After a fantastic few weeks in the Marquesas, we picked up anchor from Nuku Hiva and set sail for an atoll called Ahe in the Tuamotu archipelago.  The Tuamotus are comprised of 78 islands, all but two of which are coral atolls.  I had to look up what an atoll was.  I thought it had something to do with volcanoes as everything in French Polynesia seems to have developed from them.  But an atoll is a coral reef surrounding an island which continues to grow despite the island land mass being submerged underwater over millions of years.  All that results is a ring of coral (forming low lying islands) with beautiful turquoise blue calm water in the middle, and pounding surf on the exterior.  And this is exactly what Ahe was.  However I’m jumping the gun a bit.

We had a three day sail from Nuku Hiva to Ahe which was relatively uneventful – good weather with a little bit of rain to wash the boat down.  Rob came into his own on this leg of the journey by bagging a huge yellow fin tuna which when cut into steaks gave us at least 8 meals for the four of us on board plus a meal or two when we had visitors on board for dinner.  We dropped anchor on 22 April in the lagoon of Ahe atoll which is also known as Peacock Island, why I’m not sure.  While the Marquesas are all about jagged mountains jutting high out of the ocean, the Tuamotus are just small mounds of sand (eroded coral) pushed up out of crystal clear water, dotted with palm trees.  A picture of what island paradise looks like when imagined!  We anchored in a natural harbour formed by coral outside the small village of Tenukupara.  Rob and I, being explorers, couldn’t wait to go ashore and took the dinghy out that afternoon to have a walk around.  Again we saw very neat properties all clearly demarcated with a fence or neatly trimmed shrubbery.  We found it surprising that properties were “segregated” in such a small community.  Everybody seemed to get around on quaint, grown up versions of tricycles with a basket on the back behind the seat.  We saw two cars on the island, but the purpose of them is yet to be determined as there were no roads linking the islets.  It took us about 10 minutes to walk the length and breadth of the entire town so clearly it was a case of everyone knows everyone there (I later read that there are less than 200 inhabitants on Ahe).  We met up with another English couple from the boat Panthera, Richard and Geri, and Rob and Captain (fondly referred to as Blue Team whenever there was a man’s job that needed to be done) went over in the dinghy to help them get their anchor loose after it got stuck on a rock (easy to do in those parts as the sea floor is dotted with coral “bombies” just waiting for an unsuspecting anchor).  The Aussie couple from another boat we had met previously was also around so our first night was super social with tuna steaks on the barbeque for everyone.

Rob and I spent the next day exploring as much of the islets as possible.  We saw our first reef shark swimming in the shallows around the coral, right where we wrote our birthday message for Rob’s mom!  This part of Polynesia is also renowned for its black pearls, and we were visited by a local vendor trying to sell off the rejects that didn’t make the export cut.  Our afternoon was spent snorkelling the reef which forms the natural harbour.  I had been raving about the great snorkelling in the Marquesas but it was nothing compared to what we were experiencing in Ahe.  Never mind the abundant fish life, the different and vibrant colours absolutely amazed us, especially the mouths of the huge oyster shells embedded in the coral – red, blue, green, turquoise, purple, orange, you name it.  Our third day was spent shelling along the seaside part of the island, although we didn’t find any shells, and thereafter we cleaned the hull of the boat and snorkelled the reef again.  We didn’t have as good visibility as the day before but we still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Here we were enjoying our underwater vista, paddling along when the next thing, a pretty large reef shark came literally out of the blue in front of me and swam past us.  Rob says all he heard was me shouting “Shark, Shark!” underwater and that was our snorkelling done for the day!

After a quiet couple of days just doing boat chores we picked up anchor and had a slow overnight sail to the next atoll, Rangiroa, which is the second largest atoll in the world (the largest being in the Maldives, information I know thanks to Google and another destination added to the list!).  We saw whales in the distance during the sail, and I was lucky enough to catch the edge of a large squall during my night watch so my few hours on deck were spent getting wet!  Richard and Geri sailed with us and for once it was comforting to see another masthead light (tricolour to be correct!) in the distance.  The entry through the pass into the lagoon side was timed perfectly at the turn of the tide so the water in the pass was flat calm.  The water in the lagoon of Rangiroa was so unbelievable clear we just stood on the bow of the boat staring into the water.  It felt like we were in an aquarium with all the fish life teeming under us.  Early the next morning we caught a lift ashore with Richard and Geri and rented bikes from a fancy hotel nearby and had a ride around town.  We noticed that the town wasn’t as eco-friendly as Ahe (no solar panels where Ahe had a whole solar panel farm providing power) but still extremely clean and tidy.  Also surprisingly there was no local transport and busses were for school children only (which was also the same in the Marquesas).  Riding along the shore we spotted at least five reef sharks in the crystal clear water but more about the sharks later!

Over the next two days Rob and I spent a lot of time with Richard and Geri.  We seemed to share a love of travelling and adventure, and they really love the African wildlife having travelled extensively in Namibia and Botswana.  Richard actually applied to be a game ranger in the Kruger Park but this was in the mid-eighties and decided to become a detective with Scotland Yard instead!  They even got engaged in Cape Town so we had some great conversations with them.  One afternoon they picked us up and we went snorkelling in the pass between the sea and the inner lagoon of the atoll.  We later found out that the music video from Beyonce’s “Running” was filmed in the very same pass!  The snorkelling was not as good as it was in Ahe so we then decided to move on to One Palm Island just inside the lagoon for a snorkel around that reef.  Rob and I jumped into the water very enthusiastically while Richard and Geri trailed in the dinghy.  Next thing Rob stands up in the shallow water, pulls me up next to him and says “Sweetie, don’t panic but we are surrounded by sharks”.  I look around and see about 10 BIG black tip reef sharks around us.  At this point we decided to walk towards the shore of the island trying not to cut our bare feet on the coral, or splash too much lest we attract unwanted shark attention!  Even ankle deep water had baby sharks coming up to us.  Eventually we got back onto the dinghy after much laughter and exclamations.  We spent the rest of the afternoon with Richard and Geri at a local cafe overlooking the pass, enjoying a beer and watching dolphins frolicking in the waves caused by the outgoing tide.

