Puerto Villamil Isla Isabela

Located on the southeastern coast of Isabela. Puerto Villamil is the main settlement area in Isabela. A small peaceful town with a laid-back atmosphere offers quite a different experience than the tourist shops on Puerto Ayora.

Villamil and the neighboring settlement of Santo Tomas were founded in 1897 by Antonio Gil. Villamil began as the center of a lime production operation. The lime produced by burning coral found off Isabela. Santo Tomas served as a sulfur mine and coffee plantation. The ventures were only somewhat profitable due to water limitations.

Together Villamil and Santo Tomas now have a population of approximately 1000 people. There are a variety of rooms available for visitors and equipment and supplies available for those climbing the nearby Sierra Negra Volcano.

Villamil is often considered the most beautiful site in the Galapagos with its long white sand, palm-lined

beaches. Behind Villamil are several brackish water lagoons where Pink Flamingoes, Common Stilts, Whimbrels, White-Cheeked Pintails, and Gallinules are usually seen. The lagoons are nesting areas between November – April. The beaches and lagoons near Villamil are home to the best migratory bird viewing in the Galapagos.

[From www.galapagosonline.com]

20 May 2002

We’re heading for the Marquesas on Monday. We should be reaching the Marquesas in early June. With our leisurely schedule, it will be a couple of months before we are in the Societies – Bora Bora, Tahiti, etc. That would put us there in August or so. Any further thoughts about chartering a boat in the area and cruising around with us for a week or two? [We were never able to make this happen — such a loss…EVK]

Our plans seem to be shaping up along the following lines. After sailing around French Polynesia we’ll swing through the Cook Islands. The anchorages there are miserable but the people and their continuing Polynesian culture are not to be missed. After that, it’s a quick swing through Tonga on our way to New Zealand. We’ll arrive there in late October, just before the onset of cyclone season. Hopefully, we’ll find a marina near Auckland and put Rebecca in school for six months or so. That will give her some socialization while we do boat projects – new cushions, carpet, rigging, etc. We’ll base out of NZ for three years or so enjoying 1000 nautical mile trips (reaches both ways) to Tonga, Fiji, and the area. After that…

Our “to-do” list is fairly short and all of the tools are stored so there aren’t any major projects underway. We’ll take it very easy here and save our energy for the 3000-mile trip to the Marquesas. Friends on S/V Aureo departed a week and a half ago and are experiencing a perfect weather window. They crossed the halfway mark yesterday and are on schedule for a 20-day crossing. Hopefully, our patience will be rewarded with the same excellent passage time.

Yesterday our pumpkin from Panama turned into a couple of loaves of bread. The remainder will make today’s soup. A stalk of a hundred or so green bananas is hanging from the stern rail. As promised they are beginning to ripen from the top down. The nice lady in the market neglected to mention that once the process started the entire stalk would ripen in three or four days. Looks like a menu of banana smoothies, banana bread, Bananas Foster, and baked bananas for a few days. Perhaps we’ll put a dozen or so through the blender with a bit of milk, ice, and rum and invite friends over for sundowners.

It’s a rough life here. Cool evening breezes, friendly people, sea lions and penguins, and a beach BBQ scheduled for Sunday evening. Still, the Port Captain will limit our stay to a few days, and visions of grass skirts beckon. We will move on in a few days.

Carl and his wife Karen set-off on a journey around the world on-board their sailboat S/V Enchante. Along the way, they had a lot of adventures and in Aruba, a new member of their crew was born. Now a family of three with Rebecca’s birth, they sailed the Caribbean and the Pacific experiencing life along the way.