On our way to our destination we got into a westerly running current and lost the wind. After drifting a couple of days and exhausting most of our fuel we stopped at an Ecuadorean fishing boat at anchor on the leeward side of Darwin Island and asked them if they had any fuel we could buy. They said yes, they could sell us several hundred gallons if we liked at $3.50 per gallon. After our purchase a few of the 8 crew members asked permission to come on board and look Miluna over. They enjoyed themselves as we explained several things about Miluna's machinery, electronics and life saving equipment.
After their tour we were invited on to their boat and we were given a tour of their 18 meter ocean going wooden fishing vessel. What a wonderful craft, very comfortable, but very basic. All the crew, the usual 7 were always happy. They were accompanied on this trip by the 14 year old nephew of the 4 brothers that owned and worked Oberless. She was named after a pirate that plied their waters a long time ago. We stayed in the area for several days. It costs $100 per person to visit the Galapagos and that only gets you a ticket to visit the park for no more than 20 days. There were also boat fees including port fees totaling $680 for a look see. Once your anchor is down you can't move till you leave. If you want to see another island you take one of their water taxi's or an expensive plane. You can buy an expensive permit to move your boat around, but I never inquired into the cost.
One of the brothers is the spokesman for the independent fishing organizations on Galapagos and we were treated to a DVD video explaining the fishing regulations Ecuador started to enforce a few years ago and how much it's helped the current output of their catch. These guys load their boat with ice, water, fuel and food and stay out up to three weeks before returning home with 8 to 9,000 pounds of tuna in the hold all iced down and ready for sale. They do this year round. There are 2 pangas that the fishing is done with using either hand lines or stand-up rods to catch 200 pound and larger fish. We were treated to a show I'll never forget. From the back of their boat they catch smaller fish to be used either as bait or if there are a surplus they get iced down too and sold back home. They throw pieces of tuna scrap into the water as well as hand lines with a chunk of tuna on a hook. Eventually a fish hits the baited hook and they have a fierce fight on their hands. We all got to experience this and all got to catch several fish this way. The ones we caught were small tuna about 8 to 12 pounds that fight like hell right to the end. While this is going on the large tuna are attracted to the commotion and come to feed. These fish are in the 200 plus pound range and once sighted the fisherman bait a tuna hook tied to a very large size line and start fishing. Once they get hooked it's pretty insane for a few minutes as one of the men jumps into a panga tied to the back of the big boat and the guy fighting for all he is worth throws him the bucket the line is coiled into that has hooked the tuna. The panga then lets the tuna pull him around and tires him out as well as running the engine to wear him out. We saw this happen twice and we were on board without a camera. Needless to say we never went back on that boat without one.
We were invited to several meals on Oberless cooked by the happiest black man I ever met. The fishermen called him the dirty black-man and everyone laughed and everyone truly loved each other and looked out for each other, happier people I don't think I ever met. The food was always simple and always the best I ever ate. If you were lucky you might find a small bench to sit on, but most of the time you found a spot on the deck and happily munched down.
The captain of the boat volunteered to take me and a crew member on a diving trip for lobster. The appointed day came and the crew member had some problem and couldn't go so I went down myself with my hand spear and searched for 40 minutes without seeing a single lobster. I did see hundreds of super colorful fish, several turtles and one of them was an algae eater and I watched it for several minutes from 1-1/2 feet away and the turtle seemingly wasn't bothered by my presence at all. Several fish came to examine me and at one time a school of over 100 circled me and these were around 2 feet long. I wish I had taken my camera instead of a spear because that was the best dive of my life. I hope I can repeat it before leaving here.
We saw other things I never would have believed happened and you'll see pictures of them after we wised up and started carrying our cameras on to Oberless.
This Darwin Island, the first person in modern history visited it by helicopter in 1964. There isn't any way to land due to the rocky shore and swell.
This called Darwin's Arch, seldom viewed by too many tourists due the distance and cost of getting here from one of the ports that supports water taxi's or tour boats.
Darwin's Arch
Darwin Island
Miluna in the background taken from the aft deck of Oberless
Oberless and her pangas
Some of the iced tuna
The happy cook
More tuna and Pablo the nephew of the owners
The simple crew quarters, bunks for 11 were here
Ivan, one of the brothers who is the mechanic
A Galapagos shark being treated to a fish's head tied to a rope
The sharks and a turtle take turns getting fed
Several sharks came to feed and the fisher men said there never has been a shark attack on a human in the Galapagos
The oldest brother hand lining from the aft deck
The Captain and his nephew
Part of the crew
This is Wolf Island, the closest to Darwin
A rock face of Wolf Island
Oberless making for home
A water iguana
Sally Lightfoot crabs. They can get quite large and use to be plentiful, but man took care of that and now they can only be harvested in season.
The Giant Tortoise on the island Santa Cruz in captivity at the Darwin Research Station 
The Giant Iguana at the Darwin Research Station 
The baby tortoise are born inside an egg and the park people dig them up immediately after the mother buries them in the ground. They are placed in incubators are raised till ready to be released into the jungle. 
The young are carefully controlled till set free.
Below is one of many different patterns on the local lizards
