sea level. On the low lying islands the arid zone covers the whole island

The vegetation zone changes ont eh Galapagos are very obviousl as you go from sea level up into the hills / volcanoes which we discovered when we took a cycle trip to the lake at the top of the island to el Junco. We were fascinated by the ecology that produced a plant that can collect the mist and coalesce the droplets that will then fall and support the plants underneath. Mangroves we also see in New Zealand but we slo tend to ignore their benefit. Again our tree ferns are similar to those in the Galapagos and provide the same benefits by storing water that can them be used by other plants around them during dry periods.

There are nominally seven vegetation zones. These seven are:

• The Littoral (or Coastal) Zone which extends from the edge of the ocean to around fifty to one hundred miles inland and is populated by plants adapted to salty conditions e.g. .four species of mangrove. Mangroves limit erosion caused by waves and storms, and provide a habitat and nesting places for many bird species, and safe nurseries for young fish, molluscs, shrimps and other species that are crucial links in the Galapagos food chain.
• The Arid Zone is the largest vegetation zone in the archipelago, extending to 300 feet on the wetter, southern sides of the islands, and as high as 1,600 feet on the drier, northern sides. Some of the smaller and lower islands are located entirely within this zone. Three types of endemic cacti dominate the landscape here; lava, candelabra, and prickly pear, the staple diet of land iguanas and giant tortoises.
• The Transition Zone lies between the arid lowlands and the cooler, moister highlands. This zone has the greatest plant diversity among the seven vegetation zones. Small trees and shrubs, including the endemic pega pega and the native hardwood matazarno.
• The Scalesia Zone “the rain forest of the Galapagos.” lies from about 650 to 1,300 feet on the larger islands. It is cooler, moister and more lush than the zones below it. Some of the Scalesia trees found here can grow to over sixty feet tall and are covered in ferns, mosses and orchids. The endemic genus Scalesia, is comprised of fifteen different species of trees found nowhere else on earth. They have been called “the Darwin’s finches of the plant world” because of their remarkable pattern of adaptive radiation. Unfortunately, humans along with introduced pigs, goats and plants have decimated these once great forests.
• The Zanthoxylum (or Brown) Zone is named after the predominant plant, the Zanthoxylum fagara, or “cat’s claw.” It is also called the “brown zone” because the brown lichens that cling to the trees give them a brownish hue. This zone has mostly been destroyed by agriculture, unfortunately.
• Miconia Zone zone starts around 3,200 feet on the islands of Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal. The Miconia shrub, which once carpeted the region, but is now one of the most endangered plants in the archipelago due cattle grazing and the impact of invasive plants. The Miconia robinsoniana can grow to sixteen feet and has purple and pink flowers.
• Finally the Pampa or Fern-Sedge Zone starts above 3,200 feet and consists of ferns, grasses, mosses, lichens and orchids around temporary pools of water and disappear and reappear seasonally based on rainfall. The endemic Galapagos fern tree is the only tree found here is the endemic and can grow to nine feet tall with a trunk that up to to eleven inches in diameter.

We saw the Scalesia on the way up to El Junco and around the lake we could see the plants from the Miconia and the Fern-Sedge Zones. The tall Galapagos islands get a lot of mist due to the cold currents that come past the islands so often in the mornings it is foggy, clearing during the day and then reappearing in the evening. It is these mists or “Gurúa” as the locals say, which provide the water. You will also see that many of our photos have this misty weather appearing over the hills.

New Interpretation Centre

A new interpretation centre is being built with beautiful mosaics at the front entrance. The mosaics are at a much more advanced stage than the building.

From the centre there is a trail leading up to Frigatebird hill which has a colony of magnificent and great frigate birds.

Walk and Cycle El Junco

We all decided that we needed some exercise and wanted to to up to see the lake at the crater, so we hired bicycles from the Canon Bike shop, got two cabs (Utes) up the hill with the bikes on the back and then left them at the start of the trail and went off for a hike. It was early in the morning so the mist covered the hill and initally the lake.

Laguna El Junco has a surface area of 6 ha with a volume around 35 million liters of water. The lake itself sits in a caldera (collapsed cone) of an extinct volcano and is about 300 m wide. It is generally accepted that the lake has been in existence since the end of the last northern ice age. The name El Junco is Spanish for sedge, which is present along the banks of the lake

The lake is in the Miconia Zone, named for the Miconia shrub, which once carpeted the region, but is now one of the most endangered plants in the archipelago due cattle grazing and the impact of invasive plants. The Miconia robinsoniana can grow to sixteen feet and has purple and pink flowers.

Birds

Naturally we cant go anywhere without mentioning the birds. Whenever you stop you can find them. These are the ones we found on this trek.

From the lookout we watched Frigate birds fly out of the mist to land on the lake. These birds generally do not land on water as they have no oil in their feathers and will get waterlogged. These ones however seemed to enjoy the fresh water as part of their preening, briefly landing to wash themselves.

An epic 17km cycle back down the hill saw us split up with Graeme and Craig leading the charge down the hill.. Barb and Hew followed at more leisurely pace and Geordie, as usual, went exploring in the opposite direction. A couple of short uphill sections near the top turned into one long downhill glide with the steepest section being next to a cemetery. We didn’t stop to investigate the graves for over enthusiastic cyclists.

Lunch

Graeme and Craig found a lovely restaurant. just off the main beach. Geordie went off to look at the back streets and Hew and I wandered through town. We later found Graeme and Craig and looking at the menu and after an excellent lunch decided we would come here the following morning for breakfast. Just for a change.

Cove Walk

Hew and I began our walk near the fisherman’s wharf which has the large crayfish seen earlier, and then goes along past the interpretation centre and a docking area where the barges bring in the freight off the visiting supply ships. The ships actually anchor further around in the lee of Frigate Hill. They have a pretty slick system worked out with empty trucks loaded on to the barge which go out to the ship where containers are loaded directly on to them. These return to shore to unload with another pair of empty trucks waiting to repeat the process. Later in the day we were to see the local vehicles driving round town with fresh supplies.

