WE'RE "SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR, DOWN ECUADOR WAY

Well, we tried to update our Blog via email and, of course, we had the wrong email address so it didn't happen but, here we are, past the equator and laying comfortably in Bahia Caraquez, Ecuador. Our passage over the equator was interesting. First, the line which marks the equator is a lot wider than we thought, maybe 50 to 75 feet wide and second the color was mostly black and it was kind of wavy rather than a true straight line. We stopped right on the equator and performed a few experiments. When we flushed the toilet we noticed that the water did not swirl clockwise or counter-clock wise and the same with the water in the sink. Our GPS showed 00.00.00 but did not indicate South or North. The most interesting thing was that our compass spun in a circle until we passed over the equator! It was a 12 day sail from El Salvador and all of it hard on the wind. We spent half the time passing through the ITCZ where the wind changed strength often and it rained most of the time. We had one night where it rained hard for 6 hours non-stop. On our fifth day we got our butts kicked and ducked into Isla Cocos. Cocos is 300 miles west of Costa Rica and is a Costa Rican National Park. It usually costs $75/day to stay there but we were exempted because we stopped due to bad weather. The island is a lush green with lots of waterfalls. The park extends twelve miles around the island and is patrolled for illegal fishing. There is a small conservation core that live on the island and they sell polo shirts, jewelry, and other items to raise funds to help support the island. One interesting item we purchased was a necklass made from the hooks of seized long liners caught fishing in the park waters.

We had to motor the last 80 miles directly into 20 knots of wind with six to eight foot seas. It was very slow and uncomfortable. Our friends directed us to a secure anchorage 15 miles north of our destination to wait for the next mornings' tide. Jean and I finally had a chance to toast our crossing of the equator (now we are officially known as "shelbacks") with a bottle of champagne followed by potato soup. Our bar crossing the next morning was smooth and easy, nothing like Bahia del Sol. Our anchorage is located right on the edge of the town of Bahia Caraquez in front of the restaurant Puerto Amistad. The restaurant operates the moorings and dinghy dock plus, the offer a wide variety of cruiser services from water delivery to laundry. And boy, is it cheap here! Diesel fuel is an unbeleiveable $1.03/gallon and a large lunch can be had for $1.50. Puerto Amistad takes care of some of the check-in into the country but, everyone has to go to the coastal city of Manta to check-in with the National Police. It is a 3 hour bus ride or, for $40, you can rent a taxi for all day. We shared a taxi with another couple. Manta has a very large tuna cannery operation, in fact, Ecuador has the largest tuna canning operation in the world. We went down to the beach and purchased a large tuna for $6 and paid another $1 to have it cleaned. Manta also boasts a fairly large tuna boat building industry. They are built right on the beach and most are fabricated from wood. On our return trip we stopped in the town of Monte Cristi to purchase a real hand made, Panama hat. We expect that we will really enjoy Ecuador and, as like most of the places we visit, will have a hard time leaving.

Boats on the Beach in Manta

"Panama" hats in Monte Cristi