Santo Antao

Eigentlich hätte alles ganz easy beginnen sollen, Räder abholen, Fahrkarten kaufen und los gehtˋs. Denkste !! Wir standen an der Ticket Ausgabe und dann erklärte uns die Dame – keine Fahrräder !! WAS????? Wir hatten ja extra am Tag vorher nachgefragt, da hieß es kein Problem – so was machen wir jetzt, Hotel gebucht und wir kommen nicht weg. Doch unser freundlicher lokaler Helfer Chida hat mich mit den Fahrrädern durch die Gepäckabfertigung geschleust und ging zurück zu Neill, teilte den Leuten dort mit, dass die Räder bereits auf der Fähre sind und dann haben wir doch tatsächlich die Fähre noch bekommen und konnten auf der grünen Insel radeln.

Nach einem mega anstrengenden Anstieg von 1400 Höhenmetern zum Vulkan auf durchgehendem Kopfsteinpflaster waren wir echt am Ar… – ich weiß nicht ob es daran lag, dass es nicht einmal eben oder nur ein bisschen bergab ging – keine Ahnung, aber wir wurden mit einem wahnsinnigen Blick über den Kraterrand und die darunter liegenden Felder belohnt. Wir fanden unser Hotel – nach nochmal 150 Höhenmetern extra – und ließen uns mit Wein und lokaler Küche verwöhnen. Nach einer ausgiebigen Nacht-Ruhe genauer gesagt nach 12 Stunden schlafen machten wir uns auf den Rückweg; Neill hat auf GPS einen Trail gefunden und wir wollten doch nicht den gleichen Weg zurück. Wir umrundeten den Krater dann radelten wir auf immer enger werdenden Wegen bergab; Die Trails wären vielleicht von Gremmel und Wera zu fahren gewesen, aber wir haben doch viel geschoben, da es an der Seite ganz tief ins Tal ging.

Nach ca. 500 Höhenmetern bergab war der Weg aus – keine Möglichkeit über das Tal auf die andere Seite zu kommen noch sonst irgendeine Chance – also alles zurück schieben bzw. tragen und dass bei 25 ° und strahlendem Sonnenschein. In Gedanken sahen wir unsere Fähre schon ohne uns nach Mindelo fahren und uns nochmal ein Hotel suchen :-(. Doch wir haben die 1400 Höhenmeter Kopfsteinpflaster in einer Rekordzeit von 35 Minuten geschafft und gerade noch unsere Fähre bekommen und wieder ein Abenteuer mehr überstanden.

Mindelo

At the end of the last blog entry, we had just dropped anchor in the dark off Mindelo and fallen in to bed and a deep sleep. Obviously we weren’t awake with the sunrise but some time later. When we got up and took a look outside we were presented with a colourful town, a bay surrounded by barren hills and lots of yachts at anchor. And lots of sun and wind.

We moved Artemis nearer land and amongst the other boats. We recognised Riki and Martin’s “aracanga” and their friend’s boat “Streuner” so anchored near to them. Once we had the dinghy out of the locker and the outboard attached, we discovered that the propeller was siezed. No problem; we are young and fit and rowed to the marina office. They told us that the shop next door would service the motor – on Monday – and immigration may be open – on Monday. Life in Africa is slow and relaxed. At least we found an open supermarket where a friendly sales assistant installed local SIM cards in our phones and got us online.

On Sunday we spent most of the day cleaning as much of the Sahara off the boat as possible. We washed everything in salt water and then cleaned all the ropes with fresh water. Artemis once again looks presentable.

A friend from home wrote that he had friends currently at the marina so we contacted each other. In the afternoon, after the cleaning and a warm solar heated shower, we rowed over to say hello to Christina and Martin and ended up leaving again just before midnight. A great evening with two really nice sailors.

Monday just after eight we reported to immigration and received two visas stamped in our passports for a grand total of five Euros. Then on to the maritime police to clear the boat in to the country. One formular and no Euros. Everything quick, efficient and easy. We were on a roll so we filled up with water for one cent a liter at the fishing club, found some one to look at the engine and bought a new bottle of camping gas. Then collapsed in to bed for Siesta.