The walk takes you up past a naval sight with an old gun platform, then along to another lookout into the cove below the Frigate Bird Hill, then past Darwins statue. After this point you can either continue up the hill to see the top lookout and frigate bird colonies or go down into the cove for a swim.

Bahia Baquerizo Moreno Muelle

Of course with the heat we chose the swimming option. I had my Gopro with me so could take some photos underwater. At first I got in without it but when I saw the tortoises and fish I had to go back and get it. Meanwhile Hew sat on the large platforms with the families, kids and Sea Lions and waited. There were three platforms and one was dedicated to the Sealions. The clarity in the water was unexpectedly good, as was the fish life. Surprisingly, there was a stone scorpion fish in about 2ft of water very near the platform and a very friendly Turtle.

Short Video of the snorkelling https://youtu.be/V8Ko8C1J0sg

Diving

Kicker Rock or León Dormido, named for its characteristic shape of a sleeping lion. Kicker Rock is the most dramatic of the sites, with its vertical tuff cone, rising almost 150 m straight up out of the ocean. Tuff cones are created when boiling lava encounters a very cold ocean, resulting in an explosion. Erosion has split the rock into two parts, forming a narrow channel that small vessels can pass through. It is a well known diving and snorkelling spot and quite sheltered behind the rock. Unfortunately as with the other sites the visibility was poor.

Unfortunately our high expectations of some great diving in the Galapagos with an earlier than usual arrival of the cold currents. Water temperatures have dropped from 24-25 down to 20 and some of the warmer water animals have moved on. In addition the colder water laden with nutrients and microscopic life had reduced visibility.

There will be a separate blog describing Diving in the Galapagos TBA

Next Blog: Floreana https://kiwiflyingfish.com/2024/06/floreana-a-fascinating-friendly-gem/

A Little History

Floreana is named in honour of the first president of Ecuador but was known by the English as Charles Island. Whalers and other early visitors to the Galapagos visited regularly as was one of the few islands with a fresh water source. Whalers also kept a wooden barrel in Post Office Bay so that letters could be left there and picked up by passing ships heading home to Europe or United States. A replica of the barrel remains and it is still possible to post a letter (without a stamp) and visitors sift through the letters and still deliver to various parts of the world.

Amongst other disasters the island was set on fire in 1820 by a crewman off a whaling ship. The fire reportedly burned almost all the vegetation and no doubt killed much of the wildlife. In 1835 Darwin visited on the Beagle but by then most of the landscape had been altered by the fire.

Early Settlers

Floreana is famous in its history with three mysterious disappearances in the 1930s. There are several history books about the island but they all have a different versions of events. All stories involve a German baroness and her two lovers and who came to the island in the 1930’s to establish an upmarket hotel for rich tourists. A little ahead of her time all that eventuated was a tin roofed shack. They upset the other locals by taking the water supply and she and her lovers mysteriously disappeared. Ritter, an earlier settler, was an obvious suspect for the disappearances as he was regarded as bit weird but ultimately he disappeared as well and shortly after his partner departed the island.

More information on the area they lived in is under the Tour section Larva Gullies and Pirates Cave – Asilo de la Paz

Arrival and the landscape

Floreana is one of the oldest islands in the Galapagos and is the southernmost island. There are over 50 scoria cones onshore and 6 tuff cones offshore making the he landscape looks like the Auckland region in New Zealand. The oldest flows are on the northern end of the island, while the youngest (26,000 years) are on the southern end. Cerro Pajas is the tallest (640m) inactive volcano on the island, and is the origin of the largest lava flow (272,000 yrs).

The rugged coastline is mostly larva interspersed with a few sand beaches.

Puerto Velazco Ibarra

The main port is Perto Velazco Ibarra which is also the site of the only town.

Unexpected Dinner Invitation

We arrived late in the day and immediately got an invitation to a spit-roasted pig at the local bar and a mother’s day party at the school. As it was getting dark we quickly changed clothes, grabbed some drinks, made a salad, and called the water taxi with little knowledge of where we were headed. After a quick look at google maps while on the yacht we knew that after landing we had to just go right to get to the bar. Not easy in the dark with no streetlights. We missed the local track and went slightly further inland, nthen we found a local to give us directions and found the Black Beach House and bar. https://www.booking.com/hotel/ec/black-beach-house.es.html

The invitation had originated from the yacht Emma whose owners were Italian and they had 5 on board. They had been anchored next to us in Santa Cruz. They had obtained the piglet while on a tour of the island and when it arrived they decided they had too much food so should invite others. . The bar was happy for them to use the facilities as long as we purchased a few drinks. The boys drank beer and I had one of their Mojitos with local mint and local limes, the best I have had in months. We had a beautiful dinner of roast pork with Geordie helping to cook and carve the meat.

After the dinner we needed to get back to the yacht because the water taxi man had told us that he was going to the party that night and would not be available after 9pm. We had his number but were wondering how to get hold of him.

Mothers Day Party

As we walked past the Mothers Day party – we saw our barman (and future guide) – Rony who spoke excellent English and asked him how to find the taxi man. He pointed him out in the line of men getting their dinner and we arranged 930. So we sat on the men’s side of the party and watched for half an hour.

The community has about one dinner per month. This one was Mother’s Day so the fathers cooked and the mothers sat at the tables in the centre of the area. On Father’s Day, the mothers cook and the men are seated in the centre. Every person on the island was there for the party. It was great to see. Noticeably there were few teenagers present as most are all away at school or university, and those in their 20s-30s who had mostly gone to other islands for work.

Visitors

The next morning we awoke to find more friends onboard, one on the front and two on the back boards. A Larva Heron had decided that the code 0 sheets were a good place to stay, Two seals had also climbed on board one on each side but both were very wary and immediately jumped off when approached.

After breakfast and swimming, we headed into town for a local tour. To great us on the pier were the local Pelicans.

