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Carl Strange

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Fatu Hiva in The Marquesas (#7)

21 June – Fatu Hiva, Marquesas 10° 27S / 138°29W

Yesterday, we awoke to find the dinghy upside down with our small, 2HP motor in the water. The wind gusts coming down from the mountains are not to be believed. Five dinghies were flipped. Lots of flushing of outboards going on yesterday. Happily we noticed ours quickly and didn’t have any damage from saltwater. We didn’t go to shore in the morning because we simply would not have made it against the winds and chop. It was amazing. In the afternoon, the winds slacked enough that we could go to shore to pick up the bread we had ordered.
The “bakery” is a small wooden shack next to a small house. Flour and other ingredients are mixed in long wooden troughs and the lumpy, round loaves are baked in an ancient looking stone oven. Order a day in advance and pick it up the next afternoon. Unfortunately, the lady had forgotten to write down our order the day before so no bread for us.
We did have a nice time wandering around the small town and visiting with the locals. I carried a nice supply of Chiclets gum and had a great time surprising kids with a small gift. These types of treats are not generally available, word spread quickly through the town and I was constantly approached by shy, smiling children. In a few cases the parents also were delighted by the gum.
I had taken photos on our previous visit and gave a few prints to people we especially enjoyed. Several cruisers have digital cameras and color printers these days and you see prints proudly displayed on walls in houses.
Woodcarvings and tapa cloth prints are much higher priced than in years passed. Cruisers, and tourists in Tahiti, have bid up the prices over the years. We passed on the $150 carved tikis and the $180 manta rays since they looked like something you could buy at Pier One Imports. However we did get hooked on tapa art. Tapa is made by stripping tender young pieces of bark from trees – banyan and mulberry are popular. The pieces are laid on stone and pounded with a wooden mallet to form a thin, fabric looking rectangle. A black ink, made from a local plant, is used to draw very intricate art. Only a small number of ladies create this laborious art these days and now only on a couple of the Marquesan islands. We asked ladies on the street, chased rumors, approached several houses with our best Marquesan “kaoha” and finally found a lady with nice art and very reasonable prices. We bought a couple of her pieces and are delighted with our finds.

22 June – Tahuata, Marquesas 9° 55 S / 139°06 W

The winds died overnight and we were anxious to escape the windy anchorage so we sailed the few miles to Tahuata. It as tempting to anchor in Resolution Bay, named after Captain James Cook’s second ship, but our guide book showed a more protected bay a few miles further north. We joined a few other boats at Hana Moe Noa (Long Sleep).
Our two day stay was spent harvesting coconuts and limes from an abandoned grove, an evening fire on the pristine sand beach and diving on the boat bottom to scrape a few goose barnacles picked up crossing the Pacific.

Breadfruit
Pamelo also known as pamplemousse

Our new culinary treats are breadfruit and pamplemousse. Breadfruit is supposed to be treated like a potato. We made thin, salted fried chips from ours. It was interesting but I would hate to live off the stuff. Pamplemousse on the other hand is wonderful. This is a very large, sweet grapefruit growing all over the Marquesas. Delightful!

A few Recipes from the Enchanté Galley

Breadfruit Omelet

  • 1 c ground meat, ham, or sausage 1/2 c green onion, chopped
  • 2 c breadfruit, cooked and cubed 1 tomato, chopped
  • 2 eggs salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Saute the garlic, onions and tomato in oil. Add breadfruit and meat. Cook until meat and breadfruit are done.
Beat eggs well and add to the breadfruit mixture. Pour into pan. When one side is cooked, turn and cook the other side until done. serve hot.

Cream of Taro or Breadfruit Soup

  • 1T margarine 3/4 c cream
  • 1 T flour 1/2 t salt
  • 1/2 t onion, minced 1/16 t pepper
  • 3/4 c taro, cooked and mashed 11/2 c water
  • 1/2 c celery, chopped fine

Saute onion in butter. Blend in flour and add water while stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat until thick. Add taro and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes. Pour cream into the mixture and season. Serve hot. Can substitute breadfruit for taro.

