Fun in the Southern Hemisphere

After nine days of (pretty good) passage, the Papillon crew was ready for some action.  First up, crossing the equator.  We anticipated this milestone for days.  Stylish filled a conch shell full of messages and pictures for Poseidon/Neptune.  I baked a cake.  And we waited.

Ready when you are, equator.

Finally, at 0516 on June 14th, the moment arrived!

W00t! Equator!

The young ladies, while they had earlier assured us they wanted to be woken for the big event, both complained bitterly when I actually did try to wake them, so they slept through it.  However, they were quite keen on the Equator party we had at breakfast.

Stylish threw her offering to the gods.

All hail the gods of the sea.

And there was much rejoicing.  And grape juice and sparkling cider and chocolate cake.

Par-tay!

Business complete, we were now ready to make landfall.  Indy kept a good lookout.

You have the bridge, Number One.

And soon enough, there was San Cristobal.

I have tortoises and blue-footed boobies!

We arrived in port this morning, did the usual song and dance to check in, then went for a walk.

But even before we left Papillon, we saw the sea lions.  They are everywhere.  They completely own this place.

At the beach.

At the park.

On the benches.

Along the sidewalks.

I can tell I'm going to have hundred of shots like those before we leave here.

We debated a long time about which island to visit in the Galapagos, and we couldn't be more delighted with our choice.  We are all looking forward to a rest and a chance to explore the land of Darwin.