Marine Iguanas

Also right on the landing area around the pier are several marine iguanas. These turn bright red during the mating season then slowly lose their colour until they are black during the breeding season. At the time we were there the red was still apparent but fading. These were the largest marine iguanas we had seen and completely ignored us. We had only seen the red colouring here – in San Cristobal they all seemed uniformly black.

Floreana Tour

Present Day

Our guide Rony was a great guide and a great source of general information about the island as it presently functions. https://www.facebook.com/p/Floreana-Island_Gala%CC%81pagos-100064159900047/?locale=es_LA The top of the island is 400 m. and there are only about 150 people with 2 cars and two buses to get around. Everyone else uses motor bikes. The cars are shared by the community and to use them you need to book them in advance. There is no daily ferry so the locals travel on the cruise boats that come down nearly daily from Santa Cruz and San Cristobal. A supply ship calls twice a month with supplies and fuel from Ecuador.

There are six restaurants and seven homestay/ hotels all run by families plus are two stores, one doctor, one dentist and one assistant. One fisherman supplies all the restaurants and families. They grow almost all the food they need on the island. There are several farms and two cooperatives one pig farm and another producing eggs. The cooperatives are trying to supply the local cruise ships as a way of expanding the economy. 10% of the power is solar and the rest is diesel. There is a small desalinator plant and one source of natural water on the island.

No one on the island caught Covid but when they opened up again there was a few that came in with Covid.

Giant Land Tortoises

Thousands of tortoises were taken by whalers on ships as food from the Galapagos. Apparently tortoise can live for months without food or water, so they were taken on board ships and stacked on top of each other in the holds as a “fresh” food supply. This “harvest” of tortoise coupled with the fire in 1820 led to them being extinct on Floreana.

Our guide Rony took us up to the highlands in one of the utes to where tortoise have been reintroduced. The original giant tortoises of Floreana are extinct but from phylogenic DNA analysis, nine descendants of Floreana tortoises have been identified in the captive population of the Fausto Llerena breeding center in Santa Cruz. These animals have come from Wolf island and it is thought that whalers must have released some of the Floreana tortoise there.

This has allowed the possibility of re-establishing the species through selective breeding based on these hybrid animals. The hybrid animals are genetically 80% Floreana and the other 20% is from tortoises of other islands. Currently, 19 have been introduced and are now 12 years old. Tortoises can be reintroduced after 6 years old when they are large enough that the rats will no longer attack them. They are in the current enclosure until later this year when they will be set free to roam around the island. They are the only tortoise breeding place that feeds tortoises.

As part of this program to reintroduce native animals back to the island there is and extensive rat trapping and feral cat elimination program on the island. Rat bait stations are everywhere and the hope is that many of the cats will die from eating “poisoned ” rats. We imagine efforts to get rid of the cats will need to get a little more direct.

Larva Gullies and Pirates Cave – Asilo de la Paz

As the only island with a permanent water supply from a spring, the island was a likely place for settlement. The spring is located in the highlands and was where the first permanent settlers lived. It still flows today and is a significant part of the island water supply.The earliest whalers and pirates visiting the islands sourced water from this spring.

A permanent population did not arrive on the island until the late 1920’s. In 1929 Friedrich Ritter and Dore Staruch arrived from Germany and letters home encouraged others to follow

The Wittmer family arrived in 1932 from Germany with one son and another was born in the cave in which they first lived, the first person known to have been born in the Galapagos. Descendants still live on Floreana and the other islands and the Wittmer name is associated with various enterprises on the islands.

Later in 1932 Baroness von Wagner Bosquet arrived with her 2 lovers and upset visions of utopia.

Initially they lived in caves and gullies nearby the spring. The rock is quite soft and you can still see the remnants of the early dwellings. Later dwellings were built nearby as the settlement grew.

The farm remains today but we did not get to visit it, just look down from above. The area is very lush and grows all sorts of fruit and vegetables.

Birds

All the photos below were taken around the water source for the farm and island. The little pale yellow warblers loved the mud below the spring. The photos of the finches and dark yellow warler were on the tracks close by.

The Farm

We visited a local cooperative farm growing a range of crops including oranges, pineapples, cassava, bananas and plantain. Our guide on the farm was Max Friere, our agent for the island and the former community leader, a position now held by his wife. The first thing he did when we arrived was offer us some of his oranges to drink. They were perfect.

As an attempt to expand the island economy two cooperative ventures have been established with objective of supplying food to visitors on the many local cruise ships operating on the Galapagos. Historically all the food for these operations has been imported from Ecuador.

This farm has established a piggery with a boar and a number of sows raising piglets and initoal results have been encouraging. This island differs from the others with its small population and an apparent willingness to work together.

We departed the farm with a generous gift of food including oranges, bananas and cassava

Restaurant

Our tour of the island included lunch at a restaurant which unsurprisingly was run by Max’s wife and her daughter. Restaurants only seem to open if they have bookings and tend to share their opening times amongst each other so only one operates at a time. The construction of the restaurant was fascinating with all sorts of timber used, some polished and carved and some plain. The also run a hotel both are called Lecocarpus named after the native Floreana Daisy.

A three course meal ensued with including cassava chips and a delicious desert of cheese cake and tiramisu. Far more andm far better than we were expecting.

The whole island is very tidy with no rubbish anywhere. Just over the road form the restaurant you can see the recycling bins.

Loberia Beach

The next part of the tour was off to Loberia beach for a swim and a snorkel. As all tours require a guide on the island, this part of the journey was delegated to Max’s grandfather. A short bus ride through the village and a very slow walk later we arrived at a cute beach for a swim.

The water temperature was brisk so swims were short and after slowly walking back with granddad who had gone to sleep in the shade. We finally arrived at the jetty and main street. Here we posted our past cards in the replica post barrell and will await to see if they get to their destination in New Zealand. We had missed taking a photo so this photo is care of Jan Viajera.

Time to return to the yacht and another lovely sunset.

Departure from Floreana Down the Coast

The Galapagos Officials only permit you to go to four islands in the yacht and only to the four designated anchorages. Large cruise boats that anchor in other areas all have to have a national park guide on board. We did consider enquiring about a yacht guide but in the end there was so much to do that we did not investigate that option.

