Visiting Isla Santa Cruz in the Galápagos Archipelago

Cruising Lifestyle (continued)

 
A well-attended volleyball game in-progress in the waterfront park. They held the games just before dusk, after the heat of the day had dissipated.

 
A frigatebird flying past the nearly full moon.  


 
The moon rising over the anchorage at Academy Bay. I took this picture about a half-hour after the previous picture of the frigatebird and moon, using the last bit of daylight before it became totally dark.  

While Marcie was finishing her internet chores I loitered outside and took early evening pictures as the sun was going down. It was almost a full moon and I tried with limited success to get pictures of birds flying in front of the moon. I also photographed street scenes in the waterfront park which was surprisingly busy. There were a couple of spirited volleyball games in-progress with numerous onlookers, children were playing in the playground, and people and families were mingling and enjoying a Saturday evening with the day's heat dissipated and the week's work complete.

By dusk we were walking past a sidewalk bar close to the landing and David suggested we stop and grab a beer. Just after we sat down, we saw the couple we met yesterday on the Turtle Bay trail (George and his Ecuadorian wife, who export flowers); we hailed them and they came over and joined us. Meanwhile, I got distracted by some good photo-ops of the moon rising over the harbor so I wandered off to snap a few pics. When I wandered back, conversation was flowing freely, aided by a couple of beers and the fact that both George and Marcie are adept conversationalists. It was interesting listening to George's story—he is a determined entrepreneur and had tried several less-successful ventures before settling on flower exporting which apparently is doing well. All the ventures required much effort and expense but he was energetic and tenacious and finally achieved success.

George and his wife were waiting for their children to return from a birthday party, and once they arrived we called it a night and split up. George graciously paid the bar tab, and Marcie and David invited them to visit Nine of Cups on Tuesday and maybe go for a sail.

When we got back to the boat, we dined on Marcie's Mediterranean rice salad which she had prepared earlier. This is a delicious mixture of rice, chicken, artichoke hearts, olives, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, capers, and seasoning, all in a light Dijon-vinaigrette dressing and served room temperature or cooled. It was very good, and it's a recipe I'll have to add to my repertoire. After dinner, everybody being tired, we went to bed.

I mentioned in a few places the mileage we had walked. In the States, I'm used to hopping in the car to run errands. As frugal cruisers in the Galápagos, we usually run errands on foot and only rarely take a taxi. Although Puerto Ayora is a compact town, a busy day of errands can require quite a few miles of walking. Despite the heat and effort, it's a great way to see the town and get some necessary exercise.


Previous Page   Next Page   Section Contents Page   Main Contents Page   Sailboat Cruising Page   Home Page