It is just over a week now, that we are living in Itaparica, and we are trying to act normal for a change. Marco is very busy doing his exams, while we are hacked into some WiFi network on the island. He decided to do two papers per day. He finished his Maths paper this morning and only Science is left for tomorrow morning. I did realise that too much holidaying has made him lazy, and therefor I have decided to do a little more schooling with him. Maybe he is going to think life is as easy as school...you just cruise it. Or is it?
Johan is in front of the computer often working a bit and just to get in touch with our lifes again. He went to Salvador yesterday, accompanied by Joe to complete our Customs Papers. The two came back half way there. The Port Capitaine is still to be visited. They did though came back with their tummies filled, when they visited a restaurant where they ate at a buffet with lovely loacal food for about R65 a kg....that I believe the reason being not finished with the days task. He also mailed our broken AC/DC meter to New Zealand, costing him about R400 via the Post Office speed service. Hopefully they can repair it and we will be able to read our Amps again. We battle a bit without it.
Joe is loving every minute of his opportunity! He plays guitar, draws pictures, dream dreams and explore life as best as he can. How wonderful, just to be young...
I am trying to get Catlyn clean and organised again, after being on the water for so long. I even have time to spend on myself. One thing I am glad about is, that we got rid of our lizardy scaly feet while we were at sea. No creams or lotions or rubbing or scrubbing could make a difference. Not even the little miracle scrub from Game..the Perfectpedi made a difference to our heels. A week on land again and we can walk around with our flip flops...

ps. We are waiting for our first visitor. Elize, Johan's sister is coming from London to visit us for a whole 10 days! We can't wait to feel and hug someone familiar.

Sweet things aboard

Ok, this post is not going to be about me, but some other sweet stuff that I keep locked away! With three men aboard with a healthy appetite and an even healthier sweet tooth, I had to make a plan. With a shortage of space, where do I hide all the sweeties? I received a pink little code lock for mother's day, some time ago, and decided that I could use this. I locked away the stash! Every time I shop, I will be on the lookout for something sweet and interesting to add to the sweety bin. Only once in a while I will open this for each to grab a treat. But of course it triggered the boys imagination...How can we crack the code? Believe it or not, Marco cracked it twice! And of course Joe and his little brother found a way to lift the lid with screw drivers and with the braai tongs, they sneek out whatever lies on top. I had enough of the nagging of three men trying to get a treat, and when Marco cracked the code for the third time, I handed over the responsibility to this young man. Now it is more difficult than ever for the other two men to get a treat out of him! I just love the way responsibility changes a man....

The little Island

Itaparica is a little island of 240 square km. We are anchored on the north western side of the island, the older part. The eastern side of the island is filled with beautiful resorts, like Club Med, and are much more touristy. The streets are filled with ice cream colored tiled little buildings, and every here and there a little shop, selling fruit or beer or bread.

We met Natalie, Robyn’s daughter who fell in love with her Brazilian friend, Daniel, and together they run a guest house and she is a chocolatier. We stepped into her world, where they live in Daniel’s grandfather’s house. This house belongs to almost one hundred owners. Every brother and sister with their children and their children owns a piece. This complicates buying in Brazil. If you can get hold of all the owners to sign off the property, you hand over the money, the property is yours! They don’t use any attorneys. You go then directly to the registrar for transfering the property in your name.

Anyway, we met Natalie at this house on this huge piece of land with a forest for a garden and two fresh water wells, and tortoises swimming in it, and marmosets monkeys sitting high up in the trees looking down at us. She gave us a guided tour, showing us how she makes her chocolate truffles. The cocoa fruit are growing from the stem of the tree, and when it turns yellow, they take it down and smashed it open to reveal pips covered with litchi like flesh, and it also taste a bit like litchi. They clean the pips and soak it in water for some time, until they start to smell horrible. Then she de-shell them and dry them in the sun and then she roast them in a round little thingy until they are dark brown. These roasted nuts smell delicious! She puts it through a little mill and mixes it with milk, water and sugar in a big mixer, until she is happy with her soft chocolate. Natalie molds her final product, and fill the truffles with pecan nuts or passion fruit etc.

Joe and Marco are constantly visiting Daniel, and together they play shooting games on their computers! Funny how technology brings together people, from the age of 10 to the age of 26!