Today was New Years Eve so we met up with Christina and Werner again and waited for midnight. We knew when it was without a watch. Both ferries were sounding off their horns, people were using up out of date flares and the town put on a great firework show. Straight after a concert began in the middle of town in the closed off streets. Big stage, huge speakers and thousands of people. Everyone from toddler to grandparents and every outfit imaginable from cocktail dres to diving suit (honestly). We watched people and enjoyed the music until past two in the morning.

In Mindelo they know how to party.

The Canary Islands

As we write this we are sailing south along the coast of Tenerife on our way south to the Cape Verde islands after spending two months in the Canary Islands.

Before we came here, we had read about all the problems that we could expect. Anchoring, they claimed, is forbidden nearly every where and you will be moved on by the police. The marinas, they said, were always full and wouldn’t let you in without a reservation. The swell, they warned, is awful and the wind mostly too strong. Luckily, against all this advice, we sailed to the islands and have had an enjoyable stay here.

We never booked a marina and at four out of five we turned up unannounced and were given a berth. At the fifth marina they would have allowed us to raft up even though they were full, but the strong wind had already ripped cleats off the pontoon and was threatening to increase. We had to agree that staying there was impossible. The marina staff were all friendly, professional and helpful. Often they were hampered by bad computer systems but they worked round them.

We spent a week in mainland Spain and felt totally confident leaving Artemis (and Max) at Santa Cruz Marina.

We spent over twenty nights at anchorage at a selection of beautiful anchorages (and the less lovely anchorage at Las Palmas). There was always a bit of swell but only one night was bad enough to deprive us of sleep. A few nights we had winds of up to twenty knots but, with our Rocna anchor, that was no problem and the wind generator charged the batteries. We saw a patrol boat moving boats without permits on in a national park but we were never disturbed by harbour officials or the police. Neither did we meet anyone who had been moved on.

It is true that there is often plenty of wind, particularly in the acceleration zones where the venturi effect between the islands adds to the wind speed. Fighting wind and swell can be less enjoyable than a downwind cruise but any sailing is better than motoring.

As we already wrote, we needed work doing on the boat. We can vouch that there are skilled tradesmen on Tenerife and are sure there are good people on Gran Canaria. Everyone we met in the two months were friendly and polite and, even if they only spoke spanish and didn’t understand us, willing to help.

Praia de Luz

We left Lisbon with repaired rigging and, after turning to port at the last buoy in tne river, headed south for one hundred miles to Saint Vinzenz Cape at the “end of Portugal” and “end of Europe”. If you don’t turn here there is nothing until Africa, America or Antarctica. We turned to port following the coast of Portugal to the East.

Immediately we could feel the difference. The swell was much smaller than the gigantic roller coasters of the last weeks and the wind was much warmer, having crossed the warm Iberian Peninsular. T-shirts and shorts for the men and mini dress for the lady are now standard wear. The boat shoes haven’t been seen since Biscay (which is good as Neill’s have fallen apart any way). Heidi is now so brown that every one automatically addresses her in Spanish or Potuguese.

After another fifteen miles we sailed in to the bay at the small potuguese village of Praia de Luz. Neill’s sisters in-laws live here so, after anchoring, we rowed to the beach and walked up to the bar that one of them own. We had ordered our drinks before we were recognised by any one. Not surprising as none of them have ever seen Max and June only met Heidi once before. About midnight we agreed a sail trip for the “cousins once removed” and the next morning Lily and Rosi were picked up by Max in the dinghy while Heidi finished a Baileys flavoured cake.

In a light breeze and sunshine we introduced the ladies to the intricacies of sailing during a short tour down the coast and back. Once we were at anchor we all went swimming. Amazing! The water temperature is such that you can enjoy swimming without worrying that you are going to freeze. The swim was followed by lunch and cake after which Max ferried Lily and Rosi home. Unfortunately Lily felt seasick during the whole trip which left Rosi to do all the work and showed us how lucky we are that until now we have not neen effected.