The next two days followed along the same vein with an early morning run ashore and a couple of hours on the boat, Richard and Geri picking us up about noon for a snorkel then the afternoon ashore with them.  We enjoyed some great snorkelling, near One Palm Island (minus the sharks this time), where a local on a boat threw stale bread into the water around us, putting us in the middle of a fish feeding frenzy.  Richard and Geri were kind enough to take lots of photos and video footage of us snorkelling and cycling so we have some different photos in our digital album.  We left them in Rangiroa as Captain wanted to make a move to Tahiti while the wind was good but were lucky enough to catch up with them again in Bora Bora.  Although it would have been great to spend more time in the Tuamoto archipelago, seeing more of Rangiroa, such as the Blue Lagoon, and the rest of the 78 islands (except the ones used by the French for nuclear testing!), we were keen to explore the third and final archipelago, the Society Islands.  First stop Tahiti!

 

It was with much joy that we arrived in the beautiful Marquesas archipelago in French Polynesia, and what a fantastic sight to see this majestic, craggy mass of land covered in lush green vegetation after three weeks of looking at water!  On the afternoon of 29 March, we sailed into the Bay of Virgins located on the west side of the island Fatu Hiva.  What a remarkable place, a little piece of paradise in this huge expanse of ocean!  According to the reading we have done, the Marquesas are relatively young geologically speaking so all the islands are these huge masses of volcanic rock which have risen from the ocean depths and somehow become covered with vegetation.  The mountains are extremely jagged having not had millions of years of erosion to soften their edges so the profiles of the islands from sea are quite spectacular.  The sea depth can go from 5000+ feet to 100+ feet in the space of half a nautical mile and the water is crystal clear so you can easily see the sea floor if anchored in a depth of 40+ feet.

We spent three nights anchored in the Bay of Virgins and think we would have spent longer there but unfortunately there weren’t any facilities to change US dollars to local currency and we were unable to buy anything.  We also couldn’t register on a mobile network and not having local currency meant we also couldn’t purchase an internet card to use the local wifi.  We were very surprised to see that a population that leads a very simplistic lifestyle have huge satellite dishes in their backyards for cable television and internet!  It rained often while we were there which was great because it cooled things down and washed all the salt off the boat after our passage.  The last time we experienced a thunderstorm was in Panama!  Smelling wet vegetation after a refreshing rain shower was uplifting!  Rob and I tried hiking to a waterfall located further inland but because of the rain the track became virtually impassable so we decided to turn back and photograph it from a distance.  All in all it was a great place to stop after a long sail and waking up to absolute stillness with no water hitting the hulls and the sound of mountain goats bleating on the hillside a mere 100m away was very peaceful.

Anchor was picked up on April Fool’s Day for a day sail to Hiva Oa about 45 nautical miles away.  Unfortunately it was an uncomfortable ride with strong winds and big swells making the boat surf which wasn’t a nice feeling.  The day after our arrival had us walking into town to get some money and check into the territory with the gendarmerie.  Our progress was halted slightly as we were informed we needed to hire an agent to vouch for a bond which would get us out of the country in case something happened to the boat (the locals really don’t want the tourists hanging around for longer than they should so they insist of having proof of means to leave the islands).  Our clearance into the territory was delayed by the Easter weekend so we had a good few days of exploring before sorting out the paperwork.  Rob and I were biting our nails in the wait to be cleared as the agent came back to us and said we may have a problem with our visas because they didn’t specify French Polynesia, even though we insisted that the consular official in Cape Town told us our visas were fine.  Stress… but when we eventually cleared with the gendarmerie after Easter, who confirmed our visas were fine, it was a major relief for us.  What helped especially was the fact that the official was so friendly and had such a sense of humour (shocking considering our past experiences with paper pushers), we walked back to the boat with a spring in our step, knowing we were free to explore the rest of Polynesia for the next three months.  On one of our trips ashore, Rob and I had a long walk to try and see some local petroglyphs or rock paintings but again nature got in our way and rain prevented us from continuing further along the dirt track.  We managed to get a couple of runs in to see a bit more of the island.  I was saddened to realise how much fitness I had lost since leaving SA.   Although I had a workout of note doing our laundry, sheets and towels from the past three weeks, using a bucket and good ol’ elbow grease, with an audience of young, virile army boys who chose that day to come to the anchorage for rowing training!

After nine days on Hiva Oa we picked up anchor and sailed to Baie Hanamoenoa on the island of Tahuata which is rated by some cruisers as one of the top three anchorages in Polynesia, and we pretty much agree with them!  The day before we moved locations was Captain’s 68^th birthday and even though the old codger refuses to celebrate birthdays, I baked him a delicious chocolate cake anyway!  Two nights were spent in this beautiful bay, where our time was spent cleaning the hull, swimming, snorkelling and enjoying the island ambiance while interacting with the locals on the beach.  The snorkelling was especially rewarding with plenty of vibrantly coloured fish, very healthy looking coral, great water visibility and it because it was warm, we could spend hours in the water.  We had plenty of dolphins swimming around too, and learnt from one local fisherman that the bay is considered a dolphin “nursery” where the young are taught how to catch fish and generally learn to fend for themselves.  Rob had to go up the rig to do some repairs and from his high vantage point he was lucky enough to spot a huge manta ray swim past the boat.  We also had a black tip reef shark hanging around but luckily we didn’t cross paths on our snorkelling excursions!