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Landfall – The Marquesas, Paradise at Last (#6)

16 June 2002 –  10° 30S / 128° 32W Land Ho! Marquesas

Rebecca spots land, 19-days out of the Galapagos
Rebecca spots land, 19-days out of the Galapagos
[An excerpt from Carl’s Log] We spotted Fatu Hiva, Marquesas at 0930 local time. Islands first appear as an indistinct gray smudge on the horizon. Finally, your eyes recognize structure and you realize it’s not a cloud or wave. It is always exciting. Land means seeing colors other than blue, resting at anchor, and taking a walk. A major island means meeting other cruisers, eating fresh fruit and vegetables, going to a small restaurant, and sitting at a table without having to hold onto your plate with one hand! Land also brings the danger of hitting something and the worry of finding a secure anchorage. We are all three on deck for most of the morning and we are almost always looking towards the island.

As we close with Fatu Hiva colors and civilization start to appear – green, a microwave antenna high on a mountain, a lone white cross on a hill. Finally, there are huts, houses, and tended fields. The smell of land is intoxicating – dirt and vegetation, flowers, smoke. The island is gorgeous. By afternoon we’ll be anchored in the Bay of Virgins. The old name for the bay, before European churches arrived, described the phallic rock spires the stuck up around the area.

It took 19 days to get here from Galapagos. It was a wonderful passage and faster than average. Slower boats have required 30-45 days for the trip.

Dinner will be the remains of the 4-foot Mahi Mahi we caught yesterday afternoon. Plenty will be left over to make pate’ and Karen is thinking about trying a pickling recipe someone gave us.

Tonight we’ll sleep together for the first time in a month. Both of us will wake up at our two-hour watch intervals. There will be a sudden panic with the realization that no one is one watch. It takes a couple of nights to adjust to the lack of sailing noise and motion and to relearn how to sleep for several uninterrupted hours. We will jump at the sound of a dog bark or a motor.

18 June 2002 – Fatu Hiva, Marquesas 10°27S / 138°29W

“The Bay of Vergins” Fatu Hiva

The anchorage here is beautiful but the holding isn’t too good. People anchor in a horseshoe because the big area in the middle is rocky and boats tend to drag in the 30+ knot gusts that come screaming down from the mountains. It’s not rolly so we are grateful, but we pop up every 5 minutes or so with each gust to make sure all is well in the anchorage. Makes one nervous about leaving the boat unattended.

Yesterday, we went ashore with the crews of two other boats. The French officials say we aren’t allowed to stop here without first visiting an official Port of Entry far downwind from Fatu Hiva. The Marquesans have always been sailors and the locals know we are not going to beat several miles to windward after passing their island. The Mayor of Fatu Hiva welcomes cruisers and invites them to stay for a few days before continuing on to talk to the French. The welcome is passed over the long-range radio nets used by cruisers. There is no airport on the island, no normal tourists, and all supplies arrive on a small freighter. We are an important source of trade and we buy crafts that would normally be sold at a discount to a dealer in Tahiti.

A breakwater is being built in the harbor. We were stunned to see heavy equipment moving concrete blocks and dirt and the noise is incredible after days at sea. The equipment and material came on a barge and will be taken away when the job is completed. It’s a scramble to come into the landing and climb up through the mess to shore. But we’ve been to worse landings and it is a delight to be ashore.

Immediately on shore, a lady greeted us and asked, in a mixture of French and English, if we wanted fruit and had anything to trade. As we were to learn hot items are perfume, lipstick, nail polish, ballpoint pens, t-shirts and jewelry. We didn’t want to haul fruit around during our walk so we declined and carried on.

