Our Barque Picton Castle came to anchor at the town and in the harbour of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, aka “Bahia Naufragio”, aka “Wreck Bay,” on the island of San Cristobal, Galapagos, Ecuador, at about 1400 Sunday, July 9, 2023, after a passage of 8 days from Panama. The well protected deep harbour is crowded with fishing boats and small craft. A couple of Navy ships on moorings and a plentitude of smaller commercial island cruise ships not always bigger than our ship are anchored about rolling to the small swell. A couple large landing-craft style ships come and go from Guayaquil as supply ships. we can hear anchor chains being let go or hauled in anytime time of day or night. We see two long distance cruising yachts, one American, one German, nearby. There must be a dozen or more yellow taxi launches scattered here and there scurrying about the port. Sturdy craft holding 15 or more, fitted with permanent awnings and big outboards, for control and power more than speed, I think. These fellows are very good boat handlers – the crew have been encouraged to observe them closely as they maneuver – they might learn something about good careful boatmanship. And only $1 per ride, not bad. This is an active busy port and waterfront. The holding for the anchor is good too. We are happy to be here.
As per plan, the officials, all 12 of them, come out in one of these taxi launches to clear us in. We have our agent (required), the Captain of the Port (Navy), immigration officials, quarantine officers, environmental compliance officers, bio-security inspectors, park officials and a couple of folks whose portfolios were less clear. They went about their tasks willingly, professionally, and graciously. The entire Galapagos islands are a national park of Ecuador, and they are quite proud of this park. After maybe an hour and a half the formalities were done. The ship was thoroughly inspected. Crew were inspected too. Then after a short orientation, the free-watch could go ashore and begin to inspect the Galapagos of Darwin fame.
Times change, people change, places change. Big fishing schooners no longer sail out of Lunenburg, Gloucester or T-Wharf in Boston. In fact, T-Wharf is long gone. Clipper ships no longer range the seas. At 69 I look little like the lean twenty-one year old mate, with a head full of brown curly hair and a belly upon which you could light matches that sailed hereabouts in the classic wooden Brigantine Romance a long time past in another century. So, Wreck Bay is no longer the sleepy little fishing village of a generation or two ago.
But it remains a charming and now even a more enticing and exciting portal into the nature reserve that is the Galapagos. Retaining its low-key ambience there are now plenty of cafes, bistros and shops alongside outfits there to organize tours of the islands of diving expeditions and plenty more. The waterfront street is nicely and attractively laid out. Very relaxed here. A popular destination for Ecuadorians as well as North American students, European backpackers (and barque sailors). The wharves are all well-made and the sea lions like them too. Yet back a block or two away from the sea’s edge there remain little ma-and-pa kitchens serving the tastiest seafood on small street-side tables at modest prices. There is even a fine maritime themed restaurant boasting an image of Picton Castle in its signage. They will have more Picton Castle ephemera before we sail. And many PC customers as well. This is a real community, so that means that the hardware store is real and very impressive to us, as are the food markets and clothing shops. But I doubt we came here just to get a nice bite to eat, as delightful as that is.
Giant Land Tortoise are a must-see here, no? On your first visit to Paris, you must see the Eifel Tower, oui? New York City, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty? Liverpool and the Cavern Club? Lunenburg and see the Schooner Bluenose II? It is a bit of a drive but well worth it, to the tortoise sanctuary. As you walk along the rough volcanic stone paths it dawns us that this would have been a pretty harsh island to get shipwrecked at a long time ago. Darwin called these islands “utterly baren and desolate”, and yet they were and are teeming with life.
You do not have to abandon the harbour and head for the hinterlands in order to see wildlife up close and personal either. As soon as we anchored, sea lions came out to inspect us along with the inspectors. Sea lions are EVERYWHERE here at Puerto. Swimming and playing to the harbour, crawled up on rocks near the wharves for naps, up on the wharves themselves, barking loudly and seemingly rudely. They sound like, oh, I am not sure I can explain it but, yes, the sounds they make are RUDE, very rude. They would be well admired at a male spring-break debauch late at night. And fish-breath comes to mind. Marine iguanas sun themselves on the rocks as boobies, pelican, and frigate birds swoop just overhead. Pretty amazing place this. Sunny with the occasional misty rain, making the island greener than I have seen it before.
Only 2,600 miles to the next amazing place…… and nothing in between. Well, an awful lot of South Pacific Ocean, but no islands, nary a one…
