After spending a week on Santa Cruz Island, the first week of a Lead Adventures 3-Week Galapagos program, we headed over to San Cristobal Island for the second week. Around 2pm we boarded a speed boat called El Sol Mar. I was wearing a jacket but it was warm, so I took it off and stashed it under my seat, along with my backpack.
El Sol Mar in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno while the crew was tying it up for the night. I took this picture while waiting for my jacket.
When we arrived in San Cristobal 2.5 hours later, I disembarked with my purse, backpack, and suitcase, but neglected to take my jacket. By the time I ran back to get it, the boat had left the dock and the crew was tying it up for the night. Someone was sitting near the dock and I asked him, in a mixture o English and Spanish: "El Sol Mar? I left my jacket. Chaqueta."
He turned around and managed to get the attention of the Sol Mar crew, who said to wait a moment. After a while, they held up a jacket to ask if it was mine, and it was. When they were done tying up the boat, they took a water taxi back to land and handed me my jacket...to many expressions of gratitude in English and (probably not the best) Spanish. He simply assured me that it wasn't a problem.
Later, I realized that not only did they return my jacket, they also zipped it as if I had sent to a laundry service. A seemingly insignificant detail, but it really made my day. I had realized early in my trip that Ecuadorians were a friendly bunch, but I think the crew member who returned my jacket is just beyond awesome.
If anyone happens to know the crew of El Sol Mar, a speedboat in the Galapagos Islands that transfers passengers from Santa Cruz to San Cristobal, and is capable of translating this blog post into Spanish, please pass the message along.
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, where boats arriving in San Cristobal Island land.
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