The lady mayor is also the school teacher. It was break time so we went into the schoolyard to say hello and ask permission to stay. Children came running from everywhere. They were anxious to try out their English skills the whole of which consisted of, “What is your name? How old are you?” Each child came up and asked that in turn. We must have answered the questions a hundred times and were delighted to do so. The children were amazed to hear our ages and went to great pains to translate carefully for ones who didn’t catch our English numbers.

The mayor spoke English well and grabbed her purse and took us to see the town. A cluster of children joined our parade and people came out to say hello to us or speak to the major. Our little group of eight cruisers turned into a small mob of thirty or so. We were taken to the houses of the lady who bakes bread, a local wood carver who happens to be married to the mayor’s sister, and a lady who makes tapa – art on a cloth made from the bark of trees. Children were assigned as tour guides to lead us around.

At one point we pulled out a guide book of the Marquesas Islands. We had carried it ashore because it had a map of the small village and we thought it might help us get around. We had no idea that a local child would always attach themselves to act as our guide in the village and would help us find everything including the trash landfill. The children were delighted with the book especially when we showed them the chapter on Fatu Hiva. Published pictures of their bay and a couple of sites around the area fascinated them. Despite the fact that it was written in English, they loved it because they recognized their town. They really wanted to trade for it – one small girl offered the plum she had in her pocket. We needed the book as we continued through the Marquesas and kept it, much to their disappointment. It’s not at all that they are uneducated or backward but Fatu Hiva is a tiny dot even on a map of the Pacific and to see a publication with a whole chapter dedicated to their bay delighted them.

The town was a great introduction to the South Pacific and Rebecca even got to see some ladies with flowers in their hair. She’s been looking forward to that for a while. No grass skirts, much to her disappointment, but maybe on another island because they are practicing for the big dance festival that happens next month.

Carl Strange Avatar
Carl and his wife Karen set-off on a journey around the world on-board their sailboat S/V Enchante. Along the way, they had a lot of adventures and in Aruba, a new member of their crew was born. Now a family of three with Rebecca’s birth, they sailed the Caribbean and the Pacific experiencing life along the way.

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Underway, Journey toward the Marquesas (#5)

6 June  06 22S / 111 51W.

We’re more or less halfway there and all is well on-board. Stories to follow if I can pry Rebecca’s computer away from here during daylight hours. Don’t know if I reported mine has a keyboard problem and is useless right now.

10 June 2002 – 07 46S / 123 41W

The Galapagos are 2100 miles and thirteen days behind us. The Marquesas are 900 nautical miles and about one week ahead. We’ve seen nothing on the horizon but blue water and white clouds for days and days. Except for the occasional night squalls, our weather has been picture-perfect for the trip.
We have had great luck fishing and are enjoying Mahi Mahi (or Dolphin or Dorado) again this evening. Today’s catch was just over three feet and will keep us in fish for a couple of days. Most of the fish will be baked but a few nice pieces have been put aside to have as a sashimi (okay, thinly sliced, cold, raw fish) appetizer. Our lockers always have a good supply of Wasabi, the hot mustard that goes with sushi or sashimi.

For fishing, we had been using our only “store-bought” lures, two very nice Rapalas which over the last couple of years have helped us to catch a lot of fish. However, a few days ago, they did their job too well. Both lures were trailing behind the boat. Each had a few feet of 120-pound test, nylon-coated stainless wire for a leader. One lure was on our Penn Senator saltwater trolling rod and reel. The other was on our “meat line”. The rod and reel got the first strike. I tightened the reel break but the fish kept stripping the line (i.e. pulling more lines out). Karen released the headsail sheet to slow the boat down and I added a bit more tension to the reel. The reel never reached the smoking stage but definitely started getting hot before the fish broke the wire leader. We reeled in our empty line and wondered just how big “the one that got away” had been this time. Later in the day, I rolled up our meat line to discover the wire had been bitten or broken as well. All in all, we are lucky those two fish didn’t make it on board.