Anyway on departure from Floreana we decided to hug the coast as far as we could go and see what it was like. The morning had no wind so we motored slowly on our way. IT was so peaceful in the missty cloudy and calm weather. We did not see any other baots until just before we had to head out to sea. We travelled past all types of volcanic formations and came across schools of fish, dolphins, and more inshore seabirds. It became a challenge on the boat to find a blue footed Booby as we had not seen one yet and wouldn’t really get close to one until we got to Isla Isabela. Finally we did see a couple in the distance and the identification was confirmed by photograph.

Dolphins

This pod of about 20 dolphins, including mothers and babies, spent about 15 minutes fishing around the boat They were quite close to shore and seemed happily cruising and fishing. Two of the dolphins most inshore were engaged in some tail slapping, though the others seemed to be ignoring them. The water was very calm and it was delightful just to move along slowly and peacefully with the pod.

Birds

One of the reasons to cruise close to the close was to look at the shore birds and we were rewarded by seeing both blue footed boobies and the Great Blue Heron, along with Nazcar boobies, brown peicans and

Volcanic Coast

The coast had some fascinating geological formations from the lava , but also it was interesting that the vegetation grew straight to spray line, and all the bird rookeries could be seen marked with guano. There appeared to be no large rookeries but lots of small ones in every sheltered and stable(hard rock) crack and crevice.

As we got further up the coast I got a message on WhatsApp asking if we were going to Santa Cruz? Obviously someone had seen us in shore and asked the question. At that stage we thought we better head out to see in the direction we were supposed to be heading.

Back to Santa Cruz.

Day 2 Volcanoes: Sierra Negra

The next day we decided to go on the volcano tour. On the jetty at 0710 for a departure at 0730. We had organised bikes the night before with the Bike and Surf shop. The owners Junior and Emilie were very helpful and our agent had agreed to take the bikes up while we went on the tour bus.

We arrived at the top with no sign of the agent or the bikes. The guide was ready to depart and said they would be there when we got back. We set off from the entrance to the national park. The first animals we came across were cows. The local farms think it is good grazing so they just let them wander into the park. There are fines but they are never issued!

Background

Around 30 years ago the park removed around 100,000 feral goats donkeys and other beasties off the island. They used NZ hunters with helicopters, followed on the ground with dogs. Given the chequered history of these islands, most of the native vegetation has been destroyed by pests, fire, and eruptions. As you can imagine vegetation was mostly introduced and very scrappy. There are lots of guava trees interspersed with ladder and bracken ferns, the odd tree daisy, and a few natives. This was a disappointment as we were anticipating more native trees and birds.

The Sierra Negra volcano is 1138m asl, is 700,00 years old, and has had 13 eruptions, the last three being in 1979, 2005, and 2018. The tour takes 3 hours over 16km. Because I had hurt my foot and thought I would only do the first hour. We all thought the trek went around the volcano cone but halfway up we discovered that these days it only goes out past the first caldera, onto the second cone, and then back. When we discovered the caldera is 9km by 7km we realised it would have been more than 16km around!

A Foggy Start

The day started foggy on the South side, which is not unusual. It is called the “garúa” that hangs in the air and clings in droplets to the sides of volcanoes. By the time we had done 8km, it had still not cleared. We got to the end of the first volcano then it was downhill to the second larva field. I pulled out and turned back. The boys continued.

When I turned back and tried to take some more photos through the mist of the 110m deep main caldera. The sides are very steep and the caldera itself is 9 x 7.4km across.

At the end of the walk, I took my bike and rode down to the town. It was a very peaceful ride with no boys, no pressure, and few vehicles. The top section is steep and windy with farms on the sides that look well kept, and tidy. There are colourful hedges along the roadside.

The middle section of the ride is fairly flat through long larva fields. The only thing of real items to note about the roads were that they seem to drive faster than the other islands and maybe becasue of this there were wa large number of dead birds on the roads, from Mango finches to Larva herons. There was also far more rubbish on the roadsides in Isabela than the other islands we had been to. At the end of this 24km ride, I was glad to get off the bike and have lunch.

Villamil Beach and Sites

After lunch, I had still not heard from the boys so I decided to set off down the beach to look at the far end.

Flamingos

The first tourist site I came across was the flamingo viewing platform at the end of town on the edge of a saltwater pool in the mangroves. At first sight, they looked artificial. they were so pink and clean and all around them was a shallow muddy pond. The four I saw were all sleeping on one leg and occasionally one might move and do some preening – pick up a mouthful of water and spray it over its back and appear to clean.

The only other bird I saw on the pond was a Pintail.

I decided to continue along the beach to the national park at the far end. The beach has beautiful fine white sand and a huge surf. When you reach the national park boundary the ranger takes your name and then you can cycle on the well-formed track and look at the beaches, larva tunnel, mangroves, sulphur lake, and Wall of Tears.

Beachside Cycle Trail

Lava Tunnel

This lava tunnel is very long as it starts up in the bush with a hole( part of the collapsed roof) then continues into the sea. You can climb down into the tunnel and inside or walk along the top. It is fascinating in how round it is, – just like a pipe, but cracked along the top

Playa del Armour

A lovely small beach surrounded by a lava wall. Ideal for kids and the rocks are covered in marine iguanas. All sunning themselves and ignoring the photographers and visitors.

After I had had a swim I decided that I just wanted to get back to the yacht and have a rest. I had still not heard from the boys so I cycled back into town. Dropped the bike off, walked to the wharf and caught a water taxi back to the yacht. I had a lovely swim and laid down in the cool for a siesta. Just before I finally fell asleep I heard from Hew. They were in a bar on the beach having lunch. All feeling tired and in need of rehydration. The rest is their story.