An early 05h00 wake-up call on 11 April had us leaving for Ua-Pou (pronounced wa-poo) on a day sail where my sea legs deserted me for some or other reason and I had a very close call in terms of feeding the fish!  There was a very strange chop on the water which made for an uncomfortable and sloppy sail, and I spent most of the time feeling yuck.  But I got over it after a couple of hours and was able to enjoy the rest of the sail despite it being a bit rough.  We had the reel out to try and catch a fish and again we caught a marlin.  This particular fish was adamant it didn’t want to be reeled in and released so the thing just dived and we lost about 200m of line as well as the lure.  Then, after the line and lure was replaced and the reel cast off again, a stupid gannet bird dived for the lure and got its beak caught in the hook.  Luckily Captain managed to reel the bird in and once on the scoop it extracted itself and flew off without too much trauma.  In our anchorage at Ua-Pou we had some amazing snorkelling opportunities which Rob and I took full advantage of, spending hours drifting along the edge of the drop off watching millions of tiny fish dart in and out of the coral.  The water erosion had formed some caves into the mountain side which we would have loved to explore further but with the surge of the water it was way too dangerous.

Two nights at Ua-Pou was enough to see the island so we set sail for Nuku Hiva, the largest island and the capital of the Marquesas.  Upon our arrival we were happy to see that the two Australian couples we met in Panama also made the crossing safely and were anchored when we arrived, so evenings in the anchorage were very social!  It was an extremely busy anchorage, filled with vessels ranging from dinky solo sailing boats to mammoth superyachts, one of which was 206 feet!  We googled it to find out more, and we learnt it cost about USD 150 000 per week to charter and, even more shocking, was that a crew member we met ashore told us it was fully booked for the season!  As we were planning to spend a fair amount of time on the island, Rob and I pumped up the spare dinghy which gave us our own set of “wheels” to get off the boat without inconveniencing Captain and First Mate.  So taking advantage, we managed to get in a couple of runs along the waterfront and we have had a few good, long walks exploring the town and surrounding countryside.  A memorable walk was first stopping at the bakery to buy some fresh baguette and brie, and then taking a long and steep walk up the mountain to enjoy an impromptu picnic while soaking up a panoramic view of the bay.  Feeling adventurous another day, we started walking to the next village called Taipivai (located on the other side of the mountain) with the aim to hitchhike along the way as there was no local bus service between villages.  We came across a local lady who drove a school bus and was on her way back home after dropping the village kids off at school.  She was kind enough to pick us up and take us over the mountain to the other side where we spent the day walking the country side seeing local tiki statues (I still need to google the significance of tikis because I didn’t find anything in Captain’s cruising books which could tell us more about them).  Apparently the guy who wrote Moby Dick spent some time in this particular village.  It was a fantastic day out but unfortunately Rob and I got bitten to pieces by mosquitoes or some other local bug and ended up with huge red welts on our legs, arms and even my face, and had a sleepless night struggling not to scratch our stinging bites while waiting for the pharmacy to open the next day to buy antihistamine cream!

Our time in the Marquesas was absolutely wonderful.  As mentioned before the appearance of the islands are spectacular.  I almost feel like calling the Marquesas the “Land of Nobs” with the amount of phallic or penis shaped rocks on all the islands!  One thing we were taken by surprise was with how friendly the locals were.  No matter where we went they were always smiling and greeting us with a sing-songy Bonjour! And they were more than happy to stop and give us a lift when they saw us walking on the side of the street.  They are just covered in tattoos though, even the women, and we have been told that this is a symbol of their place in society, for example, if the girl is a dancer, she would have some form of tattoo denoting that.  The villages are also spotless with minimal litter.  The population is very house proud and make sure their plots are well kept and tidy.  Even grass on the road verge is picked up by refuse trucks and taken away after it has been cut and not left to be dispersed by the wind.  It was such an experience going to the Marquesas and it was a fantastic introduction to what French Polynesia had to offer!

Looking back, I think the crossing from the Galapagos to the Marquesas in French Polynesia was the leg that I was least looking forward to.  I tried to prepare myself for our longest ocean passage by first plotting our start and end points on Google Maps and trying to come to terms with the big expanse of blue on the computer screen in front of me.  Having learnt we would be sailing approximately 3000 nautical miles in this period of time, my other strategy was to repeat a mantra: 100 miles a day, 30 days at sea… you can do this!  So it was with much excitement and celebration that we made landfall after three weeks at sea… or to be more exact, 22 days and 8 hours of water, water and more water!

We set sail mid-morning on 7 March when we bid the Galapagos farewell.  We had calm seas with approximately 10 knots of wind to start off with and made some decent progress for the first couple of days, while settling into the routine of night watches.  I suppose experienced sailors like Rob and Captain would say it was an uneventful crossing but in my mind it had many ups and downs.

First was the weather.  We had the satellite phone available to us so weather updates were downloaded every couple of days to see what we were heading into.  All the UGrib reports basically said 5-10 knots of south easterly or easterly wind and that is pretty much what we got.  We went through a few rough patches when squalls came through which made it a bit uncomfortable for me.  It’s not so much fun sitting through a night watch getting drenched with moderate swells making the boat rock and roll, and then spending a miserable few days in our cabin feeling a bit gross.  Not being able to open hatches meant the cabin was hot and stuffy, conditions which don’t really help a queasy-feeling girl!  I hit a bit of a low point but perked up after shedding a few tears and receiving a pep talk from Rob!  It was a bit tough adjusting to the sea conditions because it felt like I was levitating in bed.  Sleeping was difficult because just as I was drifting off, the boat rolls so it felt like my feet were about to come over my head in an impromptu yoga pose.  So I woke with a fright, checked that Rob hadn’t jumped up in alarm, no, okay he’s still sleeping so everything must be fine, close eyes, breathe, try to sleep because I have to be up for night watch in an hour.  Next thing a swell hits the hull with a massive thud and the whole process is repeated; only this time it is 45 minutes until watch starts!

I didn’t enjoy night watches at all.  I found it difficult to stay awake, especially when doing the 22h00-01h00 shift.  For me night watches were both boring and stressful at the same time, boring because nothing really happens, but stressful because you are always on the alert in case something does and you are responsible for the welfare of the boat and the people on board.  Both Rob and I were bad midnight snackers, me more so than him as it was a way to pass the time, albeit an unhealthy way.  Crackers and cheese, or instant noodles, or a peanut butter sandwich and a mug of Milo became the norm, and ended up being a difficult habit to break!