Now we are back to fishing with homemade lures. Honestly, it is a lot more fun to catch fish on our own lures. A typical lure is assembled from stainless wire and crimps, a couple of bullet weights, a serious stainless hook, a store-bought plastic squid-looking thing, and anything else that strikes our fancy and looks “fishy”. Our latest creations include the thin Mylar lining from the inside of cardboard wine boxes (only the best you know) or pretzel bags. We cut a four or five-inch square including the corner of the liner or bag. The corner is always heavily reinforced and makes a good “head” for our lure. The lure is assembled with the following steps. Loop the leader wire through the head of the hook and secure it with a crimp. Slide a bullet weight down the wire to the hook. Push the wire through the corner of the Mylar bag so the hook is hidden inside the bag. Put a second bullet weight into the head of the store-bought squid (green and orange squids have been working well lately), poke the wire through the squid, and slide it down to cover the bag. Measure a few feet of wire for a leader, make a second loop in the end, and secure with a crimp. Finally, cut the Mylar bag into strips to mimic the legs of the squid. Attach your creation to your line and troll a boat length or so behind you. Set it out in the morning and start planning your menu.

Our meat line deserves a description. This is sixty feet or so of 1/4″ three-strand nylon line. A large stainless swivel is tied to the “fishing end”. Ten feet or so of 120-pound stainless wire follows that with a second swivel and snap hook crimped on the end. The leader of a lure is attached to the snap hook and the line is trolled behind the boat. Since the 1/4 line won’t give when a fish strikes we use a four-foot piece of heavy bungee as a shock absorber. One end of the bungee is tied to a loop in the 1/4 line and the other end is tied to the aft rail of our boat. Finally, the 1/4 line, with a good bit of slack, is attached to a large cleat on our aft deck. Now when a fish strikes, the bungee will stretch giving the fish a bit of play. Should the bungee break, the 1/4 will take the load. Much like Tom Sawyer tying a fishing line around his toe, we use a clothespin to hang the slack loop of 1/4 line up in the rigging so we can keep an eye on it from the cockpit. When a fish strikes, the bungee stretches, the loop pulls out of the clothes pin and we eventually notice. It’s a crude but very effective way to fish.

16 June

We spotted Fatu Hiva at 1800 Z or 9:30 AM local. Actually, it was Revision II who called us on the VHF and pointed it out. It’s about 1:30 and we have at least an hour or 2 to go before we are anchored. I hate that it takes so long after you’ve started celebrating to actually get anchored. All in all, it has taken 19 days. Not bad. An average of 161 miles a day.

The island is gorgeous. Definitely a sight for sore eyes. Can’t wait to go on shore tomorrow and explore. They supposedly have a lovely waterfall, though it is quite a walk to get to it. We’ll only stay a few days and then go to Hiva Oa to officially check-in.
Paradise at last! YEA!

Carl Strange Avatar
Carl and his wife Karen set-off on a journey around the world on-board their sailboat S/V Enchante. Along the way, they had a lot of adventures and in Aruba, a new member of their crew was born. Now a family of three with Rebecca’s birth, they sailed the Caribbean and the Pacific experiencing life along the way.

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Underway, the South Pacific Bekons and a Dream of a Lifetime begins (#4)

29 May  – Underway to the Marquesas 02 22S / 092 37 W

A large swell started curving into the anchorage off the tiny town of Puerto Villamil, Galapagos. The small anchorage, inside the broken rim of a small volcano top, was fairly crowded. The fringing volcanic rock broke the swell when exposed, but at high tide, the waves came right over the rocks and we rolled worse than at sea. Of course, high tide came in the middle of the night and we slept fitfully, spread eagle and hanging onto our pillows to keep from rolling out of bed. We tolerated these conditions, waiting for the weekly supply ship to bring fresh vegetables. Thankfully the ship arrived on schedule, and Monday was spent shopping and storing. Noon Tuesday we escaped the anchorage for the relatively calm of the open ocean.

