Visit to Galapagos Islands by SV Salacia, May 2010

We went to the effort of obtaining a permit (Autographo) to cruise the Galapagos Islands on our own yacht with a National Park guide on board.

What we did not realise until arrival in the Galapagos, was that you cannot leave a dinghy on the beach anywhere in the National Park. You also cannot be in the Park without the guide. This means that one of your crew must drop you ashore and return to the yacht. You still have to pay US$200/day for all members of the crew, whether or not they go ashore.

With only three crew members and one has to “miss out” at each location, we elected not to go ahead with our own cruise.

Instead, we visited the three ports: Banquerizo Moreno, Ayora and Villamil, and then took local tours.

It was a fantastic trip with Villamil our favourite anchorage.

Entry to Puerto Villamil

We tried to follow the Noonsite entry advice but found turning at the GPS waypoint on the website, we found ourselves about to enter dangerous breaking swell. (Editors Note: These waypoints have now been removed from the noonsite Puerto Villamil information).

We aborted and went further west and followed the leads that are shown on Admiralty Chart 1375. This entry was straight forward and very safe. All leads were easy to follow and marks were well lit.

Stephen and Cyndy Everett

SV Salacia