asked everyone to meet on the stern deck starboard side. There was a ceremony that all new
equator crossing people must go through and we were to wear old cloths. I had just
finished a workout in the gym and had taken a needed shower. I felt fresh and clean. John
was dressed in a plain white tee shirt with "King Neptune" in big letters felt pinned on
the front. Ant had the same except his read "Neptune in Training". Both had on crowns made
in a cleaver way with tin foil. Both had forked spears with 4 sharp points also made with
tin foil. I only had time to throw on an old Nautica tee shirt; my clean shorts were
surely history. I was first. I sat on a bench on the stern deck while John poured a bucket
of the foulest smelling and looking stuff over my head. It was also ice cold. I screamed
as did those that followed – Don, Dusty, Victor and then Deborah. We all are now initiated
into the Bella Donna Equator Crossing Club. Looking closely at what covered our bodies, it
was rotten fruit, vegetables, soap, toilet paper, something slimy and what looked like
cereal. I am sure some other stuff I could not identify. We looked great for the
documenting pictures. Another shower was in order.
King Neptune rewarded us with our one sundowner drink in the fly bridge to enjoy what was
almost a green flash sunset. Deborah made sushi appetizers and we had her curry chicken
for dinner. It was a great party for our first night in the South Pacific.
This just in; we caught a yellow fin tuna this morning just after sunrise. Victor and I
were on watch and he put out the fishing lines. He also brought the "How to Fish for
Cruisers" book from the library to the fly bridge. We spent about an hour reviewing all
the fish stories and recommendations on how one should do it. One fish story was about a
Galapagos cruiser who caught a yellow fin tuna in these very same waters. We carefully
went over the recommended to-do-list. We have been trying everyday all day to catch a fish
with 3 lines trailing Bella Donna with a different type of lure on each line. With all the
fish we have seen jumping; you can understand we are beginning to doubt ourselves. Just as
we put the book down and comment we are mostly doing the right things, we see something on
our port line, which is the one with the tuna thrasher lure that came highly recommended
by my dermatologist; he wrote me a prescription to catch fish during my visit a few weeks
ago. An hour later there was enough tuna filets for our dinner tonight.
We are just passing the island of San Christobal, The Galapagos Islands. Victor yells
"land ho". We are definitely seeing abundant sea life, but fishing is not allowed in the
Islands because it is a park, so we take in our fishing lines. We are presently observing
hundreds of dolphins as far as the eye can see. We also see a group of 4 or 5 baby whales;
you can tell the difference by the way they surface to breath. The dolphins are jumping
playfully, they are beautiful creatures. Playful dolphins remind me of grand kids; I miss
them so much.
For lunch we had tuna tartar and tuna sushi with onions, caviar, wasabi sauce, ginger, soy
sauce, hard boiled eggs and little tea crackers all garnished with grape leaves. The fish
was caught 3 hours ago. It was wonderful and Deborah displayed the meal just like it would
look in a magazine ad for a fancy restaurant. We hope to catch more fresh fish.
A couple of hours after lunch we anchored in Puerto Vyora, Island of Santa Cruz, in the
Galapagos. We now meet our agent Ricardo to begin the immigration and customs process.
God Bless Bella Donna.
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