After a rough couple of days, the weather then cleared and we hit a patch of absolute calm.  With the sea as flat as glass we were lucky to even move a few miles each day (we have the current to thank for that!).  Rob and I wiled away the hours by sitting on the back of the boat in our “Jacuzzi”, picking up sea water with a bucket and pouring it over us to cool off!  Or I spent my time sitting on the throne (no, not the toilet, but the helmsman’s chair) gazing out to sea and day dreaming of reaching land and firstly, enjoying a cold glass of celebratory champagne, and then having a blissful full night’s sleep!  Most of the time was pleasant sailing with good daily mileage.  A milestone for Captain was reached on 14 March when he got his first daily run of 200 nautical miles in a 24 hour period (211nm in total) after about 40 odd years of sailing!  So beer ‘o’ clock started early on that day for him!  Luckily he was on last watch and could sleep off his celebration!

We were surprised during the crossing about the lack of marine life that we saw.  For our first few days at sea we were entertained almost daily by pods of dolphins swimming and leaping next to the boat.  It was so wonderful to watch, as they leaped high into the air but not in a graceful arc as you’d come to expect from them, but landing mostly with a belly flop, making a huge splash in the water.  We saw whales once, from a distance it looked like a mother and calf but as we got closer they dived and we didn’t see them again.  Rob caught a sail fish which we let go because the Captain and First Mate thought it was too gamey to eat.  It was a pretty fish though, with silver and blueish hues so Rob was happy to unhook and release it.  About 490nm to go and Captain casually mentions we were in the area renowned for tuna.  The very next instant, the reel goes ballistic, and what do we find once Rob has reeled it in?  A baby tuna (skipjack)!  But again we let it go because we were told it was a very bloody fish and not nice to eat.  And what do we see trailing the line… another shark!  We also had tons of flying fish that landed on the deck at night.  Captain was almost knocked out by one as it came zooming past his head through the cockpit and hit one of the stantions, leaving a very bloody mess.  Rob also had one land in the basin of our bathroom while he was washing his face, and I had one come flying through a galley hatch, flapping amongst the vegetables during one of my night watches.  Rob was promptly woken to remove it as they stank terribly!  It was a pity that they don’t make for good eating as we would have been feasting on flying fish but Rob improvised, making a gourmet breakfast one morning by frying up some squid that had also landed on the deck overnight.  We caught one Dorado towards the end of our journey which gave us about four decent meals; otherwise it looked like the ocean was fished out.

We only had five sightings of other vessels in the 22 days so it was pretty isolated in the middle of this huge ocean.  However it didn’t feel that huge when we were sailing, as we could only see as far as the horizon (about 6 miles).   We ate well though, three of us being competent cooks.  We tried our best to convert Captain into a maize meal (polenta) fan but he wasn’t keen, he even threatened to sin bin us in the dinghy or throw us overboard if we made it for dinner again!  But for Rob and me it was a taste of home each time we made it.

Land was spotted for the first time at 06h30 boat time on 29 March.  I say boat time because we crossed about three time zones while sailing, and although we updated the time as we went along, we were still one hour ahead of local time when we sighted land.  We were about 40 miles out from the Bay of Virgins on the island of Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas.  It was a long day, seeing land and having the impression of it not coming any closer!  We were buzzing with anticipation, waiting to drop anchor and pop the champagne!  A huge celebration followed at 14h40 with many hugs and congratulations all round.  Would you believe that at this point we were already almost halfway across the Pacific, with a total of 4000nm already sailed from Panama City!  Major achievement for me and a dream come true for Rob.  He was in his element, and loving every minute of it!  I was just happy to have made it to French Polynesia unscathed!

Sailing across the Pacific on a yacht has always been Rob’s dream, and before meeting him, I never ever imagined myself doing the same thing.  The thought of sailing, never mind doing a full-on ocean crossing, didn’t even cross my mind.  But here we were doing just that, and one of the many upsides of this experience was visiting some rare and off-the-beaten track destinations.  Cue the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago part of Ecuador and situated approximately 1000km off the West coast of South America.  Our last blog post had us arrived and anchored safely just off the island of Isabela.  At the time we were waiting to be cleared by the authorities.  It was quite a process to get that finalized but the red tape wasn’t as bad as we had expected it to be.  Our expectations were based on other cruisers reports about how difficult they found it to enter the territory, for example, being sent back out to sea to clean hulls, having organic food confiscated, having to have the whole boat re-fumigated etc, having their rice and flour examined with a fine tooth comb for bugs and so on.  However our experience was a walk in the park compared to other boats, except for the amount of time it took.  We had health authorities board the boat on the morning after our arrival.  We were told it was so our temperatures could be taken but we were just asked the routine questions… anyone with fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, joint pain etc.  Captain was too scared to say his joints are always sore just in case the health authorities didn’t realise it was just caused by his old age, rather than being Ebola related!  There after we had to wait for the rest of that day on board until the next set of paper pushers could come do their thing.

The authorities arrived the next day (so we spent two nights on board without being able to go ashore) and inspected everything, including the engines, bilge pumps, fridge and freezer and all organic produce.  Luckily the officials didn’t look at the hull (which is Murphy’s Law because we spent some more time cleaning it the day before) and they didn’t feel the need to confiscate or fumigate so we were cleared within an hour of them coming to have a look see.  Whoohoo!  As soon as they left we were on the dinghy and headed for land!  I am very happy to report that I didn’t walk wobbly on terra firma or feel like the earth was moving when it wasn’t… I must have been born to sail, wink wink!

