Isabela

Another day sail took us from Floreana to Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos islands. The passage took us past the sunken rim of an ancient volcano crater which is now known as the Tortuga. At least half the fleet were in the bay at Puerto Villamil. The town is the second largest on the island and it was good to meet the other crews, compare notes and enjoy the 5pm Happy Hour together, albeit the town is a good 20-30 minute walk from the dock and the temperatures and humidity were really challenging.

On our first full day we had booked a kayak tour round the bay, unfortunately we had torrential rain for the two hours we were paddling around and didn’t see much wild life. For the first time in over a month we were actually cold and the hot showers on board were a welcome relief. Normally the problem has been that its so hot you are sweating within seconds of showering to freshen up! We did see a lone penguin, one of the only colonies and the only breed that lives in equatorial waters. Slightly bizarre.

The bay has a lot of wildlife, including a number of Tiger sharks in residence that week which meant that swimming off the boat was out. If San Cristobal was all about sea-lions then Isabela is all about Iguanas, they were everywhere! Big ones, tiny ones walking, nesting, lying on top of each other and even swimming!

We also hired bicycles to get some exercise! About 5 miles west of the town there is the Wall of Tears. We had no idea what this was but it looked like an easy cycle (especially on e-bikes) through yet another national park. The first section was road then a cycleway. The advice was to go to the end of the cycleway first then stop for a swim on the way back.

The Wall of Tears turned out to be the site of the infamous Isabela Penal Colony which operated between 1946 and 1959, and held political prisoners and delinquents. Prisoners were forced to build a large wall, a futile construction project that resulted in many deaths due to abuse of power. The wall remains today as a monument to the hardships endured by those forced to build it during this dark period in Ecuadorian history. The prison guards must have been sadists.

After this incongruous change from the peaceful nature of the rest of the Galapagos we cycled slowly back with stops to look at more Tortoises and a brief swim in a beautiful stream in the mangrove swamps that ran out onto the beach. We headed back in time for 5pm Happy Hour, well Adrian, Anne-Laure and Lucy did. My tyre burst and i had to be rescued. I carried the ebike back to the road but I wasn’t going to go further than the road!

When we got back to the bar we listened to a short lecture from Jackie of Galapagos Reef Revival who told us about the causes of coral bleaching and the efforts they are making to re-seed the local reefs with hardy types of coral.

Santa Cruz

The following morning half the fleet left Isabela to make the 35nm trip back East again to Puerto Ayora in Santa Cruz. This was a complete contrast to the other islands. With the international airport on the Island of Baltra directly adjacent to Santa Cruz the town has a sizeable population with masses of hotels (albeit low-rise), shops, boutiques and an industrial zone.

We were heading there for a crew change, Phil, a fellow J/70 sailor was arriving that day and Anne-Laure was going to fly home on our day of departure. The next leg was 3000nm and it was one ocean too many for her! She will rejoin in Tahiti.

We had about 4 days in Puerto Ayora before our departure but there would be little time for tours and sightseeing. We had work to do!