DAY 11. Costa Rica to The Marquesas via The Galapagos
At Sea. Good Friday, April 02, 2010, late afternoon
Our position at 0000 GMT (2 hours behind NYC; Mountain Standard?): S 01
Degrees 11.03, W 090 Degrees 26.91

We have nearly reached the end of our first full day at sea after leaving
San Cristóbal Island, The Galapagos. Up at first light, we had the anchor
up in ten minutes and motored north out of the harbour and around the
floating buoy marking the end of the big reef. Within an hour we had the
sails up and were able to cut the engine and glide along at between 4 and
5 knots. Wonderful, after the long motoring trip to get to The Galapagos!
It was heavily clouded around the island as we left and the sun did not
appear until mid -morning. But 5-10 knot winds were S to SE and therefore
exactly where we want them to be for the whole trip. After playing with
the windvane steering for a while, it finally decided to hold course and
we lounged around below out of the hot sunshine at midday, checking the
horizon and the steering every twenty minutes.

Just after we cut the engine we realised we had a fish on the hook.
Pulling it in, we discovered half a yellow fin tuna (delicious eating!)
Apparently a shark had taken it lower half without trying to eat our hook.
There was enough meat left to give us big steaks for a late lunch around
1500 and some left over for tuna sandwiches tomorrow. What a treat!

The light winds have held pretty steady all day. We could see Isla Santa
Cruz in the haze to the N, and are now passing Isla Floreana to our S,
after which we shall have left The Galapagos behind us and struck out on
the open sea. When we left the harbour the GPS showed 3,046 Nm to Nuku
Hiva. We have covered nearly 50 Nm after the first 12 hours and can reckon
on making at least 100 Nm in 24 hours (to 0600 tomorrow).

We are settling into our routine and Kathy will take the first watch from
1800 (1200 GMT) to 2100 (0300 GMT). We have had our daily bucket bath in
salt water with a good rub-down when dried off, so we are refreshed, and
after the tuna steaks, feeling quite content.

We only spent three days in San Cristóbal Island in order to bunker
diesel, water and guy fresh provisions. We still have some fruit left from
Costa Rica (the last pineapple, several watermelons, some limes). The Port
Captain was helpful that we did not need to go through the expensive
check-in routine provided we cleared off immediately. He even came around
last night to make sure we actually left this morning. We might have left
a day earlier, but there was a glitsch with the laptop, which we got
sorted out ashore.

It was nice to be back in the island that we got to know four years ago.
We looked up some acquaintances that we had four years ago, and made
friends with Tina and Manolo, who run a tourist agency near the main dock
and who helped us get the diesel. It is as highly controlled as uranium
since the locals can buy it for $1.05 and on-sell to yachties. (You have
to get a chit from the Port Captain and then prove that you actually
bought it before you can leave.) The town looks very prosperous, but the
price inflation is everywhere. The locals bring it on themselves because
they are always eager to get high prices from the tourists and yachties.
Then they wind up having to pay a lot for things too. Nevertheless, they
complain that the government is not good.