Helen: We´re here!! On San Cristobal at the moment - arrived at sparrow´s fart this morning. It´s daft - having spent several days motoring in the doldrums, when we got close to the islands this enormous westerly current kicked in (helped by the fact that it was full moon) and, even when we took all the sails down we STILL drifted west at about 2 knots. So we had to spend most of yesterday trying to go the wrong way so that we wouldn´t arrive in the middle of the night. Crazy.
But, here we are. Have been told that unfortunatley we can´t stop at all three of the inhabited islands - only one (well, we can stop at them all, but then you have to pay 3 times, and, at $100 a time, that´s prohibitively expensive). So we have to choose. C and I want to stay here as it´s chilled out and you can go walking. Think our skipper might want to go to Santa Cruz though as that´s where all the tourists go to get their boat tours. Hmmmmm. Hopefully either way we´ll get to go to Isabela too and do a 2 day hike up a volcano - after 8 days on a 41 foot yacht we both need to stretch our legs!!
Haven´t seen a tortoise yet...but hope to soon - looking out for a giant strawberry as that´s surely where the giant torts will be. Have seen lots of seals though - apprently you have to be careful where you park you dinghy here otherwise when you come back it´s full of seals!
Right, have to go - more later
H&Cxx
Tuesday 25 March 2008
Friday 21 March 2008
Doldrums
Written Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 04 degrees 10 minutes N, 082 degrees 02 minutes W.
(Charlie) Well, the doldrums are dull, our journey has so far been uneventful, which, given our past misfortunes is a really good thing! The biggest problems we've got on board at the moment are the engine noise - no wind in the doldrums - and coming up with recipes for the masses of fresh tuna we have lying around. The boat was given a fishing line complete with lures a few weeks ago and it normally only takes about 30 mins to catch three tuna. They're big things and take some killing! The one I caught the other day made a really big mess all over the stern which took me about an hour to clear up. However, it was delicious.
The skipper has promised that if the weather's nice, then when we reach the equator we can stop for a bit and go for a swim. I am soldiering on with my Spanish and am now about 1/4 of the way through 'Prey' (Presa) by Michael Crichton - it takes a long time when you read each chapter in English, then in Spanish! Helen has just made some excellent bread in a pan as the oven is really not up to much. I'm ashamed to say it's better than the attempt I made the other day with the oven.
(Charlie) Well, the doldrums are dull, our journey has so far been uneventful, which, given our past misfortunes is a really good thing! The biggest problems we've got on board at the moment are the engine noise - no wind in the doldrums - and coming up with recipes for the masses of fresh tuna we have lying around. The boat was given a fishing line complete with lures a few weeks ago and it normally only takes about 30 mins to catch three tuna. They're big things and take some killing! The one I caught the other day made a really big mess all over the stern which took me about an hour to clear up. However, it was delicious.
The skipper has promised that if the weather's nice, then when we reach the equator we can stop for a bit and go for a swim. I am soldiering on with my Spanish and am now about 1/4 of the way through 'Prey' (Presa) by Michael Crichton - it takes a long time when you read each chapter in English, then in Spanish! Helen has just made some excellent bread in a pan as the oven is really not up to much. I'm ashamed to say it's better than the attempt I made the other day with the oven.
Tuesday 11 March 2008
Next stop Galapagos!
Helen: It feels like all we´ve done the last few days is SHOPPING! We must´ve bought about a tonne of food which should hopefully last us til the Marquesas, and some of it even til NZ. Spending 500 quid on food in one go is a bit painful...but over that timeframe it works out at about 2 pounds a day, so we can´t really complain (but saving all this money is a good thing...as when we get to the Galapagos it´s apparently horribly expensive!)
Life on Nomad is getting better (I´ve fixed the mattresses and head lining in our cabin, and C has fixed the loo (!) and I´ve hung bee up to keep us company)...but the skipper is driving me mad already. I´ve been thinking about it, and I think one of the main reasons I don´t like him that much is that he´s fat. I know that sounds odd...but it explains so much about him - he eats too much (biscuits, chocolate, fatty bacon etc...), drinks too much and smokes too much. He always wants to take a taxi instead of walk. Definitely NOT the Pank way. Oh well...he´s nice enough I guess...just does lots of little things that wind me up. Like not even trying to talk to people in Spanish. Or not looking to see if we´ve finished the last milk before opening another. But I guess one of the things you learn on a trip like this is humility and how to get on with other people...