Next we all climbed in to the dinghy and from the beach walked up the local hill to admire the view and take photographs of Artemis at anchor. Cold showers on the beach and cold drinks at a beach bar completed the days holiday after which we returned to the boat, raised anchor, set sail and sailed east towards Spain.

There is something very satisfying about “parking your home” in the middle of town to visit friends.

Lissabon

Endlich nach fast sechs Monaten habe ich meine Tochter wieder getroffen und es war so mega toll.

Zuerst stand unsere Zusammenkunft hier unter keinem guten Stern. Julias Flug kam mit einer Stunde Verspätung in Barcelona an, so daß sie ihren Anschlußflug nach Lissabon nicht mehr erreichen konnte und dann fast 7 Stunden am Flughafen gefangen war und dann erst um 21.30 Uhr (Gott sei dank ist es in Portugal erst 20.30 Uhr) in Lissabon eintraf. Ich war gegen 13 Uhr am Flughafen um keine Minute dieser kostbaren Tage zu verpassen. Aber dann war sie da und wir wollten nur unsere Rucksäcke loswerden, unsere Unterkunft beziehen und etwas zu essen bekommen – kurz gesagt in ein Taxi steigen und los. Theoretisch aber leider haben am Dienstag und Mittwoch die Taxifahrer gestreikt und wir mussten uns mit den öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln begnügen; dank Google Maps auch fast alles kein Problem; kurz vor unserem Ziel hatte Julias Handy den Akku aufgegeben und somit hatten wir auch keinen Zugriff auf unseren Cood zur Wohnung. Wir fanden eine nette kleine Kneipe, wo wir etwas zu essen und zu trinken und auch noch Strom für Julias Handy bekamen, die nette Wirtin wies uns um 23 Uhr daraufhin, dass sie jetzt schließen würden und wir kamen nach fünf Minuten in unserem Quartier an.

Julia hatte uns eine total süße, kleine Wohnung, die den passenden Namen “My little House” hat, gebucht; sie war unterm Dach und es war dort richtig heiß und für große Menschen – und unter groß verstehe ich Leute über 1,60 m Körpergröße – eine kleine Herausforderung, denn stehen konnten wir beide nur in der Mitte.

Total müde und überglücklich ließen wir uns dann ins Bett fallen – Julia war mittlerweile fast 20 Stunden auf den Beinen, doch sie hielt sich wacker.

Auf dem Programm für Mittwoch stand Sideseeing in Lissabon. Wir frühstückten – dank Tripadvisor günstig und total lecker – dann machten wir uns zu Fuß auf den Weg zum Cristo Rei eine riesige Jesus Statue, die sehr an die Statue in Rio angelehnt ist, daneben ist eine riesige Brücke, die an die Golden Gate Bridge in San Franzisco erinnert. Leider kann man diese Brücke nicht zu Fuß überqueren und wir mussten uns einen Bus suchen doch ein älterer Herr hat uns sprichwörtlich an die Hand genommen und uns die Haltestelle gezeigt.

Wir besichtigten die Statue und genossen den Blick auf Lissabon und zurück fuhren wir mit der Fähre, dann liefen wir weiter zur Basiclica da Estrela, Cverto do Carme und vielen mehr. Wir hatten uns auch vorgenommen mit der Straßenbahn Linie 28 zu fahren, weil man dann auch sehr viel von Lissabon zu sehen bekommt – doch das wollten wir erst am Donnerstag. Nach bestimmt 15 km auf und ab durch die Stadt mit ihren wunderschönen kleinen Gassen, steilen Treppen und rutschigen Kopfsteinpflastersteinen hatten wir uns ein gutes Essen verdient. Wir fanden ein gemütliches Restaurant in unserer Wohnungsnähe und ließen bei Fisch vom Grill und einer Flasche Wein den ereignissreichen Tag Revue passieren – wir haben viel gequatscht, gelacht und uns gegenseitig erzählt was sich die letzte Zeit alles ereignet hatte.

