We ran through our three islands the ones that we are permitted to visit in a quick two weeks. The plan has been to get a taste of each island and repeat the run with Sandy who arrives on 3/2 and only has 10 days to take in as much as possible.
It seems to be a good strategy as we hit some of the easier parts of each island and hold off on the high-end tours that we want to share with Sandy and Dan. The tourism industry here is a scam of course where hundreds of ‘agents book the tours that have certain ‘permits for specific places. All of it floods cash into very few that control this ‘national park’.
Just can not get away from the system of selected management by those that must exalt their positions at the expense of people, lands, and natural resources. Here at least the majority of nature is totally off-limits and has the privilege of living without mankind.
For us, we are literally connected to the world as we meet people on boats at every anchorage representing the best in adventure travelers. Kind of a strange one is the ARC round the world rally that has over 50 boats in it. As I write there are six yachts surrounding us flying the rally flag. This is one of the many rallies that have spun from Jimmy Cornell’s original ACR and the Millennium Odyssey that I tried to do with the family back in 1998.
What a blessing to be on our own taking each day, each decision as it fit us in the situations, opportunities, and moods. Today on Isabella it was Simon and I that got out and got some decent waves together. When I got tired ( after 30 min 🙂 took the Go Pro and shot a video remembering to be grateful and live in the moment.
That actually happens easily here when you see things for the first time and understand that you’re living in a rare part of the planet. On the way back we spotted a blue foot boogie that looked young and out of place at the edge of the surf. It was hurt and Simon grab it up and we brought it to the ranger station in town. We step past hundreds of iguanas, a dozen sea lions getting back to the dingy. The green turtle was eating moss off the old dock and the penguin raced under our hull.
At this age and time of life the joy is over flowing and with family coming soon we can not stop smiling!