We found a good stall for fresh fruit and veggies, and a super Mercado, with the name: For poor Bastards…and we decided this is the place for us. It is about a kilometer walk, which is ok, and only gets tough when you have to carry all the shopping and coconuts and watermelons back to the dinghy.


Marco couldn’t wait for a coconut, and not succeeding in climbing a tree yet, we talked him into buying one! What a mission, to try and open those things, and then poor Marco was so disappointed because they are not sweet!

Ps. I found post cards and mailed a couple. Cost me about R10 each. So watch your mailbox!

Trying to relax in Itaparica!

It is already the 26th of March! I thought the time is going to drag along, but we are so busy with I don’t know what, and before we realize it is time for a sun downer… We survived the Brazilian Cold front, although there was absolutely nothing cold about it. Only the sea was choppy and rolled Catlyn around, and we had thunder and lightning storms every night. It was the first time that we experienced lightning, and Paul from Pro Yacht Deliveries told us to hang out a chain from our mast over the windlass to the anchor and into the water…it might help. When the first water started pouring down, just before sun rise Johan and I woke up. He went out like Adam in the Garden, and was soon enjoying the clean water washing down his body. I was still more discreet, but soon realized that we were the only two people awake in the Bay, and took the opportunity…having a Godly moment being touched by Godly water washing down our bodies!

The whole day was raining, and we realized how much water goes to waste! We started improvising. Marco made his own water catcher, very effective, and Joe and I also made two, and soon we were running water into our fresh water tank, and we filled it with the buckets Marco was filling with his concoction! So much for technology and science schooling at sea! I do have a big piece of waterproof fabric in the boat, and I am thinking about a good plan to catch even more water, but I will keep you dated. The best rain catcher is the bath. We just open the little port hole and the water is running in. Beautiful soft rain water for my hair and washing! We must just improvise a plan to get that into our tanks. Our water tanks were empty and we needed to go to the pontoon at Itaparica for fresh water, but with the lunar activity the pontoon broke in half, and the water and electricity was disconnected. We were stuck with only drinking water, thank God, but no water for washing…so you can imagine the smelly people aboard. We brushed our teeth in a bit of water in a glass, and that was about it. We showered in the salty sea water, but battled to rub the soap to a lather. It was much better on the open sea, where we could use the water maker, but we didn’t want to risk the dirty bay water in this miracle maker of ours. Now you can understand our heavenly delight when the water came pouring down.

Enjoying life!

The boys are loving the warm 35 degree water! Early morning Marco got his brother up and in a canoe, because he wanted to row to an island close by, to get me a coconut! He even strapped this big fishing knife to his ankle to cut it from the tree! A man has to be prepared. After rowing for more than an hour they reached the island only to realise how tall the palm trees are! He didn't bring me a coconut, but he was as pink as a prawn. Hopefully he will listen to me nagging him to put sun block on.

Johan and I walked around the area and found nice fresh "sals" or bread rolls or the typical bradchens from Walvis Bay. We found good cooked ham like ours and cheese like our cheddar...it also tastes like nothing. The Portuguese love sweet stuff, and we tasted some. I bought some eggs, crisp white. The egg shells are porous and so soft, you can break them open with one hand...not like our Rainbow chickens being fed all the calcium. Salvador looks like a major city with sky scrapers. Here at Itaparica you have to walk around from little place to another to look for what you need. On the other side of the Island is a Wall Mart supermarket that we have not yet visited. No Woolworths, or Checkers. Enjoy South-Africa! It is still the land of milk and honey! I haven't seen any furniture shops or clothing shops yet, only a little stall with a couple of hats and t-shirts.

ps. All the comments are posted...thanks to all. Charles, you know our skipper...good to get all around him working...

Itaparica

The first two nights at Itaparica, safely anchored in thick mud, we slept like grateful babies. We slowly felt like land animals again and decided to venture out to land. We found that absolutely no one can speak or understand English! Amazing if you think about the world we are living in. The Portuguese are very helpful, and try their best, but you can't say one word in Portuguese then they think they can fire away, you know their language. We are at anchor for free, and only have to pay $R40 per day if you moor at the pontoons where there is electricity and fresh water. We are thinking about going there soon for a day, and Marco can't wait to play XBox again.

