We made it! We arrived this morning around 4:00 a.m. and anchored among many fishing vessels reinforcing that Sven’s advice of sailing slower and arriving after dawn was good advice. Not that we experienced any problems or “drama” as Deb (Tim’s dad’s wife) and I like to refer to certain sailing episodes, but it was very difficult to see all of the mooring balls and it’s a reasonable precaution to take when possible. It was great to all be able to go to sleep at 5:00 rather than wait until 8:00, however.
We had a late breakfast so decided to skip lunch, go check in, and explore the island. We headed up the hill to see Alexander Selkirk’s (the inspiration for Daniel Dafoe’s Robinson Crusoe) possible lodging remains and then up to the top for a tremendous 360 view. The only town on the island is tiny without many roads and people get around by motorbike, ATV, horses, and cars. The cars are a mystery because there is very limited access for driving. The people were very friendly, both locals and tourists, and we chatted with several divers and a treasure hunter from Chicago who has spent 13 years hunting treasure around the island. He had a strong opinion about the Selkirk remains.
We asked around and were directed to the best restaurant in town where we dined upon octopus, ceviche, tuna, and lobster.
The guys went back into town the next morning to check out and pay the restaurant owner for dinner (we didn’t have enough money), ended up having breakfast there too, and then we took off to anchor on the opposite side of the island due to prevailing wind issues. Sven caught a fish that we ate as a sashimi appetizer then cooked for dinner. We left the next morning, Wed, 4/6, spending the day in confused and big seas without much wind. It was a pretty miserable day. It has calmed down since, but still not the most desirable and we’re making slow way even with running the engines a fair amount.
Tim and Sven are asleep right now. I think I’ll make a hot chocolate and see where that takes me. Reading most likely. I can’t believe I was planning on doing calisthenics on the boat every day. It’s all I can do to stand up half the time. I suppose if I can manage to make hot chocolate I should be able to do some sit ups?