We have been in Galapagos Islands for four days...nowhere near enough time to enjoy all of, especially since half of the time I was working with the ship.
The day we arrived, I was asked to translate Spanish to English and back again, to help the Captain and the ship's Purser with the official clearing in procedures. It went reasonably smoothly: even though we did not have any authorization from the Ministry of Defense, or the Ministry of External Affairs or the Embassy, or a local agent, they stamped our passports for 7 days. Later they told us we could only stay 72 hours (because we did not have the authorization and we have more than 10 people), which was not enough time for us to get all our provisions and re-fuel, so the Harbor Master said that he could take care of that and give us the time we need, even though officially we can only be approved for 72 hours. Anyhow, we paid the port fees and here we are!
My first day ashore I went with a group of 20 others from the ship on a tour of the island which included a visit to a "semi-natural" preserve for Galapagos tortoises, then a hike to the top of a caldera in which is the only fresh water lake on the island of San Cristobal, followed by a visit to a beach with marine iguana and sea lions, and finally a home cooked lunch at the tour guide's home. Unfortunately this is the rainy season and the rain and mist prevented us from seeing the lake in the caldera or any of the surrounding country. I guess I'll just have to come back again to see it when the sun is shining!!
The marine iguana looks like a pre-historic leftover...maybe related to dinosaurs? The sea lions are really funny creatures and make lots of noise. I had fun taking video and photos of them. The famous blue footed boobies (birds) hang out on the rock cliffs and the best way to see them is to go out on one of the snorkel or dive boats. I did not get to see them because the day that I had planned to go on a snorkel trip my insides were a bit unsettled and I decided that going out on a small boat with no head (toilet) for 6 or 7 hours would not be a good idea. Instead, I hiked to the Interpretive Center and along trails over volcanic rock to several lookout places.
Later today we plan to set sail for Pitcairn...if all the food and fuel are loaded. If not today, then certainly tomorrow we will go. I'm really looking forward to Pitcairn. This will likely be the last blog entry until I get to Rarotonga...possibly six weeks away. I don't expect to find an internet connection before then.
The mailing address for Rarotonga is on the Picton Castle website: www.picton-castle.com
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