We found Afrikaans! Just walking down the street at the beach, we stumbled into Amigo's. It is a quaint bar and restaurant. We met Willem van der Merwe and his wife Robin. Originally he is from Rustenburg, but they sailed from Saldanha to Salvador 4 years ago. He fell in love with Itaparica, and sold his boat and bought a business, and is now running this restaurant for all the Gringo's. He treated us with barbequed chicken and fillet and plates of potatos de fritos (slap chips). Robin couldn't believe her eyes when we finished off the plates in no time. We were four hungry people! They not only fed us with food b

ut also with information, and if ever you come to this little island, make sure you come to meet them!

The above photo of their Restaurant. Their website is http://www.amigos-bbq.com/

The passed two nights Catlyn is rolling like a mono-hull. It feels like we are sailing again! We realised that something is different, because the low tides were extremely low, and the high tides were smashing over the street. It is the Equinox! Since 19 years the moon is at her fullest, and the closest to planet Earth. Super Moon! Is that why we experience the tsunamis and the earth quakes?
Ps. Girls, watch out! You know what the moon does to us, or we to the moon!

Customs and Immigrations

We had a good nights sleep, and were up and ready to go to Salvador for all the red tape. We heard and read that you have to wear long pants and a collared shirt for this process. Johan found a mouldy pant, dust it slightly and off we went. Even the boys were dressed to kill, and it felt so awkward wearing shoes and clothes again. We took a taxi to the terminals and got onto a big ferry with a lot of human beings. We were surrounded by new smells and new sounds, all bundled together on the top deck and the vehicles on the bottom deck. Joe tasted all the sweet stuff, the hawkers were selling. Marco didn't feel like eating with the stuffy smell around. After about an hour we got to Salvador, and we had to find our way in a new place. I dotted down a couple of Portuguese words, and we eventually and after a very long walk found the Police Federal, and our passaporta were stamped. We were legally in Brazil! We carried on walking and searching and found the Alfandega/Customs further down the Port. But they were not able to help us, we had to come back on Monday, although we read and heard that they are open on a Saturday until 14h00.
But we weren't illegal immigrants any more, and we decided to explore the area. Nautico Marina is a nice secure marina, with walk on jetties with water and electricity, and we decided to come and stay here for a couple of days. It is not too expensive, $R60 per day. Bahia Marina is loaded with super yachts, and was fully booked at $R120 per day. We enjoyed the street food and poor Marco ended up with blisters on his feet! We had to get back to Catlyn quickly to get rid of these clothes...

Ps. Hano, you can join us any time!!

Salvador _ 18th March

The weather changed. Heavy black clouds were hanging over us, and the wind came straight over our bow. In the distance we could see Salvador’s lights creeping closer. We fought against a 1.5 knot current as well. The last day is not going to be an easy one, just to make sure we appreciate being anchored again. We phoned Bahia Marina, but they were fully booked. We phoned Pier Salvador with no success either. Being so tired by now, and only want this to come to an end, we phoned Itaparica, and with difficult communication, me in something between English and sounds of Italian I know, and new sounds of Portuguese I am trying to learn, I finally understood that we are welcome at Itaparica! Another few hours of sailing in bad weather, but we finally anchored in this beautiful little bay. The only thing I wanted to do was to crawl into bed and sleep for a day or two, but we had to let the dinghy down, lock up the boat and go to the Marine Office.

I am reading Johan’s book, THE WORLD IS FLAT, by Thomas Friedman, but when you come to Brazil and no one can speak or understand English, you wonder whether they are part of your world. But luckily the guy at the office was in touch with technology, and with a Google translator program we communicated via the internet, and yes the world is flat.

We had a beer and a caparinha, their local drink and feeling a little better went back to Catlyn.

We thought of just relaxing for a while but very soon, all of us were in dead man’s dreamland.
In the middle of this dream world I woke up with very load music and human voices. If I can sleep through crashing waves I thought, I can sleep through this. But I heard this happy three men having a good time. And then a voice said: “Look at the moooon! Look at the fucking moooon! I’ve never seen such a moon!” I was too curious and was afraid I am going to miss out on a moooon, so I got up and saw the men on a boat close by, and then I saw the moon. It was encircled by this wide circle full of moisture in the sky. Ok, it was amazing! I went back to bed, with the sounds of the deep slurry singing voices, “How can we be friends…?”
I was just nicely snugged into my dream world again, when a dinghy was coming at a great speed towards us, and human's shouting. I jumped out of bed again, just to stare at a yacht right on Catlyn’s stern! The three very wise men weren’t upset and just shoved this old mono hull lightly away from us, and just slowly drifted pass us. Poor Johan was on watch again, because the men on the yacht had no intention of breaking up their fun, to lift anchor and to move away. They circled us once and just gently push themselves away if they get too close to us! Crossing this big Atlantic Ocean, this was for sure our worst and most dangerous experience!