First thing Rob and I have to say about the Galapagos is WOW… we were so happy to have had the opportunity to go there.  Everywhere we looked we just saw volcanic rock and solidified lava.  The town, Puerto Villamil, is bigger than expected.  It is pretty rustic in appearance but is well maintained with packed dirt roads, quaint wooden road signs and quite a few accommodation and eating options.  We reckon with all the infrastructure development going on (including a new sewerage system) it is going to become a real tourist trap in a few years time.  The locals really seem to make an effort to be eco-friendly, with recycle bins all over the place and minimal litter.  Construction seems to be with local materials, for example walls and roads are built using lava rock.

Prices are quite expensive with the US Dollar rate but again that was in all the touristy places.  We looked into renting some kayaks but USD35 for 90 minutes of paddling didn’t seem worth it.  We decided to take a guided hike up the Sierra Negra volcano where we walked along the ridge of the caldera and on to another smaller volcano, Chico.  Both volcanoes are still active, and you could actually see the fissures and cracks in the crater where the last eruption occurred.  The change in landscape from one side of the island to the other (which doesn’t get rain) is shocking – from greenery jungle type vegetation to a Mars landscape in a matter of metres.  According to the guide the last eruption in the archipelago was in 2009 but apparently they are quite small eruptions and don’t threaten the population.  Ironically about one month after we had departed, there was quite a large eruption on Isabela, and I’m almost sorry we missed one of nature’s spectacles.  We also rented bikes and cycled to an area along the beach called The Wall of Tears which is the remains of a former penitentiary used for “political prisoners and common delinquents” between 1946 and 1959.

The nature in the Galapagos is absolutely spectacular to observe.  And we are not the only ones to comment on this.  It was while visiting the Galapagos that Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution.  I’ve already mentioned previously the seal on the back of the boat.  We had more visitors come say hi for a few hours, and they are quite comfortable around humans.  Seals line the dinghy dock wallowing in the shade and are so content to just lie there and let the humans walk past or over them to get to the road.  They even jump up onto the benches to have an afternoon snooze.  Rob and I had an amazing experience with a couple of babies who were having a great time frolicking around the boat.  We jumped into the water with masks and swam with them while they playfully swam under and around us.  If we kept pretty still they came extremely close and blew bubbles around us for amusement.  All this while the mommy lay in the sun on the back of the boat, having an occasional look see by sticking her head into the water, checking all was okay, and then went back to her sun tanning!  One freakish moment was when we had climbed back onto the boat and were rinsing the masks when I looked overboard and saw a shark about the same size as me swim out from under the boat (where we were a minute ago) being chased away by one of the babies!  Needless to say we didn’t get back into the water after that!  We also had a close encounter of a seal kind, coming into contact with a male seal that had got up on the wrong side of the bed that morning and chased us down a walkway, preventing us from getting to a snorkel spot on that particular day.  One would be surprised how quickly a lumbering seal can actually move on land!

There are a lot of marine iguanas around too.  Not my favourite but they tend to be a bit more cautious and move away when humans approach.  On our cycle ride we came across a sign saying “Playa del Amor” or Beach of Love and when we got there we saw it was the nesting area for iguanas!  The iguanas were also in abundance on the main beach, poking their heads out of holes in the sand, and needless to say I almost jumped sky high when one unexpectedly popped up next to my foot.  We mentioned the penguins in the previous post, but there is another species of bird called the Blue Footed Boobie and they are quite fun to watch.  Evening times in the anchorage were so busy with birds and in certain parts, it was a feeding frenzy.  Frigate birds swoop down and scoop fish up with their beaks but the Blue Footed Boobies are the ones to keep an eye on.  They soar high up into the sky, spot their targets, tuck their wings in to become streamlined kamikaze birds and dive head first into the water, completely submerging themselves for five or so seconds where after they bob up to the surface and take a big gulping swallow of all the fish they caught.  This is repeated again and again until their bellies are so full they fly away, barely a meter above the water because it seems they can’t lift themselves any higher!  Isla Isabela is also known for its giant tortoises and one afternoon we took a walk to the breeding centre to go have a look.  Apparently scientists were only able to recover 18 from the wild as early settlers used to eat them, but now with the breeding centre there are over 200 which are slowly being introduced to the wild.  Rob and I were lucky enough to see two outside of the breeding centre when we did our bike ride.

On our last day, Rob, Captain, First Mate and I took a taxi ride up into the agricultural district to visit a local farm and buy some fresh produce for our next sail.  It was a wonderful day out; the farm had pretty much everything we wanted, fresh from the ground.  We were told we could also have lunch so we were expecting to have a local, home-cooked meal with the farmers but we ended up being taken to a fancy restaurant for a four course meal, which was absolutely delicious!  Needless to say we were stuffed after that, and if we hadn’t been driven down the hill back to the boat, we would have rolled with our full tummies.

The morning of our departure had us heading ashore to buy the last few supplies, fresh bread and lots and lots of eggs.  We were lucky with the eggs as every single store we visited was sold out, and only expecting a delivery later that morning.  Rob, on a mission, went in search of the delivery truck and managed to buy direct from the supplier off the back of his truck!  We hit the road so to speak at 09h40 in the morning, saying farewell to an amazing week in the Galapagos and looking ahead to some exciting times in French Polynesia.  But first, three weeks in the open ocean with no land in sight!  Read all about it in the next post!

Rob and I were extremely excited to receive our Panama exit stamps in our passports and head out to the Galapagos archipelago.  But before we set sail into the sunset we made a few stops around the Panamanian islands of Las Perlas… the scene for one of the many Survivor series.

