Finally we headed out the 900 nm from Panama City to Galapagos. Seven weeks on the Pacific side of Panama has been a bit longer than we anticipated, but we are in no rush, so it has allowed us to truly prepare ourselves and the boat for our long passage across the Pacific.
We hadn’t planned originally to stop by Galapagos, as it is extremely expensive. However, it is a place on our bucket list, therefore we grabbed this opportunity. It is also a welcomed way to cut our passage into two parts.
There is a whole lot of prepping we have to do before being allowed to enter Galapagos. Some of the items we need to prepare are:
– fumigate the boat to ensure we bring no foreign insects onboard
– clean our hulls to ensure we bring no foreign sea creatures along
– write a waste log showing how much waste we produce and how we dispose of it
– have signs up (interior and exterior of the boat) that indicate no throwing of trash into the sea
The authorities are also very particular on which food items we are not allowed to bring, such as no chia seeds, oranges, passion fruit, fresh meat or cheese.
We prepped in the best possible way before we left, well guided by our agent in Galapagos. It is mandatory to use an agent when you check in, and he can also assist you as you need when you have arrived.
We made a pit stop on an island group called Las Perlas 35 nm southeast of Panama City, to clean our hulls. It took the captain almost three days to get them squeaky clean, as the growth from being in the city for so long was immense.
We enjoyed the beautiful setting, though, and were in no rush to head off.
We spent four nights in Las Perlas before we were off on our first Pacific passage!
The accounts from our passage have elegantly been written by the captain on our Predict Wind log.
The morning after we arrived, we received a total of eight officers from different governmental departments to do their inspection and hopefully clear us into Galapagos.
We are truly excited to have arrived in Galapagos, and can’t wait to start exploring!