An diesem Abend kamen wir nicht so spät zurück, doch wir gingen nur hoch zum lüften und setzten uns – bei angenehmen Temperaturen und einer leichten Briese – wieder in den Park nahe unserer Wohnung um noch ein bisschen zu ratschen.

Donnerstag: wir machten uns früh auf den Weg um die angenehmen Temperaturen zu nutzen (ca. 22 Grad); wir liefen zur Straßenbahn Nr. 28 und staunten nicht schlecht, denn auch andere waren schon früh unterwegs und so mussten wir drei Trams fahren lassen, bis wir dran waren. Wir hatten Glück und bekamen den letzten Sitzplatz, so dass wir viele Bilder machen konnten und wir stellten fest, dass wir am Tag zuvor schon halb Lissabon zu Fuß gesehen hatten, die engen Gassen und viele viele Treppen. Wir genossen unsere 24 Stundenkarte für die öffentlichen Verkehrsmittel, die wir so geschickt gekauft haben, dass wir am Freitag auch noch zum Flughafen damit fahren konnten. Wir haben Sideseeing abgehackt und uns noch ein bisschen Shopping gegönnt, aber leider hat Julia nix passendes gefunden; wir haben uns noch ein schönes Lokal in der Fußgängerzone gesucht und Fisch und portugisische Spezialitäten geschlemmt.

Auf dem Heimweg gab es noch zum Abschied einen Caipirinha in dem Restaurant wo wir am ersten Abend noch Strom und etwas zu essen bekommen haben. Müde und auch schon ein wenig traurig, weil ich Julia am nächsten Morgen wieder hergeben musste, gingen wir ins Bett.

Am Freitag morgen machten wir uns früh auf den Weg zum Flughafen, denn Julias Flieger ging schon um 9.50 Uhr und nachdem sie dieses mal ja geplant 3,5 Stunden Zwischenstopp in Madrid hatte, wussten wir dass ein langer Tag vor ihr lag. Das Abschied nehmen viel uns beiden sehr schwer und ich glaube dass ich weiter nix dazu schreiben muss.

Danke liebe Julia für die tollen Tage.

Wenn ihr noch ein paar Bilder von dieser wunderschönen Stadt sehen wollt, dann folgt dem Link

Porto

Originally we had planned on stopping off at the marina in Porto but, when they emailed us to say it was €44 a night, we went to Póvoa de Varzim just up the coast. Here it costs less than half the price and the train to Porto is €2.80. Additionally the staff are extremely efficient and very friendly and there is a Honda dealer to service our outboard after we dropped it in the sea.

Yesterday we caught the train to Porto for a day of “big town” tourism. The journey was through miles and miles of corn fields and past the huge aquaduct we had cycled past the day before. The aquaduct is 4km long and was built to carry water from a spring to a priory. Any one caught stealing water from it was excommunicated. There was no messing with the church back then.

In Porto we visited churches, the town hall, a monstrous bridge, the old town and a station. It was a bit of a shock to suddenly be surrounded by busloads of tourists feom all over the world and people trying to extract money from the tourists. The station we visited had tiled frescoes showing the history of the city and waves of tourists. In the cathedral a baby was being baptised amongst a river of tourists. Do the locals get annoyed or do the just stop noticing us?

60 meter high bridge in Poeto

The bridge was sixty meters high and offered stunning views of the surrounding city. It is a tram bridge and regularly trams would pass ringing their bells and hoping every one got out of their way in time.

We ate in a cafe on a street one back from the riverside but still paid a lot for a little. Living in small harbours and fishing villages, we had forgotten what happens to prices when tourism occurs.

By mid afternoon we had all had enough of city life and took the train back to the “real world”, peace and quiet. We al three agreed that citys are not for us.