Our sail to Las Perlas wasn’t a sail, but a motor because there wasn’t a breath of wind in the air.  The sea was like glass and it was absolute bliss cruising through the water, sitting on the foredeck catching a tan!  About seven dolphins came and swam in front of our bow and it was absolutely wonderful to watch them weaving and diving in front of the yacht, occasionally swimming sideways, one eye up as if to say hello to us watching from above.  We arrived at the anchorage (just off a nudist beach of all places) at the island of Contadora with crystal clear, warm water.  There was a possibility of another little hiccup in that Captain wanted to replace one of the membranes for the water maker and thought he might have to go back to Panama City, but luckily the supplier could fly it out to us.  We thought it a bit strange that this wasn’t thought of while we spent two weeks in Panama City, but nevertheless, all was sorted out.  Rob and I spent our time walking around the island (it took about two hours to walk the circumference) which is supposed to be THE tourist island.  It has got a good network of narrow roads where people mostly use golf carts to get around.  We also used the time to get into the water to scrape and clean the hull to get it ready for the Galapagos and got stung by lots of tiny jelly fish!  Not badly though, just felt like irritating insect bites.  There was also a “race” going on called the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers where a bunch of boats join and pay to sail around the world, so a flotilla of about 15 boats were anchored near us.  They set sail on Friday the 13th, not very auspicious as sailing superstition says never leave on a Friday, never mind Friday the 13^th!

After Contadora we sailed to another anchorage at Isla Canas, a bit of a rough sail for me as the wind caused quite a chop on the water.  Two uneventful nights there, one with a beach “barbeque” where our yacht neighbours decided to burn their rubbish on the beach.  There after we made our way south down the island chain to Isla del Ray.  We anchored just off the inlet to a big river which we explored by dinghy.  It would have been good to kayak as we could have then gone further up.  Around this time we motored to a small village called Esmeralda to try and get some internet and cell phone reception to let the family know before we set sail.  Internet was a no go but once we asked a local resident about mobile phones he pointed up the hill and led us to the village “communication centre” – a walk up a well trodden path to the top of the hill where they had set up benches to sit and place your phone in the exact location to get a signal, anywhere else and you don’t get reception.  It was touch and go for us to get a message out as the signal was so fleeting!

We started our sail to the Galapagos on 17 February at 07h00 local time, and it took us eight and a half days to travel to 1000 nautical miles.  For my maiden ocean crossing, it was a good sail!  We caught some fish, Rob even caught a 7 foot marlin which he reeled in, and managed to get the hook out without being impaled.  The marlin was much too beautiful to eat so after a quick photo, the lucky fish was released.  We had two other occasions of marlins trying to catch the lure!  We also caught dorado fish, which is a gold colour in the water but turns blue then silver when it is dead.  The sad thing about catching this tasty fish is that they swim in pairs, so more than likely this boy’s mate was left to fend for herself.  This sail was a real learning curve for me!  We had good wind most of the time, with a few patches of quiet.  Getting used to the routine of waking up for night watches took about four days.  Rob was very good to me by getting up with me to start my watch so he could check all is well.  Although night watch was only three hours, I was so tired after my first night at sea, the following morning I woke up, stood another watch, and then promptly fell asleep in the cockpit when Rob took over the watch!  It took some time but I eventually got the feel for it, but I did have a few stressful moments where my jaw felt clamped in place from clenching it so tightly!  No feeding the fishes so at the time I thought I was good for the rest of the trip!

The nights at sea were pretty amazing.  If it was a clear night the amount of stars one sees was phenomenal.  And the bioluminescence in the water is spectacular – it looks like glitter being sprinkled into the water.  Seeing schools of fish and dolphins at night is quite an experience because they show up as this phosphorescent glow just below the surface of the water.  The dolphin fins also leave this greenish trail in the water.  Real Life of Pi stuff!  My third night watch was windless, meaning the yacht didn’t have enough speed for the autopilot to work.  I spent the entire watch at the helm steering manually.  We didn’t see a single sailing yacht on the entire crossing, only a few cargo ships in the distance.  We were visited a couple of times by dolphins, and I woke one morning to the sound of breathing outside our port hole as a pair of dolphins surfaced next to the boat.  We could hear them squeaking through the hull!

It was on this passage that we crossed the Equator, but we have no idea when we did!  All we know it was on 24 February.  Ironically it was when we were speculating as to who would be on watch when we reached zero degrees latitude, and Rob checked the GPS and saw we were already in the Southern Hemisphere!  Our last day at sea was spent motor sailing as we had minimal wind.  Rob caught another dorado, and as he was cleaning it off the back scoop I looked up and all of a sudden saw a fin trailing the boat – a massive hammerhead shark picked up the blood scent and decided it wanted a piece of the action too!  Luckily we had the engine on as the wash from the propeller prevented it from getting too close to us but we threw the carcass overboard which was promptly devoured and it left us alone after that!

Upon arrival, we anchored in a natural harbour formed by lava flow from the volcano on Isla Isabella (the largest island in the Galapagos archipelago).  We had to wait to get cleared by the officials before we could get off the boat and go exploring.  But the thing I was looking forward to the most… well, two things… doing laundry and washing my hair!  At first glance the islands were not much to look at but in the bigger picture the scenery was pretty spectacular as it was all volcanic rock.  The whole area is a nature conservancy and after dropping anchor we had two seals jump onto the scoops at the back of the boat to say hello.  There was also a penguin colony on one of the lava outcrops (unusual for being so close to the equator but we reckon it is due to the cold Humboldt Current originating from the South Pole which brought them here).  We got a bit confused with the time zone thinking we were still GMT -5 so got a bit annoyed when the agent was apparently late but noted much later that we seem to be an hour later at GMT -6.  So our celebratory sundowners upon arrival started at 16h00 instead of the usual 17h00.  Oops!  Catch the next instalment for our amazing experiences in the Galapagos.

The idea of Rob and I sailing together was born in the early days of our cyber courtship, dreams being shared over the airwaves via instant messaging.  Having been introduced to an experienced sailor and with me never having sailed before, I of course was curious about the whole thing.  So we got talking, Rob sharing his knowledge and me learning about what sailing entailed.  And after a particularly challenging day at work, the thought of packing up and sailing the world, dropping anchor in exotic locations, the only restriction on our movement being the availability of wind, and getting more stamps in my passport sounded really glamorous!  Then we met, and sailing went on to the back burner while we backpacked across South East Asia.  It was while we were relaxing on the deck of our cabin in Cherating, Malaysia when the thought returned, and I turned to Rob and said, “Don’t you have any friends with a boat that we could go sailing with?”  The response from Rob was “Let me see what I can do.”