Anyway, rant over. Gotta go soon - have a few more chores to do before going home, and then it´s an early night for us all as we have to leave for Las Perlas early tomorrow - a few days snorkelling there...and then Galapagos here we come. Hopefully we should be able to post while we´re sailing (thanks Bob!) but if not, I´m afraid this will be the last message for a couple of weeks...
Lots of love, hope the storms aren´t too bad in the UK (you have all the wind! Reports are that boats are motoring 900 miles from Las Perlas to Galapagos as there´s no wind here!)
Hxx
Life on Nomad is getting better (I´ve fixed the mattresses and head lining in our cabin, and C has fixed the loo (!) and I´ve hung bee up to keep us company)...but the skipper is driving me mad already. I´ve been thinking about it, and I think one of the main reasons I don´t like him that much is that he´s fat. I know that sounds odd...but it explains so much about him - he eats too much (biscuits, chocolate, fatty bacon etc...), drinks too much and smokes too much. He always wants to take a taxi instead of walk. Definitely NOT the Pank way. Oh well...he´s nice enough I guess...just does lots of little things that wind me up. Like not even trying to talk to people in Spanish. Or not looking to see if we´ve finished the last milk before opening another. But I guess one of the things you learn on a trip like this is humility and how to get on with other people...
Anyway, rant over. Gotta go soon - have a few more chores to do before going home, and then it´s an early night for us all as we have to leave for Las Perlas early tomorrow - a few days snorkelling there...and then Galapagos here we come. Hopefully we should be able to post while we´re sailing (thanks Bob!) but if not, I´m afraid this will be the last message for a couple of weeks...
Lots of love, hope the storms aren´t too bad in the UK (you have all the wind! Reports are that boats are motoring 900 miles from Las Perlas to Galapagos as there´s no wind here!)
Hxx
Sunday 9 March 2008
Pacific, monkeys, weevils and a Panama hat
Helen: We´re in the Pacific!!! Our skipper was really ecstatic about this on Friday afternoon when we finally made it through the last lock of the Panama Canal - C and I were both too exhausted then to really take it on board and be excited...but now it´s sunk in that we really have just crossed into a different ocean and through THE PANAMA CANAL. Ok, so it is just a larger version of the Kennet and Avon Canal really, but it was v cool to be in the lock as the same time as a super tanker. Actually, on the way down, it was just us and one other yacht (acting as a giant starboard side fender) in the lock together, with huge expanses of empty space infront and behind. Our own personal transit :)
We´re back in Panama City today and I´ve been tour guide - we wandered around the colonial part - same style architecture as Cartagena except very dilapadated. Some buildings are being done up (and the President´s Palace (complete with teenagers with machine guns to guard it) is very swanky) - C and Stuart kept eyeing buildings and musing on their development potential...
We also went to the Smithsonian Institute research centre and saw week old tiny teeny turtles and a two toed sloth in a tree - C says that´s what I´d be if I was an animal - sleeps 20 hours a day and moves slowly when awake - sounds ideal :) We also saw white faced capuchin monkeys and howler monkeys in the wild in Colon (which make sounds like a pack of angry dogs - very eerie in a jungle when you´re all by yourself - kinda like hearing foxes in London in the middle of the night - their shrieking always made me think someone was being murdered...). The monkeys were in the jungle on the site of an old American army base - lots of deserted buildings and bunkers - just the sort of place you might set a horror film...
Final bit of wildlife we´ve seen isn´t quite so romantic I´m afraid - I spent yesterday picking weevils out of our rice!! C won the sweepstake - he guessed at 37 and there were 38 (makes me think maybe he knew how many there were cos he put them in there!).
Both v pleased with how our Spanish is coming on - C much better than me (he´s reading Roald Dahl´s The Witches in Spanish at the moment) - we managed to communicate with a taxi driver last night and got him to take us to a cinema where they show films in English - we saw There Will Be Blood (there was nearly blood - I nearly knawed my arm off to get out of there it was so dull!). Had to kill an hour or so before the film started though, so we went to the games arcade in the shopping mall (where else would you find a multiplex cinema?) - C won at shooty game and air hockey...but I beat him at the drivey game :)
Right, quite enough waffling - time to go back to the boat. Lots of chores/provisioning to do - we set off for the Las Perlas islands and then the Galapagos on Weds...
Hxx
PS forgot to say - guess who was in Shelter Bay Marina in Colon same time as us? Rumour has it a certain Mr Bond of Universal Exports was there too, in a huge big gin palace filming for the next film...
