We pulled into Taha uku Bay  which is in the crater of the volcano, behind the breakwater around 4pm - it’s a cute little bay and there are a number of catamarans here too.

Well needs must and in the absence of my resident Salanjo Coiffeur, Jo, I had to take matters into my own hands this morning and put on the colour myself.

Nuku Hiva is the administrative capital of the Marquesas Islands and the largest island in French Polynesia after Tahiti, at 330 sq kilometres.

The Marquesa Islands are the most northerly territory of French Polynesia and consist of six large and six small islands.

Cocktails and dessert – don’t mind if I do!

So here we are having just arrived in French Polynesia yesterday morning.  It’s great to be on terra firma for a little while after our mammoth sail.

We sailed out of San Isabela for our long haul to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. A journey of 2986 miles. Averaging around 200 miles a day.

We arrived in Puerto Villamil just in time for a sunset drink and to plan our following day. Isla Isabela is the most western island of the 3 Galápagos Islands and is home to 5 active volanoes,

We arrived in Academy Bay, Puerto Ayora around 4pm and were keen to get into town to see what we could do in the short time we are here

We anchored in Bahia Naufragio and action finally happened at 12.30pm. Our Agent, 7 Inspectors from all the different government departments and 2 nurses sailed over to us

The protected areas of the Galapagos Islands have such a fragile ecosystem that there are mandatory requirements for yachts and visitors to protect it.

We arrived at the river mouth of the Rio Chone in the Bahia de Caráquez late afternoon but we were at the bottom of the tide so had to wait for high water to get in and disembark.

We waved goodbye to Jo and Ian as they sailed past us on the ferry and after a few quick emails and facetimes, pulled up the anchor and left around 4pm for our 3 day sail to Ecuador.

We’re finally ready to leave Panama City – Geoff and I have had 4 weeks here and have loved the diversity of it all but we’re ready to move on now.  

As a lot of you know, cooking is never at the top of my to do list and going to the supermarket is even worse (this is what we have Woop for!)

This is probably a blog that only the ladies will be interested in, and will totally understand where I’m coming from!

Our once in a lifetime experience started today!

With help from Eric Bauhaus, author of the Panama Cruising Guide and sailor of over 50 transits through the Canal!)

Yes, we’re back in the San Blas islands for another few days – this time with beautiful sunshine and so far, (fingers crossed) no lightning.

Well, we had a busy day today, we arrived in Linton Bay Marina at 1pm where it was all go!