Day 166, Year 1: Santa Cruz to Isabella
Date and Time: Saturday, April 1, 2006
Water Temperature: 75 degrees F
Weather: Partly Cloudy Morning, Blue Skies and Sunny Afternoon
Location: Puerto Villamil, Isabella Island, Galapagos
It was early to rise this morning, but even with the early get up, we didn’t get out of Puerto Ayoro until about 0800. In that port, you have to have an anchor out in front and an anchor off the stern. Our stern anchor had held nicely, but apparently too nicely. It just would not come up. It is evidently wedged under a rock. If we had taken the time to dive on the anchor to dislodge it, it would have been too late to leave for Isabella today, so not wanting to lose a day of exploration, we tied empty water bottles to the line to act as a marker, and we hope it will still be there when we return.
We exited the harbor and almost immediately spotted sea turtles. Unfortunately, we didn’t find the wind, so we had to motor the 48 miles to Isabella. When we got close enough to see the harbor, it looked like a forest of masts. Many boats are here, so it is a snug fit. As soon as we anchored, Mark spotted some golden-colored rays. He called for Heather and we found out that these are called golden cowrays, not endemic here, and only occasionally seen in the Galapagos. I guess this was the welcoming committee. We then put our energy into getting the dinghy in the water and began exploring the reef that separates the anchorage from the swells and surf rolling in from the ocean. We spotted our first Galapagos penguins and all of us were very, very excited. For Jed, this is the fifth or sixth species of penguin he has seen in their natural habitat, but for the rest of us, it was our first sighting of penguins in a natural setting. We continued exploring along the edges of the reef and then headed over to the dinghy landing across the bay. When we got there, we spotted Sylvia and Doug from Windcastle as they were heading back to their boat. They said they were going on a boat tour tomorrow to Cabo Rosa, an area about 25 miles from here, and we jumped at the change to go along.
I still haven’t completed the logs from our tour, but I will keep working on that. It seems like everyday is filled with so many new discoveries and it is hard to keep up with it all. Each day this week has featured a special species. Monday of this week we were in islands off the north and west coast of Santa Cruz. This was the day of the great and magnificent frigates and blue-footed boobies, as well as a great number of phenomenal fish we spotted while snorkeling. Tuesday was the day of sea lions off the coast of San Cristobal. We swam with so many that they wore us out as we tried to imitate their antics. Wednesday we went to Espanola and it was the day of iguanas and our spotting of the waved albatross and Galapagos hawk. Thursday was home again and our visit with Lonesome George, a giant tortoise that is the last of his species. Friday was our encounter with bureaucracy, and I hope that is an endangered species. And today we saw the Galapagos penguins. We are seeing so much that it is almost overwhelming, but we are enjoying every minute. Maybe tomorrow we get to swim with the penguins. That would be my hope for the day.
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| 060401 Day 166 Isabella–Puerto Villamil Anchorage |
