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February 4th, 1941
Carola Mandel - at Academy Bay, Isla Santa Cruz
"We arrived at Academy Bay in the southern part of Indefatigable, or Santa Cruz, Island at 9:30 in the morning.
As soon as we anchored, we saw a little row-boat coming out to meet us. After a few minutes, the Teniente in charge of this small community came on board bringing with him an extremely colorful figure, a man about seventy years old with a long white beard. His name is Olaff Finsen, and he is an Icelander; a sailor who came to the Galapagos nine years ago. He had been living, among other places, in the United States for a number of years prior to coming to the Islands. He acts as an interpreter for the very few boats that arrive here; today, mostly American warships that occasionally cruise around the Islands.
I decided to go on shore and arrived at a landing that looked like a dock constructed of stones. I found all the town waiting to see what, or who, was coming.
Among the twenty-five Ecuadorian natives, was a man completely different in personality and appearance. He looked about fifty years old and was wearing very clean, and well pressed, shorts and shirt, and more than that, he had shoes on!
He accompanied us halfway to the dock and then, seeing the Teniente and some people waiting for us near the launch, he excused himself, saying he would much rather not mix with anyone. He added very seriously, “You know, everyone who lives in the Galapagos is a little touched in the head, and I am not an exception.”
Talitha
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