PPS I have a Panama Hat!! (well, not technically a bona fide Panama Hat, but a hat that comes from Panama - good enough for me¨:) )
We´re back in Panama City today and I´ve been tour guide - we wandered around the colonial part - same style architecture as Cartagena except very dilapadated. Some buildings are being done up (and the President´s Palace (complete with teenagers with machine guns to guard it) is very swanky) - C and Stuart kept eyeing buildings and musing on their development potential...
We also went to the Smithsonian Institute research centre and saw week old tiny teeny turtles and a two toed sloth in a tree - C says that´s what I´d be if I was an animal - sleeps 20 hours a day and moves slowly when awake - sounds ideal :) We also saw white faced capuchin monkeys and howler monkeys in the wild in Colon (which make sounds like a pack of angry dogs - very eerie in a jungle when you´re all by yourself - kinda like hearing foxes in London in the middle of the night - their shrieking always made me think someone was being murdered...). The monkeys were in the jungle on the site of an old American army base - lots of deserted buildings and bunkers - just the sort of place you might set a horror film...
Final bit of wildlife we´ve seen isn´t quite so romantic I´m afraid - I spent yesterday picking weevils out of our rice!! C won the sweepstake - he guessed at 37 and there were 38 (makes me think maybe he knew how many there were cos he put them in there!).
Both v pleased with how our Spanish is coming on - C much better than me (he´s reading Roald Dahl´s The Witches in Spanish at the moment) - we managed to communicate with a taxi driver last night and got him to take us to a cinema where they show films in English - we saw There Will Be Blood (there was nearly blood - I nearly knawed my arm off to get out of there it was so dull!). Had to kill an hour or so before the film started though, so we went to the games arcade in the shopping mall (where else would you find a multiplex cinema?) - C won at shooty game and air hockey...but I beat him at the drivey game :)
Right, quite enough waffling - time to go back to the boat. Lots of chores/provisioning to do - we set off for the Las Perlas islands and then the Galapagos on Weds...
Hxx
PS forgot to say - guess who was in Shelter Bay Marina in Colon same time as us? Rumour has it a certain Mr Bond of Universal Exports was there too, in a huge big gin palace filming for the next film...
PPS I have a Panama Hat!! (well, not technically a bona fide Panama Hat, but a hat that comes from Panama - good enough for me¨:) )
Tuesday 4 March 2008
Rewind
Helen: [Got a bit carried away last time and forgot to mention something really cool - we met up with Ben and Erika in Cartagena - they've been in S America for a year and are just about to go home, but as we weren't planning on stopping in Columbia we didn't arrange to meet up. Then, when our plans changed and we were going to be in Columbia after all, I sent Ben an email...and we managed to meet up for a beer - it nearly didn't work out - if I hadn't been online when Ben emailed me back we would've just missed each other...but as it happens I'd asked C if we could spend another half hour in the internet cafe so I could finish something...and then Ben's email arrived. :) ]
Now we're in Shelter Bay Marina in Colon - when we told the guy in our hostel in Panama City where we were going, he rolled his eyes in horror and asked us why on earth we were going there - our guide book says the same - it says it's not a matter of if, but when you'll get mugged. Have to say though, the 5 mins we spent in Colon getting from the bus to the taxi (bloody typical - for the last 3 months we've been harrased by taxi drivers when we don't want a taxi, then when we finally do want one it takes ages to get one to stop!) the city seemed fine - really lively and bustly... We had to cross the Canal to get to the marina - it's so small!! Considering how important the Canal is for the world economy and the size of the ships that pass through, it's so small - kinda like how I felt finally seeing the Berlin Wall - despite its fiercesome reputation it was barely over 6ft high...
Panama City was very big and very busy - it reminded us of American cities with 4 lane roads, no crossings for pedestrians and no real 'city centre', just sprawling strip malls. But, the historic/natural bits we did see were good and the people were friendly and forgiving of our bad Spanish. Unfortunately Panamanian food seems to be deep fried (home away from home!) though. It was good to just have a day to ourselves though - we have really enjoyed meeting new folks during our travels, but we do need some time just the two of us...
Now we're on board Nomad with Stuart. He seems ok, and the boat is sturdy and well laid out - we have our own (aft) cabin and heads (loo). She needs some TLC in the cleaning/decorating departments, so when I'm done here I'm going to scrub the sink in the galley (kitchen) and fix the seat covers in our room. Should be leaving for the Canal on Thurs.
