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Free & BrEasy - Extraordinary Galapagos



We crept into Wreck Bay, Puerto Moreno, San Cristobal around 8am on Thursday 13th February just in time for Valentine's day. The silence when the engines were turned off was beautiful after 3 days and nights motoring. During the previous night it was strange to see the volcanic land mass slowly emerge from the darkness. As morning twilight occurred, we passed Sleeping Lion Rock which is a 100m stack rising vertically from the sea bed and where we would return!

Up went the yellow quarantine flag and we waited patiently for customs and what was the first of three invasions. When customs came, they came in quantity. We were invaded by 8 officials who all had separate paper forms to complete, questions to be answered and parts of the boat to look at, not including the diver who inspected the hull. After 30 or so minutes we were cleared for entry but not before our precious "to last across the Pacific" oranges had been confiscated, the pineapples and beetroots had been beheaded, and a lot of dollars had exchanged hands. Within a few hours of arriving we experienced the second invasion. The rear steps on both hulls (sugar scoops) were invaded by two sea lions, Sunny on port and Sheila on Starboard! They were so cute with long eyelashes and sleepy eyes and all they wanted to do was to curl up in the heat of the day, and sleep. We felt the same! That is apart from Michael 1 who had caught a ferry to Santa Cruz to prepared the ground for his wife and children who would be shortly arriving - lucky Michael 1!

Then we caught a yellow water taxi to the port for the passport stamping and the inevitable Happy Hour rendezvous. Getting off the taxi we saw sea lions lying on the harbour steps including a mother suckling a young pup while a male tried to gain possession of her step. A few more yards along the pier and we saw hundreds of sea lions asleep on the beach, and further on, sea lions on the pavement and even on benches, sleeping like tramps. In fact sea lions were invading the port, completely fearless of humans and in an insatiable quest for a warm dry comfortable place to sleep. We soon began to realise that all the stories about the wild life on the Galapagos were true - a completely anarchic wild life habitat where humans are exploited as a mere back cloth to the important task of living. A short walk along the enchanting harbour front and we were confronted not just by sea lions but a large iguana, pelicans, a blue footed booby, frigate birds and we watched fascinated as a heron speared fish as waves washed over its legs and keeping young sea lions off its fishing grounds. Then hundreds of golden rays appeared close to the pier feeding off a local algae, and all this a few hundred yards from busy restaurants and children playing in the street. The only thing missing was an army of giant tortoises marching up the street but there was a tortoise statue!

During the night the third invasion occurred. Roger and Michael 2 were woken up by the sound of hideous monsters clambering aboard. Foul smelling, belching, puking, roaring Vogon aliens were clambering up the sugar scoops intent on crawling through our hatches to devour us as we slept. Leaping up we nervously shone the torch only to see Sunny and Sheila (or close relatives) sleeping innocently. The cute sea lions had become giant slugs to be kept at bay!

Today we went snorkeling to the Sleeping Lion Rock and not surprisingly were blessed with Green Turtles, Eagle Rays, Galapogean Sharks and a profusion of different coloured fish all surprising near and indifferent to us. So far everything is extraordinary in an extraordinary place.

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