Clearing an island. The surrounding reefs and rocks keep all of us on deck. The helm area is cluttered with a chart, dividers, triangles, and a hand-bearing compass. We carefully plot our course and shoot bearings on obvious landmarks. GPS is accurate to a handful of meters these days but the charts haven’t all been corrected yet – especially the old, out-of-date charts most cruisers carry. It does little good to know exactly where you are if the island is a mile from where it’s charted. The winds were light and the sea calm so we had great conditions for spotting sea life around the Galapagos. Over a period of a couple of hours, we saw numerous turtles and a couple of sharks including a small hammerhead. Near the current line, we spied the usual collection of plastic bottles, sticks, and a large black plastic tarp. We noticed a few more tarps as we motored and worried about wrapping one around the prop. As we neared a group of three, one raised a wing revealing a white underbody. Just as we realized these were huge Manta Rays the wing slapped on the water splashing the boat and us. It was wonderful watching the rays swim as we passed.

It’s now Wednesday morning. S/V Enchante’ is moving along nicely in perfect sailing conditions – a cool breeze of 12-15 knots, clear skies, broad reaching in a long gentle swell with a knot of a favorable current, making 7 – 7.5 knots over the ground. Our favorite lure is trolling behind us but no fish yet. Thank goodness since the ice box and freezer are full of prepared meals for the first few days.

We meet twice daily on an SSB radio net with boats in the area. Several of them departed days ahead of us, one on the same day and more to follow. The spread of boats will share weather information, lie about the fish they’ve caught, and offer help should someone have a problem. It’s also nice to know others are sitting in their cockpits at 4 AM going through the same struggle to stay awake.

Our sleep periods will soon adjust to the two-hour watch schedules and even I will fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. The daily routine continues and Rebecca still has school five days a week. This is a long, 20-25-day voyage that we’ve dreamed about for years. Making this trip is a dream come true!

31 May

[In a conversation with Carl about his current sail, he had some words of advice for some mutual friends planning on joining the cruising life in the next year as well as for Ann and me] You could fly to the Society Islands (think Bora Bora) and charter a boat for a week or so. It would give all of you a taste of the South Pacific and motivate you to not fool around too long in the US, Bahamas, or Caribbean. I know this sounds odd coming from us [remember Carl spent 3 years in the Bonaire and Venezuela region of the Caribbean]. Thank goodness we’re finally here!
Sailing conditions couldn’t be better – broad reaching with 12-15 knots and a gentle swell. We’re hundreds of miles from any significant land mass and the winds have really settled into a consistent pattern undisturbed by thermals, mountains, and so forth.

Three days out and on schedule for a 20-day passage – 25 is more likely when it’s all over with.

Carl Strange Avatar
Carl and his wife Karen set-off on a journey around the world on-board their sailboat S/V Enchante. Along the way, they had a lot of adventures and in Aruba, a new member of their crew was born. Now a family of three with Rebecca’s birth, they sailed the Caribbean and the Pacific experiencing life along the way.

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Galapagos Islands (#3)

        

Puerto Villamil Isla Isabela

Located on the southeastern coast of Isabela. Puerto Villamil is the main settlement area in Isabela. A small peaceful town with a laid-back atmosphere offers quite a different experience than the tourist shops on Puerto Ayora.

Villamil and the neighboring settlement of Santo Tomas were founded in 1897 by Antonio Gil. Villamil began as the center of a lime production operation. The lime produced by burning coral found off Isabela. Santo Tomas served as a sulfur mine and coffee plantation. The ventures were only somewhat profitable due to water limitations.

Together Villamil and Santo Tomas now have a population of approximately 1000 people. There are a variety of rooms available for visitors and equipment and supplies available for those climbing the nearby Sierra Negra Volcano.

Villamil is often considered the most beautiful site in the Galapagos with its long white sand, palm-lined

beaches. Behind Villamil are several brackish water lagoons where Pink Flamingoes, Common Stilts, Whimbrels, White-Cheeked Pintails, and Gallinules are usually seen. The lagoons are nesting areas between November – April. The beaches and lagoons near Villamil are home to the best migratory bird viewing in the Galapagos.