The Wayward Wanderers

Once you go downhill you have to come up

From the top of the hill at about 100m we walked to the North side of the mountain and eventually out onto a fairly recent lava field. The most recent eruption was in 2018 which lasted about 2 months via 6 different fissure zones. Some of the larva flows merged and ended up in the waters of Elizabeth Bay on the north side. We thought of White Island but there was no such doubt with our guide. He assured us that eruptions only happened on the northern side of the island and the south where the town is will remain untouched. We remain, unbelievers, as the town was built on the edge of a lava field.

2018 Lava Flow ot the North

Once out of the treeline, the weather cleared and we had great views to the north where most of the area is out of bounds and home to land iguanas and other native species. Looking down the lava flows you could see the different eruption flows and small patches of surviving vegetation on ridges.

With views out to sea there was very little evidence of any wind to aid our sailing with departure planned for a few days ahead.

Return to the Top

After peering down various dormant fumaroles and fissures of the northern larva flow we returned to the top of the hill for lunch where we could now see down into the crater.

Possibly a fellow kiwi carried these to the top of the hill….

Downhill

The walk back to the car park the guide pointed out various animals along the way, including those that should not have been there like a feral cat, a rooster, cows etc.

When we got to the end of the track and mounted up our bicycles we were reminded that our knees and other joints no longer enjoy walking downhill as they once did. As we descend into the cloud you are reminded how much the vegetation and wildlife depend on the condensation collected from the clouds to sustain life as rainfall levels are very low. A sophisticated ecosystem with lichen and mosses hanging from the trees to collect water that then dripped onto the ground. This was very evident under the bigger native trees with a substantial canopy providing a noticeably damp area underneath.

The Cycle Down

The bicycle hire shop had repeatedly warned us about the steep descent and slippery roads and to be careful. The local scotch mist, Garua, had thickened since earlier and raincoats were the order of the day as it was noticeably damp and much cooler. Each of our bikes was named but Geordie felt he needed an extra hint about the side of the road he should be on here.

The road was damp with patches of cow and horse poo to keep us on our toes for the first 5-6km as we negotiated the steeper windy section. To add to the adventure horses and cattle appeared out of the mist from time to time, much less concerned than us

The trip down to the flats took as through an area of cultivated land with plantations of bananas, plantain and cassava being grown in rich red fertile volcanic soil. Completely different to the other side of the island.

Fencing and Larva Flats

An interesting feature of the Galapagos has been the local approach to fencing and fence posts. Most fence lines use fresh tree branches as posts which generally sprout and start to grow. This grow your own fence post seems very sustainable but does come at the cost of having to trim the “post”on a regular basis. Barbed wire remains the other component of the fence stapled to the tree posts. These would not win an award at the field day fencing competition but are very effective on land with scarce resources.

Once down on the flats the landscape reverted to lava fields with scrubby sparse vegetation and our glorious downhill cycle became a bit of a grind for the final few kilometers. Isabela has noticably more rubbish lying around than the other islands reinforcing our feeling the island population is more focused on the tourist dollar rather than conservation.

Rehydration

After a 17km walk and a 25km cycle a refreshment stop was necessary to rehydrate and contemplate the next step of our tryathalon. One option was to complete the swim leg out to the boat the consensus was we were a little tired for that. However after the restorative powers of discounted beers Craig suggested a quick ride out to the Wall of Tears, a short 6km ride away along the foreshore before and then an afternoon siesta back on the boat.

How foolish were we, riding bicycles in soft sand is very difficult and the Wall of Tears we learned from exeprience is 60m above sea level. 6 short kilometers turned into nearly an hour of pushing bicycles through sand and struggling up hills to get there. Graeme nearly collapsed and Hew was getting wobbly, Craig as the youngest claimed he was fine!!

Wall of tears

Between 1946 and 1959 Isabela was a penal colony with a reputation for the abuse of power and the death of many prisoners. The only remaining evidence is the “Wall of Tears” a wall built to keep the prisoners occupied but for no other reason. At around 60 metres long and 10 high in places it is a big structure.

It remains a monument to mans inhumanity to man.

Beer Burgers and Bed

The cycle back to a bar was much easier, cycling downhill always is. After returning the bikes we were buggered so the only things remaining were beer, burgers and bed. Geordie finally turned up, we had lost him earlier in the day, a fairly commmon occurence. He had been in search of Flamingos as he had never seen one, had he been with us in the bar we could have pointed a pair out as they flew past.

A long day was completed walking back to the pier and getting the locals there to find the water taxi man to take us home. The water taxis only operate on Isabela until 9pm and it was after 8.30pm.

Geordie & Birds

Geordie spent considerable time chasing the birds on the trip – mostly the feathered kind. His photos needed a section devoted just to these and the time he put into getting the right photo has resulted in some spectacular shots.

As you can see from the last photo he often got back late, especially on the last night when the bike shop was texting me trying to find him, and their bike and we knew he was getting close to missing the water taxi shut-off time. As luck would have it he had managed to get a lift with the navy returning to their supply ship anchored in the bay. He was lucky to get any dinner!

We were so late after we got through the canal, that we found an anchoring spot the first night we ate onboard but by the second night everyone was ready for a good dinner!

The following day was spent shopping for more stores. Geordie was particularly taken by the size of the T-bone steaks! Then he and Craig found the perfect spot under the cooling system for the flowers – the locals must have wondered what they were up to. The boys are still coming to terms with the heat.

We took the taxi back to the yacht but during the unloading one of the trolleys managed to escape the trolley driver – sadly we were down one bottle of wine!!

After an exhausting day of shopping, it was off to try another bar to recuperate.

The next day was laundry day but after a fine morning it was also very wet – maybe the sign of the wet season coming. We knew that many people in Panama would be particularly glad of the rain. The water in the marina went up about a meter between the rain and the high tide. We were back in the Pacific with tides (1.5 -2.5m) after being in the Mediterranean and Caribbean with very small tides( 10-60cm).

Tortuga Island

We could not get anything done over the weekend so we went to Tortuga Island for a couple of nights – fumigation and a hull inspection were booked for check out on Monday. The island is a favourite weekend day stop for locals, so it was very busy. It has been well laid out in the past and has had quite a lot of money spent on it, but now it is looking run down in many areas. The spit between the main and smaller island is covered over at high tide so many visitors leave after the tide comes in. Most of the food stalls and shops are temporary structures.

