Oxygen: three weeks in the Galapagos.

Who:               Isabelle & Sylvain

Where:            Galapagos.

Boat:               First generation Outremer 45

Blog:               www.oxygen45.com

We were welcomed by some sperm whales. They are easy to identify, as their blowing is oblique, at 55°, instead of completely vertical for the other whales. We intended to stay here for around three weeks, to visit this very special archipelago, world champion for endemic species, both flora and fauna. On arriving, it’s forbidden to bring anything which could contaminate the archipelago. So no green plants, no animals, no insects aboard. Certain boats have been refused as their hulls were too dirty, for example, and they had to sail 60 miles from the coasts, dive and scrape off the hull on the open sea. On their return, their hull was inspected again. From the first night, we heard some noises, some unusual vibrations. I got up to find two seals settled in the port sugar scoop, at the level of the water. They must have spread the word – the following night, Oxygen was colonized by an enormous male weighing around 200 kg which we called Ernest, his females and youngsters. Not seeing the Galapagos would have been stupid, even though they weren’t on our route, and we had the privilege of having time.                                                                                                                                                                                              We loved observing the seals, the gannets, the iguanas and all their friends. But the authorities don’t do much to welcome cruising sailors. The formalities are complicated, and expensive ($1,700 for Oxygen and 2 people…), to end up stuck in three anchorages. The authorities dangle an exceptional archipelago in front of you, with endemic species in abundance, but as the observation sites are prohibited, we had to make do with the brochures… Imagine a tourist who arrives in Paris, and the customs officer says to him: Hello Mr. Tourist, in Paris we have Montmartre, but you aren’t allowed to go to the 18th arrondissement. It’s stupid.