[From www.galapagosonline.com]

20 May 2002 

We’re heading for the Marquesas on Monday. We should be reaching the Marquesas in early June. With our leisurely schedule, it will be a couple of months before we are in the Societies – Bora Bora, Tahiti, etc. That would put us there in August or so. Any further thoughts about chartering a boat in the area and cruising around with us for a week or two? [We were never able to make this happen — such a loss…EVK]

Our plans seem to be shaping up along the following lines. After sailing around French Polynesia we’ll swing through the Cook Islands. The anchorages there are miserable but the people and their continuing Polynesian culture are not to be missed. After that, it’s a quick swing through Tonga on our way to New Zealand. We’ll arrive there in late October, just before the onset of cyclone season. Hopefully, we’ll find a marina near Auckland and put Rebecca in school for six months or so. That will give her some socialization while we do boat projects – new cushions, carpet, rigging, etc. We’ll base out of NZ for three years or so enjoying 1000 nautical mile trips (reaches both ways) to Tonga, Fiji, and the area. After that…

25 May 2002 00° 58S / 090° 58W

Puerto Villamil, Isla Isabela (yep, only one ‘l’)  This tiny little town, with dirt roads and mixed architectures, offers the last anchorage and chance for fuel. After hearing reports of calm winds for hundreds of miles along our route we decided to stop here and wait for a bit of breeze.

Our “to-do” list is fairly short and all of the tools are stored so there aren’t any major projects underway. We’ll take it very easy here and save our energy for the 3000-mile trip to the Marquesas. Friends on S/V Aureo departed a week and a half ago and are experiencing a perfect weather window. They crossed the halfway mark yesterday and are on schedule for a 20-day crossing. Hopefully, our patience will be rewarded with the same excellent passage time.

Yesterday our pumpkin from Panama turned into a couple of loaves of bread. The remainder will make today’s soup. A stalk of a hundred or so green bananas is hanging from the stern rail. As promised they are beginning to ripen from the top down. The nice lady in the market neglected to mention that once the process started the entire stalk would ripen in three or four days. Looks like a menu of banana smoothies, banana bread, Bananas Foster, and baked bananas for a few days. Perhaps we’ll put a dozen or so through the blender with a bit of milk, ice, and rum and invite friends over for sundowners.

It’s a rough life here. Cool evening breezes, friendly people, sea lions and penguins, and a beach BBQ scheduled for Sunday evening. Still, the Port Captain will limit our stay to a few days, and visions of grass skirts beckon. We will move on in a few days.

[Note from Eric: in 1997, one of our instructors, Carl Strange, and his wife set off to sail the world.  Everyone wanted to know what was happening with Carl, Karen, and later with the addition of their new crew member, Rebecca.  So, we started to publish “The Strange Chronicles” so everyone could travel with them.  I was looking through some old files and found the Chronicles.  I started rereading them and decided it would be fun to republish some excerpts from them. They are an insight into the cruising lifestyle.]

Carl Strange Avatar
Carl and his wife Karen set-off on a journey around the world on-board their sailboat S/V Enchante. Along the way, they had a lot of adventures and in Aruba, a new member of their crew was born. Now a family of three with Rebecca’s birth, they sailed the Caribbean and the Pacific experiencing life along the way.

by

Galapagos Islands (#3)

20 May

We’re heading for the Marquesas on Monday. We should be reaching the Marquesas in early June. With our leisurely schedule, it will be a couple of months before we are in the Societies – Bora Bora, Tahiti, etc. That would put us there in August or so. Any further thoughts about chartering a boat in the area and cruising around with us for a week or two? [We were never able to make this happen — such a loss…EVK]

