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Spending the day at Tortuga Bay
Ah, Galapagos! That place of mystery through which Charles Darwin journeyed back in the autumn of 1835; those islands chock full of natural wonders, of unusual birdlife and iguana-like creatures, of...
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Tunnels, tortoises and being a teeny bit terrible
I don’t know what compelled me to do it, but it had the desired effect: even the coolest amongst them couldn’t resist a hint of a smile. And the restaurateur and taxi driver laughed along, despite...
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Why didn’t I think this through? Reality kicks in
What would you do if you rocked up to this tropical slice of Galapagos paradise with enough cash for a hotel room, a drink and absolutely nothing else? Panic? Or trust life? I bought my ticket for the...
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Journey into the strangest landscapes
Despite first impressions of an inhospitable, aggressive and alien landscape, these dry, spiky islands were also strangely fragile and elegant, composed of narrow passageways, slim archways and slender...
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A little slice of paradise
I’m sitting on a little stretch of beach in Puerto Villamil near to a hotel whose outdoor areas are covered in a blanket of sunbathing iguanas. I think back over what has been an interesting year full...
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Losing the plot (and everything else)
I’d been on the road for nearly a year and should know better, but somehow Galapagos was giving me a little test. This was the third example of stupidity since I’d arrived. First, I’d left my bank card...
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Diving the Galapagos
I needed a gentle re-introduction to the undersea world, not an adventure that would see me hanging on to tough, solidified lava for fear of getting swept away into the mouth of a hammerhead shark. I...
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Sleeping my way through the first day at sea
My skipper, Alan, let me off watches and cooking for the first day to allow me to find my sea legs and adjust to life on the ocean. I needed it. I popped a travel sickness pill just before we …...
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A day in the life of a crew member crossing the Pacific Ocean
My home is currently a fifty foot carbon fibre box rigged up with sails that are helping me and a crew of three to cross the mass of the South Pacific Ocean from Galapagos to Tahiti. What I’ve come to...
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Dolphin delight
It was Day 9 of my sail across the South Pacific and finally, – finally! – I saw some dolphins. I ran from a conversation, grabbed my camera and raced to the bow of the boat, sitting myself down and …...
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