After a good sail, with still hardly any sleep for the fifth day because of the extremely choppy swells, the wind died on us just after sun rise. If I do say anything about rough sea or huge swells, just bear in mind that it is actually not worth mentioning if you compare it with sailing the South-African coast, especially past Cape Columbine. We are almost there! We almost crossed an ocean from one continent to another, and now we are slugging closer.
Yesterday our Little Wonder Watermaker started sucking air. Johan cleaned and replaced the filter, but only after he sealed the pipe at the connection again the miracle worker was … I will use Johan’s own words, when he came up the steps, “Pumping like a virgin, touched for the very first time!”
We decided to use this opportunity of no wind and long swells to get into the ocean, at about 4000m deep. What an exhilarating feeling. Four people silly with laughter and bundled up were playing in an ocean 70 nm from land.

But it was not the end. The port side engine didn’t let water out. Shut down the engine immediately. After it cooled down the two Johans got started. Joe replaced the broken impeller in the little crammy space of the engine room. And it is working again, and we are trying to get to Salvador during the morning tomorrow. Hopefully the wind will pick up, but according to the barometer things doesn’t look too optimistic.

Day - Dorado

We are slowly nearing land! On the GPS it reads: 156 nm left to Salvador! Yesterday the wind started picking up nicely between 10-15 knots on a starboard beam and with the main and screecher out we did the best so far: a whole 139,6 nm for the day. For the first time since we start with this passage, we experienced true sailing. The night was still uncomfortable with the swells on the beam, and the boat was rolling. We saw a cargo ship’s lights in the distance, the first in two weeks. Great, there were still other people alive on this planet.
I was on watch before sunrise, and I set out the lures, so that as soon as the sun came out we can catch that big fish. Johan even fried the last packet of Dorado, to make sure that the gods of the seas can’t be mistaken with our needs. Marco saw it first. The beer can attached to the line was missing and he shouted: “Fish!” Joe immediately grabbed the line and he could feel the weight of the fish. This was going to be a big one. With great excitement the 13,5kg Dorado came aboard. After all of us took a turn having our photos taken with this amazing animal, Johan could slice lovely fillets for us for the next three months. That afternoon after drying the fillets in the wind, he vacuum packed all for the freezer. We felt like rich people, being blessed with this beautiful creature. Thank you…
Ps. Johan moved back our watches another hour, so we are on Brazil’s time now.

The moon is almost full! That must be the reason. I woke up feeling as if I haven’t slept in ages at 03h00 this morning for my watch until 06h00. The boat was rolling and everything was in danger of falling of the tables, which I haven’t secured yet. We can’t open any port holes in the heat for fresh air, so it was so stuffy in the cabin. Yesterday a wave washed over our starboard and the seawater ran into the heads, luckily not a cabin. After the others woke up I went down to catch up on some sleep after three tough nights. I was just about to get use to the waves smashing on starboard, when Marco’s voice excitedly got me to the deck to see the Dorado landing on our deck. After all the excitement and pictures I dragged my body down for a rinse, because you can’t call it a shower, and to do the washing in my water. When I was done and the washing was in the sun, I knew where I want to go! I could almost feel myself slipping under the sheet, and kneading my pillow into position and for the sleep to come!
But Joe was rinsing the bloody Dorado deck with buckets of sea water… Not checking that all the port holes are close before you wash down the boat, a mass of salty sea water came down both our port holes, behind our bed, and our feather pillows and sheets and mattresses were soaking wet! Not funny when the bed you were fantasizing about was full of salty water… It is not that you have a lot of space and you can put out your mattresses to dry, and you just chuck the wet bedding in a washing machine!!! I wish our cabin was bigger, because I needed to throw something. The next best thing was to burst into Johan’s shower and to let him know, that this is it! Enough! But where do I go? Which door can I slam? Where can I go spend some money on his credit card? Where can I eat a whole tub of ice cream with caramel sauce? So I politely took myself outside and sat around the corner with my nose in my book…and I promised myself, on the first plane from Brazil to Cape Town, I will be. I sulked for a while, until I got a hug here and a smile there and a look of understanding in my Skippers eyes…and then I knew it must be the moon…