Hxx
Now we're in Shelter Bay Marina in Colon - when we told the guy in our hostel in Panama City where we were going, he rolled his eyes in horror and asked us why on earth we were going there - our guide book says the same - it says it's not a matter of if, but when you'll get mugged. Have to say though, the 5 mins we spent in Colon getting from the bus to the taxi (bloody typical - for the last 3 months we've been harrased by taxi drivers when we don't want a taxi, then when we finally do want one it takes ages to get one to stop!) the city seemed fine - really lively and bustly... We had to cross the Canal to get to the marina - it's so small!! Considering how important the Canal is for the world economy and the size of the ships that pass through, it's so small - kinda like how I felt finally seeing the Berlin Wall - despite its fiercesome reputation it was barely over 6ft high...
Panama City was very big and very busy - it reminded us of American cities with 4 lane roads, no crossings for pedestrians and no real 'city centre', just sprawling strip malls. But, the historic/natural bits we did see were good and the people were friendly and forgiving of our bad Spanish. Unfortunately Panamanian food seems to be deep fried (home away from home!) though. It was good to just have a day to ourselves though - we have really enjoyed meeting new folks during our travels, but we do need some time just the two of us...
Now we're on board Nomad with Stuart. He seems ok, and the boat is sturdy and well laid out - we have our own (aft) cabin and heads (loo). She needs some TLC in the cleaning/decorating departments, so when I'm done here I'm going to scrub the sink in the galley (kitchen) and fix the seat covers in our room. Should be leaving for the Canal on Thurs.
Hxx
Monday 3 March 2008
Panama City
Helen: Just about to leave Panama City to go and meet our new skipper Stuart in Colon....Bit nervous - hope we all like each other!
Feel a bit ashamed to have had to fly to Panama - really would have liked to do this big adventure without flying and we´ve already had to take 4 flights - but it just couldn´t be avoided. The weather forecast for this week is shocking between Cartagena and Coln - more of the same waves and wind that we had on the way from Bonaire - and, while we were fine the last time, and would probably have been this time - there´s no point deliberately putting yourself in that situation if you can avoid it so everyone decided to just stay in Cartagena. But we promised our skipper we´d be there by the 3rd...so we flew.
And boy, what an experience Columbian safety inspections are at the airport! C and I spent hours packing our bags the day before (we have so much stuff, it barely all fits and has to be packed very carefully inside each other in a specific order...) and then when we got to the airport we had to unpack both bags to be inspected!! The guard was v pleased when he found a plastic bag full of brown powder in C´s bag...but was disappointed when it turned out to be chilli powder!!
We´ve enjoyed Panama City so far - we went to walk round a big forest natural park yesterday (C said he saw a monkey...hanging by its tail...eating a banana) and then we went to see the ruins of old (17 C) Panama (´just a load of old stones´) and then we went out to a bar (where the music videos were just an excuse to play soft porn if you ask me!) Oh, and we took a local bus which is always an experience. We´ll be back in the city in a few days once we´re through the canal for more exploring.
Right, must dash, or all the free breakfast in the hostel will have disappeared!!
Hxx
Feel a bit ashamed to have had to fly to Panama - really would have liked to do this big adventure without flying and we´ve already had to take 4 flights - but it just couldn´t be avoided. The weather forecast for this week is shocking between Cartagena and Coln - more of the same waves and wind that we had on the way from Bonaire - and, while we were fine the last time, and would probably have been this time - there´s no point deliberately putting yourself in that situation if you can avoid it so everyone decided to just stay in Cartagena. But we promised our skipper we´d be there by the 3rd...so we flew.
And boy, what an experience Columbian safety inspections are at the airport! C and I spent hours packing our bags the day before (we have so much stuff, it barely all fits and has to be packed very carefully inside each other in a specific order...) and then when we got to the airport we had to unpack both bags to be inspected!! The guard was v pleased when he found a plastic bag full of brown powder in C´s bag...but was disappointed when it turned out to be chilli powder!!
We´ve enjoyed Panama City so far - we went to walk round a big forest natural park yesterday (C said he saw a monkey...hanging by its tail...eating a banana) and then we went to see the ruins of old (17 C) Panama (´just a load of old stones´) and then we went out to a bar (where the music videos were just an excuse to play soft porn if you ask me!) Oh, and we took a local bus which is always an experience. We´ll be back in the city in a few days once we´re through the canal for more exploring.
Right, must dash, or all the free breakfast in the hostel will have disappeared!!
Hxx
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