Viana do Castello

Finally we have left Portugal – on the second attempt. The first time there was no wind so we gave up just before the border and spent the night behind the harbour wall at the spanish border town of La Guardia. The next day there was still no wind so we gave our motor a day out and motored south over the border and in to the town of Viana do Castello.

To enter the marina they have to swing an elegant cantilevered footbridge so we agreed to stay the night on the “reception pontoon” out in the river under the shadow of a railway bridge designed by Gustav Eifel (of parisian tower fame). We immediately swung in to action and aired all our cushions and bedding, cleaned the dinghy and went shopping to restock our supplies. As more and more boats arrived we were asked to move in to the marina. By now it was getting dark, windy and we wanted to go and eat. I was unhappy but we agreed and thus had our first attempt at bow to, mediterranen mooring. Cleverly, we had Max waiting on land so it wasn’t too dramatic.

Swinging and railway bridges

Once again Max did a great job of finding a superb restaurant at a reasonable price. We celebrated our arrival in Portugal with Caipirinha, Tapas and a portuguese lesson from the waiter. The building that houses the restaurant is built of absolutely massive stone. The walls are over a meter thick and the ceilings are stone beams on stone lintels. No wonder they don’t need air conditioning here.

As we were sailing south, we saw the imposing Saint Lucia Basilica set on a hill behind the city. This temple was built at the beginning of the twentieth century and can be seen from far out at sea. Obviously in the morning Heidi and Neill climbed the never ending staircase to reach it and, because the 200 meters of climbing was such fun, they then climbed to the very top of the temple as well. The view, despite the haze, was amazing.

Saint Lucia Basilica

Once back down in town, we wandered the old town, drank a Cappuccino (paid for with the money we saved by not using the funicular railway to reach the temple) and then went back to the supermarket to stock up on wine.

Back at the boat, we gave the decks and sides a wash and then left through the swinging bridge and headed back off down river and south using the afternoon wind.

Galacia

Galacia is an autonomous region of Spain in the north west corner. We arrived here after crossing the Bay of Biscay and have now been in the region for twenty days. The sea is blue, the weather is sunny, the surroundings are beautiful and we are in “holiday mode”.

Every few days we sail a little further along the coast. Sometimes we anchor off long sandy beaches and other days off small fishing villages. Once we stayed a few days in the middle of “the big city”. The beaches all have fresh water showers which aren’t heated but free. The villages have shops and cafes that sell a lot for a little. It is great fun to be able to decide from day to day if you want to live in the country or “in town”. Yesterday we anchored just off a harbour across from the supermarket and restocked our fridge and larder before going to the dockside cafe for our evening meal. Right now we are floating just off the beach.

Atlantic beach discovered while cycling

We have been out cycling four times since arriving which has given us a chance to see a little further inland than the harbour and surrounding village. The decision to bring mountain bikes with us was definitely a good one. Without them we wouldn’t have seen half what we have experienced. We would have also missed a lot of exercise and be a few kilograms heavier. Heidi’s bike developed a strange “clank” and we visited three workshops trying to get it repaired. The third guy had it easiest as, by then, the derailer had committed suicide amongst the back spikes. All our routes are in Neill’s diary.

Fishing village in Galacia

The area is strewn with islands, islets and rocks so navigation is challenging. Just sailing one village down the coast can involve ten changes of course with six tacks. Sailing is fun and rewarding paticularly when you sail from anchorage to anchorage with no engine except to lift the anchor as you leave. We are permanently being overtaken or passed by sailing boats in “motor boat mode”. Just now our neighbour motored straight to the beach and anchored. We took three tacks to get there but used no diesel 🙂 Time and patience are great attributes for sailors.

We continue to eat in the best resturant where ever we are. This is invariably on the sailing boat Artemis of Lleyn. Home made cheeseburgers, home made pizza, home made scones or brownies. The menu is variable and the food amazing. We also ate out in La Coruna where Max discovered a great restaurant with stunning service and good food. Sometimes, during a long hard bike climb, there is nothing better than water straight from a roadside spring.