We returned to the marina early Monday morning to finalise our checkout from Panama and get final clearances for entry to Galapagos. Craig and Hew went off in an Uber to track down something to fix a small hydraulic leak in the steering, Geordie and Graeme were dispatched to the supermarket for last-minute supplies and Captain Barb dealt with Officialdom and the fumigation man. By late afternoon we were ready to leave but it was so late we decided just to go back to Tortuga for the night, a much more pleasant place than a dirty marina with an unpleasant surge jerking the boat around.

23 April Sunny Day, Fish and Spinnaker ride

We set off early in the morning with the code zero up and very light winds. Geordie soon had two lines out and some time later he caught two tuna at the same time.

Just after lunchtime, the spinnaker went up. It was great to have it flying again and dragging us along in the light weather. Shortly before we had the spinnaker up we had seen a small pod of dolphins – the first since we left Trinidad. Immediately before nightfall, we saw a solo dolphin with two large remoras attached – a very strange sight.

We all had dinner and then discussed taking the spinnaker down. The wind had got up and we decided it was a little dodgy to leave it up with inexperienced crew on watch. Surfing at +15 knots seemed a little extreme on the first night with the breeze increasing.

So we got ready and down it came. We ran the motors to take the wind out of the spinnaker as we had no mainsail up. Unfortunately at some stage in the process, one sheet went overboard and into the starboard engine, and then the port sheet went overboard and into the port engine. Two engines out and two short sheets. With no motors and we would have to leave it until the morning to sort it out. Put up the main and Genoa again.

24 April Cleared Props

In the early morning, the breeze eased with a full moon. Lovely sailing but very slow. After daylight, we found a spare sheet and raised the spinnaker again on the spare and the longer of the now short sheets. Both props were trailing parts of the sheets that had tangled in them the night before.

The wind eased more and after some discussion, we dropped the spinnaker – really easy in daylight – and slowly drifted!! Barb, ever looking for an opportunity for a swim, leapt over and one rope came out of the port engine easily. Then Geordie dived in and helped with the starboard engine which was much more entangled. Craig felt he was missing out so also dived in for a mid-ocean swim.

Finally, with the props free and working with no damage, the swimmers back on board, and we were off again under the spinnaker. By the end of the day, we were down to a Code zero and motoring on one engine. The forecast gave a motoring zone of 200nm as we headed into the doldrums.

25 April Rain

By the early morning of the third day, it was pouring rain. Gusty and very wet. One little bird, a white collared swift came and landed on the back rail and stayed for a couple of hours.

At nightfall we had three Boobys riding on the front of the yacht. One on each seat and one on the bowsprit. Overnight we gained another 3 or 4. They did not seem phased by the pitching and rolling although they had to make several attempts at landing.

26 April

At sunrise the wind was slowly increasing, when we decided to put the sails back up our hitchhikers left. Soon we had one reef on the main and hard on the wind with a cloud line behind us. The sea was getting very rough. Barb, of course, decided to cook in the middle of this with Afghans, Banana Cake, Ginger Crunch, and muesli all being constructed while the boat pitched about.

Cooking efforts on the voyage also extended to the rest of the crew with Craig and Hew experimenting with bread recipes, pastry being made as we had been unable to buy any, and Geordie providing a variety of sashimi and ceviche with his fish catching. We continue to dine well!

By nightfall, we had more Boobies on board and the forecast was looking like we should soon be out of the rain.

27 April More Hitch Hikers

By daylight, we were heading 50 deg off course, and running one engine to push us up, while waiting for the wind to go more east – a very frustrating day. The forecast promised it would happen but it was very slow waiting for the change to happen.

Late afternoon the wind started to swing to the east and we began to head in the right direction at last.

28 April Clean Up

The next day was a big clean-up to remove the Boobie poo and then drying out the spinnaker and the code zero which we had tied on deck.

29th April Early Morning Arrival In The Dark

Early morning we were slowly sailing along the coast with large motorboats coming from all directions. We arrived in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz just before daybreak. The anchorage appeared quite crowded in the dark and we had a couple of attempts at anchoring before getting a good grip on the bottom.

The anchor inspection crew dived on the anchor when daylight arrived to find it wedged between a couple of rocks and looking secure so we could relax. Several local cruise boats had arrived just after us so we felt a little surrounded and shortly after sunrise an Australian boat Qi arrived as well, we had crossed paths with them a couple of times on the voyage from Panama.

We had already been given a check-in time for the officials of 1100. They were there about 1030, but we were surprised at the number of “officials”. After supplying water and ginger crunch and an in depth tour around the boat for about 3 of them, an inspection of the major first aid kit, and the filling in of many forms, they went away happy and we had our permits.

The rest of the day we just relaxed and looked at the activity around us.

Next Blog: Santa Cruz, Galapagos

Store Bay

Store Bay was a reasonable anchorage. No dingy dock and you had to pull the boat up the beach. The airport was very close and very busy, much more so than expected.

From Store Bay you need to take a taxi to Scarborough to clear in, even though it is the same country. bureaucracy rules. The cab dropped us at the main immigration office not the one we needed in the port, so we walked down through the town to the port. A cruise ship was in so people were everywhere. A very uninspiring town and we saw many cruise ship people wondering what they were doing there.

Asking our way to immigration we were shown down an alleyway past the toilet block of the port terminal building and up some stairs – follow the yellow foot prints. We were wondering where we were going. When we got to Immigration the first thing they wanted to know was when we wanted to leave and then informed us that we could not go to any other bays without informing them. Next, they told us the island was divided in half. Hence, if we were going up to the northern end, we also had to check out of Scarborough and check into Charlotteville without stopping as it was a different area under completely different authorities. Then we asked how we could visit the beaches and bays on the way without stopping. He agreed that we could but was very vague on the issue. We said we wanted to check out now as we did not want to cab back into town again the next day just to check out. This was getting ridiculous so we just said we would leave the next day to enable us to get the forms to take to Charlottesville.