Our plans seem to be shaping up along the following lines. After sailing around French Polynesia we’ll swing through the Cook Islands. The anchorages there are miserable but the people and their continuing Polynesian culture are not to be missed. After that, it’s a quick swing through Tonga on our way to New Zealand. We’ll arrive there in late October, just before the onset of cyclone season. Hopefully, we’ll find a marina near Auckland and put Rebecca in school for six months or so. That will give her some socialization while we do boat projects – new cushions, carpet, rigging, etc. We’ll base out of NZ for three years or so enjoying 1000 nautical mile trips (reaches both ways) to Tonga, Fiji, and the area. After that…

25 May 00° 58S / 090° 58W

Puerto Villamil, Isla Isabela (yep, only one ‘l’)  This tiny little town, with dirt roads and mixed architectures, offers the last anchorage and chance for fuel. After hearing reports of calm winds for hundreds of miles along our route we decided to stop here and wait for a bit of breeze.
Our “to-do” list is fairly short and all of the tools are stored so there aren’t any major projects underway. We’ll take it very easy here and save our energy for the 3000-mile trip to the Marquesas. Friends on S/V Aureo departed a week and a half ago and are experiencing a perfect weather window. They crossed the halfway mark yesterday and are on schedule for a 20-day crossing. Hopefully, our patience will be rewarded with the same excellent passage time.

Yesterday our pumpkin from Panama turned into a couple of loaves of bread. The remainder will make today’s soup. A stalk of a hundred or so green bananas is hanging from the stern rail. As promised they are beginning to ripen from the top down. The nice lady in the market neglected to mention that once the process started the entire stalk would ripen in three or four days. Looks like a menu of banana smoothies, banana bread, Bananas Foster, and baked bananas for a few days. Perhaps we’ll put a dozen or so through the blender with a bit of milk, ice, and rum and invite friends over for sundowners.

It’s a rough life here. Cool evening breezes, friendly people, sea lions and penguins, and a beach BBQ scheduled for Sunday evening. Still, the Port Captain will limit our stay to a few days, and visions of grass skirts beckon. We will move on in a few days.

[Note from Eric: in 1997, one of our instructors, Carl Strange, and his wife set off to sail the world.  Everyone wanted to know what was happening with Carl, Karen, and later with the addition of their new crew member, Rebecca.  So, we started to publish “The Strange Chronicles” so everyone could travel with them.  I was looking through some old files and found the Chronicles.  I started rereading them and decided it would be fun to republish some excerpts from them. They are an insight to the cruising lifestyle.]

Puerto Villamil Isla Isabela

Located on the southeastern coast of Isabela. Puerto Villamil is the main settlement area on Isabela. A small peaceful town with a laid-back atmosphere offers quite a different experience than the tourist shops on Puerto Ayora.

Villamil and the neighboring settlement of Santo Tomas were founded in 1897 by Antonio Gil. Villamil began as the center of a lime production operation. The lime produced by burning coral found off Isabela. Santo Tomas served as a sulfur mine and coffee plantation. The ventures were only somewhat profitable due to water limitations.

Together Villamil and Santo Tomas now have a population of approximately 1000 people. There are a variety of rooms available for visitors and equipment and supplies available for those climbing the nearby Sierra Negra Volcano.

Villamil is often considered the most beautiful site in the Galapagos with its long white sand, palm-lined beaches. Behind Villamil are several brackish water lagoons where Pink Flamingoes, Common Stilts, Whimbrels, White-Cheeked Pintails, and Gallinules are usually seen. The lagoons are nesting areas between November – April. The beaches and lagoons near Villamil are home to the best migratory bird viewing in the Galapagos.

[From www.galapagosonline.com]

Carl Strange Avatar
Carl and his wife Karen set-off on a journey around the world on-board their sailboat S/V Enchante. Along the way, they had a lot of adventures and in Aruba, a new member of their crew was born. Now a family of three with Rebecca’s birth, they sailed the Caribbean and the Pacific experiencing life along the way.