Location: Isla Santa Cruz
A year ago today, “wild giant tortoise ranch tour” was definitely not something I would have even remotely expected to be spending my Saturday morning doing. Boots up to our kneecaps, we galavanted towards these small cars (Little Tike Cozy Car specifically) sized tortoises and spent some time shuffling around taking pictures with them like they were some of the founding fathers. Maintaining our 10+ foot distance from them, of course. Shortly after our meet and greet with these huge turtles, we were surprised with a walk through some lava tubes. I spent the entire walk through these tubes plotting on how I could pocket all the cool air and transfer it into the starboard six stack back on Argo. The rest of the day was spent with a bus ride back through the island and into a little bit of shore time before our long-awaited wedding dress fitting (wetsuit fitting). In a lot of ways, those two events might hold the same significance, as Galapagan diving is supposedly some of the best in the world. These specific dives have been the talk of the trip since B.P.C. (before Panama Canal). Sarah will fill you guys in on all of our diving adventures tomorrow, don’t stress.
This evening as everyone was being highly productive with a side of doomscrolling, I hear a peep from the Fo’s’cle saying and I quote “AN ANGEL HAS LOST HIS WINGS” I hurry over to see what this statement could possibly be about, as my eyes reach the lip of the hatch I was so graciously greeted with the sight of SkylEr and his fresh bald head. A switch-up from the stripes I so delicately shaved into the lower quadrants of his dome. The wind vane in the upper left quadrant is still in that position. This small sliver of hair serves a multitude of purposes, from guiding us in the direction of the wind all the way to Tahiti, and makes for an even more precise thermometer for his freezer checks. Probably the GSOATATE (greatest sacrifice of all time across the equator)