Next he told us we did not need to visit customs as it was the same country -Trinidad and Tobago. We had a wander around the town and then tried to get a taxi back to Store Bay. The price was 10TT each on the way to Scarborough but the taxis on the rank wanted 40TT each to go back because the cruise ship was in. We walked up to the main road and got a car for 10TT each

We spent the next day in Store Bay relaxing and snorkelling. We made the decision to leave the next for Buccoos. The forecast was for an increasing northerly swell due to a weather system to the north. Buccoos Bay was behind the reef so we decided it was worth a go.

Buccoos Bay

Arrival and Unexpected Visitors

We wandered slowly and carefully through the narrow shallow channel in the reef and anchored off the port. We were just sorting out some bits and pieces inside when we noticed we had a visitor sitting right in front of the window. The Pelican stayed for an hour totally unperturbed by our movement around the chart bench or dining table.

Not long after I went for a swim to check the anchor and could hear someone yelling. The next minute, I see two Chinese gentlemen swimming towards us. They had come off the beach and then got a bit tired and cramped and asked if they could rest onboard. We gave them some water and had a small discussion using Google Translate as they spoke no English.

It turns out they were from Wuhan and were working on some runway maintenance at the airport. Wuhan is a long way from the sea (look it up). I think they had no idea after swimming several hundred metres off the beach what sort of trouble they would have been in if we hadn’t rescued them. Swimming and floating downwind we were the last boat before the reef! We then offered to take them back to the shore in the dinghy for which they were very grateful. They were desperate to get photos and when we dropped them off they had to get some more. All their friends were on the beach waiting for them.

Buccoo Town

Buccos is a lovely little town. The main feature is a goat racing stadium !! They have the main event once a year and a lot of money has been spent on the facilities. We remain uncertain of the political influence of the goat racing fraternity that managed to build a stadium that may only be used once a year.

The favourite activity on a Sunday is Sunday School. This is not your typical “Sunday School”. This is a big party every Sunday with food stalls and music all through the town, Dancing and partying. People come from all over Tobago to party on Sundays here and it goes until 2am or 3am in the morning.

The rest of the town is about fishing boats and a lovely beach.

That night we ate in the local Italian restaurant La Tartaruga and it was superb. The best food we had had for some time. It had an amazing wine list (well beyond our pocket) and the owners were lovely and explained every dish. Interestingly they were selling a book about a female airline pilot. She is a resident and eats there often. https://latartarugatobago.com/

The next morning the wind had risen and the sea was forecast to increase by another meter so we moved on. Staying any longer with a narrow shallow channel to exit seemed a little risky.

Plymouth

We left Buccoo Bay early when the wind was low and wandered out of the channel through the reef and along the coast to another town called Plymouth. We anchored there close to the wharf and behind the headland and island which all seemed to be sheltered. The surf breaking on the beach meant we wouldn’t be going ashore.

We were amazed at the number of birds in the small bay. A couple of swallows came and kept us company through most of the morning. There was also a lovely beach and some fortifications to explore but with the surf, it was too hard to get onto the shore.

Unfortunately, as the tide went out and the wind got up so too did the swell. By lunchtime, we decided it was time to move on and find a more sheltered spot. Usually, all these places on the west coast are OK as the prevailing wind is an easterly. However, the swell was well to the north because of a storm that had come down from USA to the northern Caribbean and made all the more shallow bays untenable.

We checked out several other bays on the way north but in the end, decided that it was going to be straight to Charlotteville which hopefully would offer some shelter although we were not sure.

Charlotteville

We arrived late in the day to discover a large deep sheltered harbour with mooring buoys and 10 or so other yachts. Anchoring in 20 metres of water just in front of the town the swell passed gently underneath us to break on the shore and across the road nearly into some of the houses. Going ashore was not an option but we swam and relaxed in a very pleasant bay.

First thing in the morning Customs sent a boat out to us asking why we had not checked in – so off I went with the documents. It was too rough to tie the dingy to the dock so Hew delivered me to the dock. It was just as well because it took about two hours. The customs lady was waiting on the wharf and berated me for not checking in but after finally accepting we had come from Tobago (the same island) she became Natasha, my best friend.

An hour later we finally made her office after stopping for a Double ( a local delicacy) then she also needed a pie to go with it. A friend then arrived looking for some watermelon, but there was none in the shop, so we walked to her house where she had some for him, and then finally on to her office via someone else from the Tourism office to do the paperwork. Then there were forms to fill in (more carbon paper) while my new friend rang various people around the department complaining that we were misinformed about visiting Customs in Scarborough.

From there it was off down the hall to Immigration (for those who have seen the movie Local Hero) to find the same guy we saw in Scarborough working in a different department this week. A relatively straightforward process as I handed over the forms he had given me the previous week in Scarborough which seemed to be in order given he had signed them!

Two days later I had a leisurely walk around town with Hew looking at the local buildings which are tidy and well looked after. Those that were abandoned were quickly claimed by the rainforest.,

Anchored next to us was a nice young English couple who had just arrived across the Atlantic in an old traditional boat. After cups of tea and a chat we filled their water containers from our watermaker as getting water locally was a little fraught with the swell still running.

Inland Tour of Tobago

Due to the large swell we had missed cruising many of the bays on the way north so in discussions with my best friend Natasha, I had asked about an island tour and she had suggested the watermelon man (Keywell) could organise a tour guide. This young local guy assured me it was no problem and he would collect us off the wharf at 8.30 am tomorrow for a full day out for T$700.

The young English couple dropped us on the dock as it was still too rough to leave a dinghy while the waves were breaking over the dingy dock. We were good to go. Our tour guide, Keywell, in his usual pink shorts, was having his morning swim but when he saw us he sprinted off up the road to return a while later with a car and a driver (Anne Marie) with him more formally attired.

We had an entertaining day being driven around the island by these two young people, Keywell had no idea about anything and Anne-Marie turned out to be a student nurse and Keywell’s mother was her Godmother. She had been recruited at the last minute as Keywell had no car and needed help! Proper local enterprise.

