My transfer back to the airport at Isla Baltra went without
a hitch, and once there I had to wait, and wait, and wait. The reps from the
different boats were there collecting their guests, but nowhere could I see one
with the sign “Golondrina”. Finally, after an eternity I heard someone
announcing “FRAGATA, FRAGATA, Golondrina, FRAGATA,
FRAGATA”. I jumped at the chance and soon learnt that I had been re-booked to
this new yacht, and was assured that the change was for the better.
Transferring ourselves and or luggage to the ship took a
while, but finally we were all together, all 15 of us, in the great cabin,
listening to our guide Roberto. There are four German women, two Swiss men, one
American man, one American woman, one British man, one Argentinian women, one
Ecuadorian woman, one Spanish woman, one Irish man, one Dutch woman, and myself.
At 64 I am the oldest, and the youngest might be 25 to 30; the mode seems to be
in the late 30’s. We seem to be a varied enough group, and I look forward to
forging some new friendships.
After the introduction we had a very nice lunch, which is
the signal that our cook, Victoriano, is a good one. Afterward we sailed the
boat to a quiet beach, Las Bachas in the northern part of Santa Cruz Island,
where we disembarked for a short nature walk (we saw iguanas and flamingos) and
our first snorkeling adventure. I had forgotten how awkward it is to try to
walk with fins, but once in the water I immediately remembered the fine points
of snorkeling, and in no time whatsoever was darting in an out of the rocks. I
saw some huge parrot fish, a medium size shark, and two sea turtles. Yeah!
Once I got out I mentioned what I had seen and pretty soon I
had a mini expedition at my heels to look for sea turtles. I managed to see two
more, and the others saw at least one of them, so we declared the outing a
success.
Once we were back in the ship we motored to the channel
between Baltra and Santa Cruz to get rid of dirty laundry and empty crates, and
then headed northeast to the small island of Genovesa, where tomorrow’s
activities will be centered. To get there we will have to cross the equator, so
I opened my GPS an pretty soon we had a “Crossing the Equator” party going. We
crossed about 10 pm, shouted and exchanged embraces, and then we all headed for
our cabins. I am sharing a cabin with Renee, one of the Swizz guys, to whom I
made the present of a brand new pair of ear plugs. I hope he is able to sleep.
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