PUERTO AYORA, SANTA CRUZ TO VILLAMIL, ISABELA 48 NM

April 12, 2012

We sailed out of Puerto Ayora at 1645 hrs and had a light SE´ly breeze which allowed us to set the mainsail and jib.  This didn't last too long so we motor sailed at 3 kts to arrive in Villamil, Isabela in the daylight.  There are quite a few reefs that protect the harbor, however, the channel is buoyed to a certain extent.  I had purchased a detailed chart of Villamil from the Captain of the Port in Puerto Ayora.  The real world arrival in the port and what was marked and corrected on the nautical chart were quite different, however, it was enough to get us to a point where we could eyeball the anchorage and use the depth sounder for entering.  Also, we have noticed that the CMap charting program has to be offset for the Ports of Puerto Ayora and Villamil.  The electronic chart shows us on land in both places!  The charts that I bought at the Captain of the Port in Pto Ayora clearly stated that they were not referenced to the WGS 84 chart datum and had to be offset to by Latitude to the North and Longitude to the East.  I believe that CMap never made these offsets and used the non-referenced charts.

We arrived in the Port of General de Villamil at 0930 hrs and dropped anchor in 18 ft of water, on a sandy bottom, with 70 ft of chain out.  There are about 10 sailing boats in the anchorage preparing to sail for the Marquesas.

The island of Isabela is the least developed for tourists.  There are hotels and quaint restaurants but no ATM's.  The streets are still unpaved.  There are no asphalt roads.  Most tourists come over from Santa Cruz on fast boats for a day and then make the tours.  The biggest attraction is the Crater of Sierra Negra which is the second largest in the world according to the locals.  It takes five hours round trip to walk to the top and back.  There are horses available to get up there if it hasn't rained too much because the horses slip and slide.

Next up is the incredible breeding center for the endangered giant land tortoise.  Of all the islands Isabela had the most diverse species of Galapagos (giant land turtles): 6 different species.  The  breeding center has undertaken a program to re-establish the Galapagos that were threatened in the Southern part of the island.  The program is a stunning success and one sees these turtles everywhere outside the center of town.  This is a joy to behold!  Also, there are Flamingos in some of the lagoons as well as the marine iguanas.  Not too many sea lions here but they are around.  The famous blue footed and red footed bobbies are here but one doesn't see much of them.  We have only briefly glimpsed a few blue footed bobbies.  Several other birds that are unique to the Galapagos have been seen in our tours and hikes.

During World War II, the Americans had a small radar base set up on the island to monitor any Japanese plans that might threaten the Panama Canal.  This was complemented by additional bases on Baltra Island  off Santa Cruz and San Cristobal island.  When the war ended and the Amnericans left,  the Ecuadorean government, in 1948, established a penal colony of about 300 prisoners on the former American radar base.  The conditions were harsh and in order to keep the prisoners busy they were given the task of building a wall of volcanic rock.  Many died or were killed by the guards for not duirng enough work.  There is an incription on one of the informative signs the says, "Here is where the brave weep and the weak die."  This is the Wall of Tears: an absolute exercise in futility, uselessness and atrocity.

Isabela is the most beautiful of the islands for its natural beauty and fabulous sandy beaches.  Only the Southeren half of the island is accessible by dirt road.  The Northeren half requires a helicopter or boat to access some of the coves and harbors.  Goats, which once threatened the giant land turtles have been eradicated, however, pigs still remain a significant threat to the newborn turtles and eggs.  These are far more difficult to erradicate so the locals are encourged to hunt them.  It appears that the Galapagos on the Northern half of the island are not so threatened because it is so remote that the pirates, buccaneeres, whalers and sealers couldn't get to them so easily:  their populations remained viable.  Most of the turtles taken by ships were females because they didn't weigh as much so they were easier to carry.  A big male Galapago can weigh 400 lbs.  They use this weight to hold the smaller female turtles in place during copulation.  At this time they make loud grunting noises - perhaps, not so different form their human counterpart!!

The harbor is very well protected by the reefs that surround it.  It is clean and quite beautiful.  The shores are covered by volcanic rock and mangroves.  The undergrowth is very thick and difficult to impossible to penetrate without a machete.  There is a small pier and boat dock for water taxies and tour boats but no facilities for a yacht.

On Wednesday, April 18, we sail for Hiva Oa in the Marquesa Islands.  The port is called Atuona.  For those that wish to follow our progress from Isabela to Hiva Oa, go to the Pacific Seafarers Net and look up the Position Reports.  We will be giving our position report at 0330 hrs UTC which is 2230 hrs CDT and 2330 hrs EDT on 14300.00 Mhz SSB.  This will be posted on their website and you can access ourselves and all the other vessels reporting in.  The report will give you our Lattitude, Longitude, course, speed, wind, seas, cloud cover and barometer.  The voyage is about 3000 nm and will take us about 25 days.  The winds have been very light so we might have to sail South to 6 degrees to find those evasive SE Trade Winds.