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American Spirit II - Day 54; Janet and Darlene Head for Home; Mike Mogavero Arrives; Wednesday, Febuary 26, 2014



Big day today. Darlene Heyne, Joel's wife, left us after being on the boat since January 4. During Darlene's 'stay' she sailed from Tampa to the Dry Tortugas; thru the gale; to Key West; around the western tip of Cuba; past Grand Cayman; thru the treacherous Nicaraguan Sand Banks;to the Sand Blas Islands; to Shelter Bay in Colon, Panama; thru the Panama Canal; to Panama City; to the Las Perlas Islands of Panama; and finally, to the Galapagos, where she visited San Cristobal, Santa Cruz and Isabella Island. With the Caribbean crossing (we think) being the most arduous of our entire trip around the world, Joel and I would have been hard pressed without her. Thank you Darlene! You will be missed.

Janet Fox, my bride, also left us today, after being on the boat (or our 'cruise boat') since February 15. Janet and I have both wanted to visit the Galapagos Islands and doing so together was a real treat. Thank you Janet!

The international airport that Darlene and Janet flew out of is on Baltra Island, a small island just north of Santa Cruz. The airfield was built by the USA during World War II to protect the southern approaches to the Panama Canal against the Japanese Navy. Bombers flew air patrols from the Galapagos. Baltra was picked because it is centrally located in the Galapagos and because its relatively flat (not mountainous like most of the islands). We took a 25 person bus that had Darlene, Janet, Joel and I in and no others; and after the 45 minute drive to the northern part of Santa Cruz Island, we had to unload our luggage from the bus, load it on the roof of a ferry, and take a ferry 500 yards to Baltra. The ferry cost $.80. Cool. Once on Baltra, we had to board a large Greyhound type bus for the 10 minute ride to the airport. Free. Once there Darlene and Janet were checked in for their flights in about 5 minutes. At 11:30 AM they entered thru security and awaited their flight, which left at 12:45 PM for Guayaquil, Ecuador. The airport is very modern with lots of stores and an eating area. Comparable to a small airport in the US. Very impressive. Unlike the airport that Janet flew into on San Cristobal, which is VERY South American.

Mike Mogavero was scheduled to fly into Santa Cruz just before Darlene and Janet departed. Or so we thought. After the last two planes deplaned (probably the only 2 planes landing in Baltra today), there was no Mike. In a panic I looked up his reservation and saw that he was ticketed to fly to San Cristobal instead of Santa Cruz. Oops! Wrong island, 40 miles away. Joel and I both texted and called Mike, to no avail. Why? Because Mr. Mike likes to keep his cell phone off when traveling. I'm typing this log Feb 28 at 10:00 PM and Mike just told me he got a text from me and Janet (that we sent 2 days ago). Way to go Mike!

Because Mike's trip was so 'interesting' I'm going to let Mike tell you in his own words about his experience in bringing in a 77 pound anchor and 'washing machine' to the Galapagos; how he avoided the long que's in Guayaquil; and how he managed to get to the right island.

This is Mike. Interesting ? Ok, we'll go with that. First let me say mega thanks to Janet Fox for sending me text messages explaining what not to do while going through the airport at Guayaquil en route to Baltra. Her information saved me at least 4 hours of "line" time and a huge amount of frustration! Second let me correct Brian, the anchor itself was only 50 pounds, but both pieces of luggage were just over 100 pounds! And yes, part of it was a washing machine, just picture a regular propane tank, except this was filled with water maker filters that resembled big sticks of dynamite. Going through customs was not as bad as I thought and the practice run with a 40 pound anchor to Panama City three weeks ago helped. Although I was worried about the washing machine, I didn't need to worry because as soon as the customs inspectors saw the anchor through the X-ray machine, it....and I...were the focus of attention. I probably could have had a body in the rest of the luggage and not been found. Eventually it was okayed and I was on my way! Until I got to the ticket counter and was asked which island I really wanted to go to since my luggage was going to Santa Cruz (the 'correct island') and I was scheduled to go to the other island (San Cristobal). After over 22 hours of travel, I did what any sensible person would do and said I wanted to go with my luggage. As it turns out my luggage was smarter than I was and it, and I went to he correct island (Santo Cruz). I have to say I was really glad to see Joel and Brian at that airport. And now the adventure really begins...

Happy Hour was held at The Rock restaurant and bar, as usual, at 5:00 PM; and for dinner we went to the 'street', where restaurants for a couple of blocks actually close down a street to vehicle traffic and people sit at tables set out in the street and actually eat dinner there. We all had 'Slipper Lobsters' for dinner to celebrate Mike's arrival. Why is the lobster called a Slipper Lobster? Because it looks like a slipper that you wear on your feet.

We were back at the boat at about 9:00 PM; with lights out an hour or so later.

Brian Fox & Mike Mogavero

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