Cape Finisterre

In the morning we raised anchor, set the genoa, sailed out of the harbour and in to the Atlantic. The sail very slowly pulled us out to sea and we were busy searching for the bit of wind that the surrounding wind parks promised. Our sail flapped as did that of a more adventurous sailor who had his genoa poled out and his mainsail set to the other side. He completely lost interest when we jibed and overtook him at which point he switched his motor on.

Slowly the wind increased. We were heading well out in to the Atlantic and as the swell increased we were repeatedly rolling in the Genoa but still retaining a speed of six knots. Some waves started breaking over the stern so Neill donned the full sailing kit, Heidi occupied the relatively dry navigation station and Max used the excess wind power to play a computer game. We were tanking south along the Costa da Morte (coast of death) watching the distant hills fly by and being visited by dolphins who were jumping from wave to wave and swimming under the boat.

Cape Fisterra
Cape Fisterra

At some point a coastguard ship approached and I imgined the captain suggesting some one take a dinghy over to check who we were and the salty answer. Whatever! They turned away north.

So here we were running before a force six wind and surfing two meter waves out in the Atlantic and what does Heidi do? Hopes for bigger, more impressive waves, makes an “action video” to send to Jon and prepares food

Ahead we saw Cape Finisterre and turned inland to slip under it and in to shelter. Within five minutes we were throwing clothes off and sailing up a Spanish Ria in shorts and T-shirts. We sailed across the bay and then motored to anchor off Corcubion. On the third attempt the anchor held after Max found a patch of sand amongst the weed.

A spectacular day of downwind sailing.

La Coruna

After a few nights at anchor in Cadeira we motored back out into the Atlantic, switched the engine off and waited for wind. And waited. And waited. A little further out another boat also sat rocking in the swell. A few boats motored past and Max was concerned they would consider us abandoned – bobbing on the ocean and gently rotating. A few hours later we had achieved 0.8 miles in the wrong direction. Just as we were despairing, the wind appeared exactly from the right direction, quickly picked up and pushed us along the coast to La Coruna.
The first thing you notice is a huge lighthouse in front of the backdrop of a big city. The lighthouse was originally built by the Romans and is, in its modern form, impossible to miss. We avoided a fishing boat and tanker and then anchored off a beach opposite the city hidden from wind and swell by a headland.

La Coruna
La Coruna

The next day we contacted the marina on the VHF radio and asked if they had a berth for us. “No problem! Go to pontoon 2 and I’ll meet you there.” We navigated to pontoon 2 and there was no one to be seen so we slotted in to an empty berth and got back on the radio. “Yes. Berth 232 is good.” The crew tied up, laid the electrics and got everything set for the marina while the skipper went to the office. “What? You are in berth 232 on pontoon 2? Why? That is not good!” I explained that we had followed his instructions and he explained that he doesn’t understand English.
In the afternoon we discovered that today was Saturday and everything would be open on Monday so we had a good excuse to stay two nights and cycle on Sunday. In the evening Max found a brilliant restaurant in TripAdvisor with great food and a fantastic waitress. We enjoyed a fantastic meal.
Despite the overcast skies and on and off drizzle on Sunday, Heidi and Neill cycled over 50 kilometers through the surrounding countryside. We were never higher than 250 meters above sea level but still managed 1000 meters of climbing. And a lot of the route was trails, forest roads or cycle paths. A brilliant route – thanks GPSies. We were attacked by brambles and gorse, rained on and felt like we were in a tropical rainforest. It was great fun but eventually we just took the road straight back to the boat and a much needed warm shower. One thing we now no for sure – nothing is open on Sunday. Even the motorway was carless. The track is at https://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ozpgmmuamxnvnhgs

Old bridge in Galicia
Old bridge in Galicia

On Monday Spain reopened so we bought a new reefing line, food, diesel and gas. We charged up everything that we own and filled up with water and then returned to our beach across the bay and back to anchor. Coffee with Baileys, homemade cheeseburgers and potato salad were the perfect end to the day.