Since my last entry I’ve been busy with housework!  Yes me doing housework, almost unheard of.  David had his list of jobs too, watermaker something, car horn to fit, new socket at the back end to attach, anode to fit, bilges to look at and fit nappy!! Ask David.  I on the other hand was cleaning fridges, containers, emptying water tank, getting washing up to date, reorganising food lockers general stuff!  Once that was complete then the shop.  Now usually that’s easy you just jump into the car and off to whichever big supermarket you frequent,

and you are irritated if they don’t have the exact item you want, but they usually have an alternative.  Not so in any new place you visit, first you have to find the supermarket, then how to get there then how to get back with the shopping, and put up with the fact that they almost certainly wont have what you want.  So you ask around, find the bus and buy the shopping.  Just enough for about six weeks, although we won’t be at sea, we hope for six weeks we could be, and there is no Tesco down the next wave.  Maybe the odd fish though.

Now I make it sound like hard work, and it was, but it’s always fun.  We were based in the marina Puerto Calero (you see they polish their bollards every Friday.)  and being in the marina means you meet lots of other sailors, some sailing around Canaries but the majority planning on further a field, Brazil, Caribbean, Cape Verde, some on the last leg of their round the world trip, all with a story to tell.  I afraid that with all the stories our departure was delayed, tomorrow we go, but as we all know tomorrow never comes!  Well it did eventually, we filled up with fuel, water tanks full, lockers stuffed, fridges packed, dinghy deflated on the deck, wind pilot in the water, enough of David’s jobs done to go.  As far as Gran Canaria, then we thought we’d have a night there to recover from the marina and jobs and just one last thing on the watermaker!  Now in one book I read it was recommended that you spend your last night before a long trip in the rolliest anchorage you can find, so that you get your sea legs, well for me that is the worst thing you can do, for a start you don’t sleep and that is the worst possible start to a trip, being tired.  We left early the next morning, with my bunk booked for a sleep.

Good wind, increased in the acceleration zone as expected, but we were going with it so it was the rolling we had to think about.  As we left Gran Canaria behind, the wind decreased a little.  Seven hundred and fifty miles to Cape Verde, sunsets and sunrises, are the only guarantees, and a lot of time to think.

We work an odd watch system but it works for us, from 7.30 to 12 midnight I’m on watch, David 12 till Breakfast, morning to lunchtime my shift, both around in the afternoon till I start again after supper.  We sort the world out in the afternoon shift!  If we need to dramatically alter sail then we’re both up.  If I see lights and can’t work out what the other boat is doing, we’re both up.  David ensures that there is enough power being produced.  I produce most of the food.`  So far it has worked well.  We always love when we see dolphins or other wild life.  There is a lot of reading to, finding out about where we are going, and what we hope to see.  A little bit of history also helps to understand the new destination.

One night on watch I thought I’d get the star book out and do some gazing, but I fell at the first hurdle when it said, “sit back in your deckchair facing south.”  I’ve no deck chair, and south is… only kidding.  Star gazing didn’t really work because when you put the light on to read the book, you can’t see the stars, and it takes ten minutes to get your eyes used to the darkness again, I think I will have to memorise the shapes, then look for them.  When I lamented my failure, David reminded me of a very good programme we have on the computer which Andrew gave us the link for, I’ll use that next time.

We had good winds all the way, just one day of motoring as there was absolutely no wind, and one day we had the cruising chute up.  Before we knew it we were preparing to arrive in Ilha do Sal, ready for all the formalities of arriving.  We motored into the anchorage at first light, lots of cruising boats already at anchor.

A quick tidy up and off to clear in at the police station, change some money and have a look around.  The passport stamp was straight forward, police helped change money (you can’t get Verdean escudo before you arrive and you can’t take any out) and the look around was very interesting.  Dry dusty village, very little green, lots of people out on the street, water being transported by wheelbarrow, buildings half built, sleeping dogs in the middle of the road, and sticking out like a sore thumb, the tourist, although not many.  There was however a good feel about the place, everyone seemed happy (and it was Monday morning).  We watched the beating of the drums (link loads a video), the mobile shop I’m not sure what she was selling, but every so often she had a sale, and would take the basket off her head, sell and return to her crown as though it was a basket of feathers.