We arrived in the San Blas Islands at 4.00 am and because it was dark we slowed up so we could negotiate the reefs around the islands in the daylight. According to the charts the reefs are only advisary and cannot be relied on. So we deployed Trevor on the bow to direct us around the hazards so we could anchor safely. Our first stop was Caos Cocos Banderos. This is an island consisting of a few palm trees and a Kuna Yalla Indian family living in a hut which reminded me of Robinson Crusoe. They were selling handicrafts which we bought a few to be polite. We spent most of the day relaxing and catching back up on the sleep we lost during the trip.
The following day was my birthday so we decided to celebrate with fillet steak which we had stocked the freezer with. The meat in Santa Marta was good quality and very cheap so we put as much on board as we had room for as it might not be so readily available in the Pacific. Two local Indians came by during the morning and offered lobsters for $10 each which had just been caught of the reef, so we had a couple to add to our steak, surf and turf.
The morning was spent scrubbing the bottom so we are clean to arrive in Galapagos as is their requirements. We used the compressor and pipe and regulator we bought in Las Palmas and it proved very successful. It took about 3 hrs to clean the whole of Mischief's hull, so on my birthday I had a very clean bottom. We then moved on about 10 miles to an anchorage on Green Island which was stunning.
That evening we boiled the lobster as described in the Rick Stein Seafood book and set up the on deck barbecue for the steak. Mick rustled up another of his Caribbean salad and i found a couple of bottles of Douro red wine which had made it all the way from Portugal, which was a miracle in itself. This must be the best birthday meal I have ever had and the view from the restaurant was stunning.
Thanks to every one who has wished me happy birthday but I have manged to break my Iphone so have not been able to reply.