Luckily we had done some research and had a list of places we wanted to visit and we rather made things up in between. We visited the Atlantic coast at Speyside and then roamed down the island via the Argyll waterfall, it had 14 levels and we managed to climb up about 6 of them, a garden full of hummingbirds which would land on your hand, lunch in a local restaurant, a visit to Fort King George in Scarborough and finally to Flagstaff Hill lookout above Chartlotteville for the sunset where we found Natasha, my new best friend, and her future husband.

Interestingly both Keywell and Anne Marie had never been to most of these places so when needed we paid their entry fees.

Speyside

Betsey’s Hope

Argyle Waterfall

Tobago Hummingbirds

We have the name of a place that had the hummingbirds but as we passed the park at the top of the hill, Keywell asked a ranger where it was and instead, he directed us to his house – for a fee of course – which he had set up for visitors. Then he had to go back and leave us to do his real job at the Park. The hummingbirds eat out of the feeders and the little pots if you put them on your hand – they wouldn’t go near Hew but then we found that his pot had no sugar water in it! The birds are cleverer than you think. they can see in the UV spectrum and apparently, the sugar water/nectar has a specific colour.

Parlatuvier Beach

We considered Parlatuvier Beach on the way up the coast. We could see there was space on the northern edge but we thought there would not be enough swing room for us and it was odd that all the fishing boats were on the south side even though the swell was from the north. Of course, there is always a reason. When we looked down on this beautiful beach from above the way it was formed caused all the swell to run down the northern side and not the southern side!! Also, the area free near the beach on the south side would have been too shallow. We were glad we had given it a miss.

Fort King George, Scarborough

Fort Cranby and Grounded Ships

While we were on the island there were 2 shipwrecks, one of which made international news. An unidentified ship/barge had washed up off Scarborough and was spilling oil everywhere. No one seemed to know where it had come from, what is was carrying, who owned it as it spilled oil from split tanks all over the coastline including a marine reserve. We were unable to get anywhere near it but there was a huge clean up going on as well as an investigation as who it belonged to..

Meanwhile just up the coast this barge had escaped its tow and ended up on the beach luckily it only seemed to be full of sand. It appeared they had a plan to unload it and float it off but it was a public holiday when we saw it so nothing was happening. Obviously not a great emergency as the tug was merely keeping the bowline tight.

Along the way we discovered that a newly qualified nurse could earn $TT 10,000 pa (NZD 2,500) but a job at the end of your training was not guaranteed. Keywell didn’t really have a job but was fixing up his boat because he could then get some casual work with ERIC, a local environmental organization. Anne-Marie was concerned that Keywell had passed himself as a professional guide, which he wasn’t but we already knew that. Keywell didn’t want a proper job as he could earn enough daily from tourists to only need to work one or two days a fortnight. Shall we say his aspirations were not high?

If your household income is below $TT 10,000 then education is free (this is about the average). The government employs about 45% of the population and unemployment runs about 20% so government jobs are well sought after. Many choose to work like Keywell and enterprise, which we found everywhere in Grenada, is largely missing as central government funds pretty much everything off the back of oil revenues.

Flagstaff Hill

Our final stop on the tour was Flagstaff Hill for a view of the sunset high above Charlotteville. While admiring the view we came across Barb’s new best friend the Customs lady and as we were informed, her future husband. Its a very small island.

Checkout

The following day, after another 2-hour endeavour with carbon paper and 6 sets of forms with largely the same information on each, we were good to go. I was glad to escape the bureaucracy and only to have to deal with the simple French system in Martinique 200 miles away.

Next blog: Relaxing in Martinique

Characharare Island

Getting away from the Chaguaramas inlet and out to the nearby islands was great. There are very few boats out at Characharare Island. Occasionally there is a tourist boat on the weekends but generally, there are only a couple of yachts. Peaceful day and night. Unfortunately, when you do go ashore at some of the favourite stops there is rubbish everywhere so the locals do not seem to treat the area with the respect it should have.

This blog is a photo essay of the beauty and peacefulness of the island which is good for the soul after the hustle, bustle, and noise of Chaguaramas.

The beaches in the area are all pebbles but the colours are beautiful, and the landscape around the bay has many areas of folded ground creating fascinating patterns.

Ruins

Characharare Island was established as a leper colony and then when the colony was shut down all the buildings were deserted. The buildings were once built very well. Now they are just shells, some of which are used by day trippers and rubbish is left everywhere. The ruins are still fascinating to explore and see how much construction was there at one time. There were several large buildings as part of a nunnery for the nurses and there were also two large houses for the doctors on the island, each in its own little bay. Here is some of the history if you are interested https://www.caribbeanmemoryproject.com/placememory-chacachacare.html

Birds

We enjoyed the many varieties of birds on the island and if we had stayed longer there we would have taken many more photos. At least we had a couple of days watching with fascination many different species. There is a website to help identify the local birds https://ttfnc.org/.

Sunset

On the final night on the island, we walked over to the other side of the island which faces to the west and Venezuela. The beach was sheltered and there was no one there. There were little birds chasing insects on the beach and the pelicans flying over the water. As the sun set there was a rig being towed out to sea. A beautiful and peaceful spot.

Friends

We met Mark & Marie this year and it is great to have friends to cruise with as they went to Characharare Is, Chaguaramas, and later Tobago and Martinique.

We needed to go back to Chaguaramas to check out before we headed to Tobago. they have very complicated procedures here and even though it is the same country you need to check out with customs and immigration – more paperwork. As we sailed up the channel it was back to civilisation. There are not only yachts here but all sorts of oil rig support ships, day and night they are visible.

One of the most enterprising of the cruisers has built a staircase to his yacht, put rocks around the water edge for a beach and advertised it on AirBnB as “A unit on the waterfront”. We wondered how many visitors he was getting.

We completed the required paperwork and then sailed down the channel past the naval yards and out to sea.

Next Blog: