Yacht Club Bahia.

We had a good sail to Salvador,  and reached a deserted bay infront of the Yacht Club with only a couple of locals fishing.  We picked up a mooring,  hoping it is the right one, and hoping it is strong enough to allow Catlyn to hang onto it.  We dropped the dinghy to find out where our welcome drinks were,(Ha ha)  being spoilt in Pier Salvador, you know. An English speaking security girl at the desk showed us to the office of this impressive yacht club,  where we changed to a lot of sign language again, to complete all the forms,  while sipping slowly on a welcoming cup of Brasilean espresso.  ( now I realise where all my energy came from, walking about 8km non stop today..)

We caught the red bus saying Aeroporto, only $R3 per person and enjoyed the sight seeing for about an hour,  bobbing happily along in our soft blue seats. The benefit of public transport....that works and are safe !!

With the instructions of extending our Visas for a further 3 months in our pockets,  we were ready to extend our stay in Brasil for another 3 months.  What happened to the time?  We are already 2 and a half months in this country.










 I took the opportunity to mail my letters to my family at the Correiros,  costing about R50 for 4 quite thick ones....slipping in a surprise into each envelope. Luhan and Minjone...watch out for the post man!

Off we went to the Police Federal,  where we completed the forms, showed the boats` papers,  and got our passports stamped!  It was so quick, with all the friendly faces trying to help us, even some people in the queue were assisting.  Joe only had time to buy a packet of caramel pop corn for his constant hunger before we hopped onto the bus again. The boys got off at the Yacht Club,  because a very big Olympic size pool, and a delicious cheese burger and pool tables were awaiting them.
 After being stuck on Catlyn for a couple of rainy days, they enjoyed the freedom and space!  Johan and I were off to Customs, to get Catlyn legal for the next three months.  We've heard of another yacht that didn't do the necessary paper work of extension, and was fined 10% of the value of the boat, just by being a couple of days late..ouch!

Lucky for us the office was closed for lunch until 14h00 and it gave us enough time to slip into the Kilo Restaurant (many of them available all over)  for juicy fillet mignon and salads.  I do think it is a much better way of dining than our buffet.  I know that we always think, paying the amount for a buffet, that we have to eat more than enough of everything to get our moneys` worth.  At the kilo restaurants,  you dish up exactly what you are craving for, and what you intend to eat, and pay for the weight of your plate of food.  No food goes to waste, with all the excess you dished up, just in case you had space...by the way, it's paid for, remember.

With two tummies too full, any way, we went to Customs.  Another short and sweet experience.  I quickly had the time meeting Christina from the French boat, Stella-Mari lying at Aratu.  They are two elderly sisters sailing the world since 1978,  working on and off in France or Tahiti,  to keep them sailing until now.  How I wish for a glass of wine and time with these two ladies...

The next stop was the Port Capitane.  Very quickly they made copies of our docs and we were on our way!  On the bus this morning, I saw a lot of people in this particular street, with all the shops having Promocao (promotions).  Johan and I decided to walk the road,  because Marco was in desperate need of some clothes.  We were spoilt in the past by Andria, (a friend)  who saved Michiel`s outgrown clothes for Marco. We had very excited two boys when we arrived home with surprises in our shopping bags.

Exhausted, with the overload of caffeine gone long ago,  we arrived at Catlyn still safely secured onto the mooring. The sea is quite choppy with fairly big swells,  so we are rolling a bit.  I can understand why mono-hulls won`t like it too much here when the weather is slightly rough.  It feels like we are sailing all the time.  The water is exceptionally clear,  and lying at about 11meters depth,  we got the watermaker going and we are definitely gonna try fishing as well.  A lot of spear gun divers are in the water...