So, we chose to anchor at Isla Isabela because it's the largest island, we've heard that it has the most diversity and that it's hands down the best island if you were to only see one island.
We came into the anchorage this morning to see some familiar faces, which was a nice welcome!! They told us which VHF station everyone is monitoring to start, then our friends on the other Kurt Hughes cat, Dragonfly, came over and gave us a run down of what they've experienced as well as the check in process and what to expect. Where the fresh fruit market is or you can take a taxi to a farm, which they did. Very helpful information overall, gave us a guidebook and a map since to they are heading to the Marquesas Islands tomorrow morning! Glad we got a quick chance to overlap.
Courage went to shore to the Port Captain. It was Friday just before noon. They will be at lunch until 2 and are not sure they can get the inspection done today. If not, we are not allowed to disembark until Monday after the inspection. Are you serious?? So, they will try and see what happens. Fortunately around 2:30 we got a call that we were going to get our inspection. We've spent much time and concern about this. I've been spring-cleaning the boat for this, which I'm glad to have been getting done. We've heard of 19/39 of the ARC boats being sent out to clean their bottoms, so we stopped in the doldrums and Courage cleaned our bottom again. We heard that 10 days ago they got a new port captain here, so some boats were actually sent out and not allowed to clear in. The "agent" that you are required to use told us that our ZARPE said destination Galapagos. You can't have that unless you have an Autographo, which has to be prearranged. Since we have that, immigration can simply pass us on and not allow us to clear in. I tried to get an Autographo since Feb. 19th, but the agent wrote me only once, then not again. It was completely unprofessional, I'd sent in all the paperwork on the same day and then no response. I can't believe that if it's required for immigration, it must be arranged 10 days prior to arrival, that you can't send the info to the government agency that requires it, and then they assign you an agent. But that's not the case. They will check your engine rooms for being clean and dry and an oil-absorbing towel in place. Make sure toilet valves are going into the tanks. Make sure there's a lid on the garbage, and these ridiculous things . . . So, we were concerned. We've heard many stories. Many people came to the boat - 2 women and 3 men - - our agent, immigration, a national park representative, and a couple of guys that I'm not totally sure of their roles. They did inspect garbage, fresh foods, motors and toilets. Their dive gear was broken, so they just asked that we not work on the bottom while we are here. Reasonable. We filled out immigration forms for everyone, paid fees, and took them back to shore. Overall the process went quite well. Better than many. We gave them a lot of cash. We need more to pay for the government fees. For this, we need to go to an ATM. This is a town of 1200 people and many tourists. There's no ATM. Fascinating. You have to take a ferry to Santa Cruz (leaves at 6 am, returns at 4 pm), $60 round trip. We'll see what our plan here is, not an urgency. So, our clearance went better than many it sounds like. As Courage took them back to shore, they came across penguins. He said they were as interested as he was to go over and see them; they were even taking pictures and stuff. Funny!!
So, we were cleared in and ready for shore!! A couple of kid boats were going to be onshore playing, so we were off!!! As we dinghy'd in, we saw the penguins and checked them out. A blue-footed booby flew over us while we were checking them out. Seals were resting in many of the pangas. We finally made it to the dinghy dock and the seals were all laying out on it. There was a nursing baby seal right on the dock. We were having a great time and making slow progress!!!
After the seals, we headed out. . Just off the dock is a trail that was lined with marine iguanas, so we stopped again to check them out. We loved it!! There is a trail right there to a lagoon. Our agent took us down there. There were iguanas all over the footbridge through the mangroves and over the lava rock to this lagoon. In this lagoon you can snorkel with the seals and iguanas and whatever else is there. It looks awesome!!! But for another day, we were still heading to the beach with our friends. All afternoon we were pointing and staring at the iguanas. We saw them blow the salt water out of their nose, go into the ocean and swim, climb out on a rock, eat the algae off the rocks.
Everything that was in the BBC Galapagos video we watched yesterday!! I'm sure you can tell who is fresh off of the boat!! We were such tourists. Wait until we desensitize a little to the wildlife around. It's been awhile after being at sea, and Panama City prior to that. So the kids ran on the beach, rolled in the sand, chased around with kids from other boats, and had a great afternoon. We got some more inside information about what the other boats have done thus far so that we can make good plans. There is a tortoise breeding and learning center. There's a flamingo lagoon center just past that. You need a naturalist to see the volcano and islet, otherwise you can tour as you would like.
The lady from the National Park actually suggested we might enjoy bringing the motorcycle onto shore. Really? The lady representing the national park? She said you could get to the highlands, which is where they do the farming. Our agent told us it would be a problem, they know every motorcycle in town. Sure they do, but who is "they" that is going to give us a problem? Courage saw the police station, so went in and asked. They said if he had all the papers, not a problem at all. Sooo, we got another map, roads don't look too extensive. We will think about it. Is it worth the effort to offload it to check this area out? Maybe??
Day 1 was great and we didn't get off the boat until after 3 pm, we had to return by 6 pm for a late dinner and it was getting dark. Really looking forward to lagoon diving and the Tortoise Learning Center, not to mention some beach time! And the waters are a gorgeous clear turquoise blue; so some snorkeling is on the list. Also heard there's a farmer's market on Saturdays, tomorrow, so may go check that out too since we're coming a little low on our fresh food.
We are required to fly a yellow quarantine flag until we have cleared into the country. We didn't have one. So we took a terrycloth towel/shirt type thing of Valiant's that was yellow and flew it with 2 clothespins on our stay with our "Pacific Puddle Jump" flag. Now that we are officially cleared in, we are flying my homemade Ecuadorian flag. See if we get any complaints??
Welcome to the Galapagos!!
Shannon
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