Was Our Pacific Crossing Typical?

So, you may be wondering if our trip across the big blue was typical, or if others had a much different experience. Prior to leaving Mexico, there was A LOT of discussion and speculation about an El Nino year, and the increased possibility of storms and higher winds. Although winds were said to be higher than usual, we didn't notice any adverse affects. Our crossing from the Galapagos Islands to the Marquesas in French Polynesia was a quick trip of 23 days, and we didn't hear of any boats who had trouble finding the wind on their way across. Most boats accomplished the crossing in fewer days, although in our defense, we are smaller than most boats! Of course, those who departed directly from Mexico, had to endure the ITCZ, referred to by some as the 'doldroms', but a few hundred miles of uncertain wind seems quite normal for that route also.

A summary was published in the Latitude 38 magazine, as they do each year. I find it interesting to look at the stats for a few of the boats and see how many days they were at sea, how many fish were caught, the types and sizes of boats, and what equipment broke! You can check out the summary of this year's fleet by downloading the September 2010 issue of the magazine here. Lat 38 also publishes profiles of the crews who are planning to make the crossing each here. Our profile was in the March 2010 issue, which can also be downloaded from the Lat 38 website.

You can also view the summaries from the past years on the Pacific Puddle Jump website here.

Our first sight of land after 23 days at sea. The Marquesas Archipelago, at last!! May 1, 2010.

Passage Preparations

For Dom's final day in Santa Cruz, we wandered around the Charles Darwin Centre - with it's tortoise breeding program and giant enclosures that let you wander around with the big beasts! We saw several different species, but had trouble finding Lonesome George - the last of his species. It was interesting, although very similar to the breeding centre that we had already visited on San Cristobel Island.

After our usual Almuerso (lunch special), John wasn't feeling well and returned to the boat, so Dom and I jumped in a cab, and went off to explore the lava tubes. Our taxi driver served as our tour guide, and took us about 25 minutes out of town to a private farm where we were directed to don rubber boots in order to stampede through the mucky farm in search of more
tortugas. We only saw one, but we didn't mind, we had seen many tortoises already on this trip. The highlight for us was wandering through the enormous lava tubes, formed by the lava flowing within hardened volcanic rock creating tunnels that were often 10 feet wide and up to 40 feet high. Only one time did we have to crawl on our hands and knees in order to creep under an unusually low overhang to pop out the other side. Our guide/driver was wise enough to drop us at one side of the tunnel, and pick us up at the far side, some 15 minutes later. Although there were a couple of tour buses also looking for tortoises on the farm, we felt lucky to be the only
visitors to the lava tubes.

We celebrated Dom's last night with lobster dinner on the malecon, and we were sad to see him leave the following morning. He's been a great crew - standing watches with us, cooking, cleaning, easy going, and hasn't even had too much trouble adapting to cruiser's midnight...usually around 9pm. (We used to laugh about that too...but you really are tired out here!)

Now we're working on our final preparations before we set off again on our next passage, to the Marquesas, approximately 3000 miles from here. We have arranged for fuel and water to be delivered to the boat tomorrow (Thursday), so we expect that we'll be ready to leave Thursday night, or Saturday morning, after all...a very old mariners' superstition dictates that you never begin a voyage on a Friday!

Arrived at Isla Santa Cruz

For our final day at Isla Isabela, we rented bikes and rode up to the Muro de los Lagrimes - the Wall of Tears. Many years ago, the island was used for a penal colony, and the inmates were forced to build this enourmous wall with severe consequences for working too slow or stepping out of line in any way. The wall was huge, and must have been extremely difficult to build. There were viewpoints and a freshwater swimming hole along the way, so we enjoyed our morning trek.

Dom has introduced us to the fabulous Almuerso...or the lunch special. Essentially this is a set menu with juice, soup of the day, and a main course with fish or meat, rice and beans or salad. And all for $3 or 4. For that price, we can't usually be bothered to cook on the boat!!

Our trip to our third Island in the archipelago, Isla Santa Cruz, was uneventful. We left before daylight, and followed our GPS trail back out of the harbour, under the light of the moon. We took turns napping, keeping watch, avoiding the rain showers, and arrived at sunny Puerto Ayora in mid-afternoon. After a brief siesta, we went ashore in search of our agent...and to check in with the Port Captain. After a couple of failed attempts we were told to return in the morning.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring town, and bought a lovely piece of albacore tuna for dinner. Sushimi again for dinner!!

Cost of Cruising in the Galapagos

When we went to the Galapagos in the spring of 2010, there was a lot of uncertainty from cruisers about what the costs would be. We chose to secure an autographo, enabling us to take our boat between the five approved harbours among the islands. We're glad we did. But, of course, all of this comes at a price. We used Bolivar as our agent, and the process was smooth and flawless.

Here is a summary of our expenses, in US dollars to check in with our 36 foot boat.

Port Captain Fee: $88
Signal Fees: $30
Immigration: $30
National Park Pass: $200 (2 people)
Autographo and Agent Fee: $300
Ingala: $20

TOTAL: $668

FYI, we also paid $3.50 per gallon for diesel fuel, and $3 per 5 gallon jug of bottled drinking water - all delivered to the boat.

Other expenses in the islands were typical - $70 for a single dive, $5 for the lunch special, and pricey canned veggies, but nothing atypical.

Of course, the regulations for cruising sailboats in the Galapagos changes continually, agents charge different fees, and each visitor's perspective will add additional colour...but this was our experience.

Images from the 'Slow Boat to China'

We not-so-fondly referred to ourselves as being on the 'Slow Boat to China' on our passage from Mexico to the Galapagos. Here are a few of the images that we captured along the way.

Dolphins visited us daily, and when we were moving fast enough, they liked to play in our bow wake.


I dove mid-ocean to cool off, and to check on the status of our zinc:Once John determined that I wasn't going to get eaten by a shark, he jumped in for a dip too:

This boobie isn't walking on water - he's riding on the back of a turtle. We know this because we were adrift beside him for over an hour!!


We caught this lovely tuna, and it made delicious sashimi!!

Boobies were forever trying to hitchhike a lift:
These guys also liked to travel beneath the shade of Renova:

We celebrated crossing the equator in style:

Enjoying Being on Land Again

We've got our land legs back, and we're delighted to be here on San Cristobel Island. Dom has moved on board and has been an awesome crew member. As I write this, he is scrubbing the bottom of the boat. And, his spanish is heads and tails above my survival spanish, so we're relying on him heavily for our day-to-day communications!!

We've been occupied with re-provisioning the boat with fuel, food, and water. But we're also exploring and today we hired a taxi to take us on a tour of the island where we hiked up to the rim of a volcano, toured a tortoise breeding centre (saw ENORMOUS tortoises), explored a beautiful beach, and other adventures. It was a great day. Unfortunately, internet isn't easy to come by here, nor is it very quick, so uploading photos will not be easy. I'll keep looking for a good internet connection.

Our current plan is to travel to Isla Isabella tomorrow (Wednesday), as other cruisers often say this is the most interesting island to visit. Now that we've seen tortoises, boobies, sea lions, and marine iquanas, we're on the search for penguins!! After a few days at Isabella, we'll back track to Santa Cruz, where Dom's plane departs from, and the only island where we can get our new-fangled propane tank filled. We expect that we'll begin our crossing to the Marquesas between the 8-10 of April.