He then promptly got into contact with a couple he had met while stuck in Cape Verde for those long seven months, a British expat and his American partner, who for the purposes of this blog will be referred to as Captain and First Mate!  I had heard a lot about them from Rob, as they had become good friends while in Cape Verde before Rob left to deliver his boat to Brazil, but they had maintained contact via email after they had parted ways.  When Rob decided to ask about their upcoming plans, Captain and First Mate were at the time in the Caribbean on their 43 foot catamaran, and were looking to sail across the Pacific during the course of 2015.  Of course we were more than welcome to join them for the crossing, they said.  And so the planning for our next travel adventure began, and in hindsight, it was definitely a trip of a lifetime!

While in Somerset West, we got our paperwork in order.  Rob applied for a new passport as he had filled his up in South East Asia.  And the joys of holding a South African passport meant that we both had to apply for visas to enter French Polynesia.  It was not often that the French Embassy in Cape Town dealt with visa requests for people planning to enter Polynesia via sailing yacht!  The unfortunate aspect of our itinerary was that the cheapest flights that we could find to Panama involved a transit stop in Miami, which resulted in the additional expense and inconvenience of applying for an American transit visa.  The staff member who interviewed us at the US Embassy must have liked the look of us as we were thrilled to find out that we both received 10 year tourist visas for the States… another big trip for the future perhaps!

The morning of 11 January 2015 dawned and Rob and I were ready to head off.  The first leg of our journey took us from Johannesburg to Doha, Qatar, which was quite tiring.  Although only eight hours flying time, both of us struggled to sleep and it was a bit too turbulent for my liking.  One would think with all the flying I’ve done over the last few years I would be used to a few bumps here and there!  Although, again in hindsight, after eight months on a yacht sailing on some bumpy seas, a few bumps in the air aren’t that bad anymore!  We flew over Saudi Arabia, which from the air was a carpet of white after a recent snowfall!  I was so tired waiting for our next flight in Doha that I almost fell asleep while sitting in the terminal and came close to falling off my chair.  The security was quite intense before being allowed to enter the departure lounge.  Rob had to switch on the laptop to show that it actually worked, and we both had to fully unpack our hand luggage so each item could be scanned separately by the x-ray machine.  The Doha-Miami leg was quite a long slog for us, 16 hours in total, so time was passed with lots of movies and a cat nap here and there.  For snacks Rob charmed Mars Bar chocolates out of the stewardess!  I’m surprised there was no resulting sugar high after all the chocolates we munched!  Midway over the Atlantic I was actually expecting the captain to announce we were going to divert to New York after they had called for a doctor on board.  Who knows what that was about, but we landed in Miami anyway.  What a mad house it was.  Even though we were in transit we still had to go through passport control, where the queues stretched for miles, pick up our bags and re-check them to Panama City.  So now we both have stamps in our passports admitting us into the States even though we were leaving in two hours.  Our flight was delayed because even the crew got caught in customs!  The three hour flight to Panama City passed very quickly for us since we both crashed with exhaustion, and only woke up again when we started descending.  We passed through immigration without a hitch.  The only amusement was the immigration official really scrutinized my passport stamps then asked if we had been to Sierra Leone or the like as she was concerned about Ebola!  We got to sleep that night after midnight so it was a very long travel experience for us, about 35 hours in total.

Our first morning in Panama City was spent relaxing around the hotel pool where after we took a stroll around the neighbourhood to have a look around.  Of course we popped into a local supermarket as we are always curious to do a price comparison.  Our route back to the hotel took us along the seafront promenade; a noisy affair with second-hand American school busses converted into bright, graffiti-covered public transport busses with souped up engines motoring down the adjacent road at breakneck speeds.  Known as “Red Devils” we were told that locals take their lives into their hands when boarding one of them, with the driver paying scant attention to general traffic rules, sometimes even mounting the pavement to get ahead of a traffic queue in peak hour! We made plans to meet Captain and First Mate the next day and chilled for the rest of the day.  We had planned for a short afternoon nap to rejuvenate us which turned into a couple of hours.  Still being sluggish, it was an early night for us but it was a mistake going to bed early after the afternoon nap as bang on midnight (07h00 SA time) we were wide awake – jet lag at its best, and my first experience of it.  A few hours later we were up and heading by double-decker bus to Colon (on the Caribbean side of Panama) to meet up with the yacht.

Two days were spent on the yacht at anchor off the container terminal in Colon, which gave us time to settle in and make our cabin home for the next eight months.  I didn’t realize that a catamaran had so much space and we were lucky enough to have the port side hull of the yacht to ourselves, with us living in the forward cabin with en-suite bathroom.  The aft port side cabin was used for storage, with Captain and First Mate using the starboard side hull for their living quarters.  While anchored in an area ironically called “The Flats” the water was a bit choppy with all the pilot boats zooming past either dropping off or collecting pilots from the cargo ships coming through the canal, so the boat rocked and rolled a lot, something which helped me get my sea legs quicker.  I was happy to report to the family that for those two days I didn’t feed the fish but just felt queasy which a few tissue salts and a stint on the bed or on the deck in the wind seemed to help.  Although writing an email home to let everyone know we were on board really tested my capabilities of maintaining my equilibrium!   Those first couple of days really gave me a chance to adjust to boat life before actually heading out to sea and doing proper sailing.  And I realized I had a lot to learn.  Although power supply wasn’t really a problem, and we had a water maker on board, I still had to learn to conserve water, and change cooking methods to conserve gas.  Using a gas oven takes a certain level of skill!  And I had to adjust to quick and cold showers as we only got hot water when an engine was switched on (perhaps ever second or third day to charge the batteries).  I also got my first callous on my hand… not from pulling up sails or tying knots or anything remotely to do with sailing, but from pumping the toilet! No flushing there, it was pump, pump, and pump!

The morning of 15 January was spent waiting for the Port Official to come aboard to measure the boat and complete the paperwork for the canal crossing. Once that was done Captain decided it was a good time to set sail for a little town east of Colon called Portobelo. As soon as we got underway one engine overheated and there was a fuel blockage with the other one so there wasn’t enough oomph to get us past the breakwater, out of the way of the tankers and get the sails up. Prudent Captain decided we should turn around and sort that out before considering moving location so back to the anchorage we went. My first “sail” lasted about thirty minutes and I was completely clueless with all the sailing terminology etc. I was completely overwhelmed with the rush to get sails up, then waiting for additional instructions, then rushing again to get the sails down.  Major wake-up call!

The next morning we set off to Portobelo sailing into the wind so it was a choppy and rough ride for me. I felt okay but had to spend the whole six hours outside on deck with the wind in my face, and following the age-old advice of looking at the horizon.  But I was happy to say the fish didn’t get fed on that excursion either!  Rob put a line out behind the boat and he ended up catching a big kingfish which ended up feeding us three good meals.  The day was very long for me and I was working muscles I never knew I had. One might not believe me but boating is exhausting stuff! The constant movement is unexpectedly tiring, and I think was more the tiredness rather than seasickness which made me feel gross. But a few dry biscuits and a nap seemed to help. I even managed to scoff a couple of Oreo biscuits, no chance to savour them as I had no free hands to hold them.  With no sea legs meant I stumbled around deck like a drunkard so both hands had white knuckled grips on whatever they could hold on to!

We settled into an anchorage in Portobelo and stayed there for about ten days. Time was spent exploring the small town (a bit grimy with a lot of stray dogs), fixing up the boat to get her ship shape for the canal transit and otherwise relaxing.  We were treated one evening with dolphins in the anchorage, and the pelicans flying around made crashing into the water to catch fish look like an art form!  Boat “showers” became the norm, so to save water we’d jump into the sea to get wet, climb back onto the back of the boat and soap up, jump back into the seawater to get the soap off and then use a freshwater hose at the back of the boat to get the sea water off. Maybe never completely sticky free but at least most of the grime came off!

We had booked our canal passage for 30 January so we sailed back to Colon on 27 January, which was a little earlier than expected. My second sail was a bit better on the tummy and was mostly downwind and not as rough as before.  Although the swell hit the boat from the side so I still felt a bit uncomfortable. I ended up lying on the foredeck in the shade of the sail and after a short spell felt better. I promptly fell asleep as we anchored back in Colon… the ten straight days of sailing to our next destination were definitely going to be interesting!

On to the Panama Canal and what an amazing experience! Our pilot boarded the yacht at about 17h00 on 30 January then we got instructions from him as to how we were going to go through the first set of locks. We were to be tied to a passenger vessel on our starboard side and have another sailing boat tied up on our port side. We quickly found out that the extra two line handlers Captain hired were pretty useless but luckily Rob was there to sort them out. Initially a big merchant vessel entered the first lock, the passenger boat followed and tied to the side of the lock behind the cargo ship, we then followed and tied up (which was pretty challenging because the wind was really buffeting us around). Once we tied up, the other sailing boat came alongside and tied up. All set, a bell rang, and the gates of the locks closed behind us. Water was pumped into the locks at a rapid rate, raising us to the next level. Forward gates opened, we all casted off to enter the next chamber and the process was repeated (three times in total). By this time it was completely dark but the lock system is very brightly lit so it felt like daytime. I think we rose about 30 meters in total into a freshwater lake then motored to a mooring spot for the night. The next morning another pilot came on board and then we motored through the lake for about six hours then up to the next set of locks. While cruising through the lake, I was hoping to see more wildlife but Rob did see an alligator while I was below.  Two tourist boats went ahead of us; we tied up to the same sailing boat from the night before and entered the lock, with two other sailing boats tying up behind us. This is where we managed to get sighted on the live webcam.  I spent most of the time up on the forward deck with First Mate, both of us waving like mad things at the camera! Once through the locks where we were lowered down to sea level again, we untied and headed to the Balboa Yacht club.  Hoping to have a slightly calmer anchorage I was a bit disappointed as the Yacht Club was located right next to the channel where the massive tankers enter and leave the canal. We treated ourselves to a celebratory drink and dinner at the club as we had just crossed from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific, then it was lights out!

While at Balboa Yacht Club, Rob and I took advantage of the time and went exploring.  After some inactivity we managed to get a couple of runs in along the causeway, and went to go visit the Old Town which is now a World Heritage Site.  After a walk around I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the Old Town.  We were expecting a bit of a run-down area after having seen a bit of the rest of Panama City while driving around, but the municipality has done a pretty good job of restoring the old buildings.  Having been very well maintained and colourful, with a lot of additional ongoing refurbishment, it was a very attractive area.  We made sure to have a bite to eat outside of this tourist trap and found a dinky restaurant on a corner where we enjoyed some chicken and rice with the locals, one of whom was highly amused watching me sweat from all the chilli!

After a few days at Balboa, we moved anchorages to a bit further down the causeway as this was the place to get fuel before we left.  We spent the last few days in Panama City shopping for provisions for our long haul sail that was fast approaching (ten days to Galapagos then an expected 30 days after that to the Marquesas Islands).  We got a bit annoyed because our shopping was done and we were all ready to set sail for Las Perlas when First Mate suddenly piped up that we need a fumigation certificate before we can enter the Galapagos archipelago.  I mean she had more than a week to get this organized then it was a huge big rush to get this sorted out before we left.  We found out after a while that Captain and First Mate’s planning skills weren’t the greatest, but without much drama everything was resolved and we were ready to get going.  The highlight for Rob at the second anchorage was seeing Sea Cloud II come down the Canal channel.

Three weeks on board the yacht and I was now itchy to start my first real sea crossing.  We checked out of Panama, had our passports stamped and set sail for the Galapagos via the Las Perlas Islands.  Read all about my maiden voyage in the next post!