January 18th 2012

Monkeys??

12°46,113'S, 38°38,158'W


“One can explore Ilha do Frade ashore by following the paths into the vegetation to see the monkeys and bird life.”

Doesn't that sound wonderful! It is an extract from our cruising guide, and the very reason why we had gone to Ilha do Frade. What we hadn't taken into consideration was that since the publication date of the cruising guide, more than ten years ago, things had changed quite a bit. So, as we went ashore, looking forward to our very first nature walk in Brazil, a guard appeared out of nowhere and told us that the whole island was PRIVADO!, and that we had to leave. We of course protested strongly but that didn't help any. Rather upset, we then motored around the small, inhabited island of Bom Jesus, and when we came to the other side of the bay, we saw this sign on the shore of Ilha do Frade:


So, what was going on here?!

I love the Scandinavian Everyman's Right! The right to go walking, swimming, skiing, to pick flowers, berries, mushrooms … on someone's private land. No such signs as Keep Off!, No Trespassing!, Private Property! can keep us Scandinavians out since we have the legal right to trespass. And the same applies to anyone visiting Scandinavia. Of course, there are restrictions to this Right, e.g. that you are not allowed to enter the owner's yard uninvited or collect firewood from his forest without his consent but, otherwise, you are more or less free to go anywhere you want to. Thus, if the Island of Frade were located somewhere in Finland, no one could stop us from going ashore to see the monkeys (but then, there wouldn't be any monkeys there, of course)!


Now, having no apparent reason to prolong our visit, we weighed anchor early next morning and returned to Ilha de Itaparica, bitterly disappointed.

January 13th 2012

A Rip-Off?!


A few days before leaving for Ilha do Frade, we realized that we had to do some serious grocery-shopping to be able to stay on that more deserted island for about two weeks. We had heard that the biggest supermarket on Itaparica was BomPreco, located somewhere near the ferry terminal on the other side of the island. So, we set off and, as we did not have a map, kept walking in the direction that we thought would eventually take us across the island. After about an hour's walk under the burning sun, all sweaty and exhausted, we finally arrived on a crowded beach, the skyscrapers of Salvador clearly visible on the other side of the bay. So far, so good! As we could see no sign of a ferry terminal, we asked one of the waiters at a nearby restaurant for directions and, more importantly, the approximate distance to the supermarket. “Five or maybe seven kilometres”, said the waiter.


Oh, well... maybe it was time for a refreshing drink and then we would take a taxi to our destination. “If you need a taxi, I have just the man for you!” told the waiter as he brought us our drinks. Soon he came back with a young man who would be our taxi driver. His car, parked next to our table, had ordinary, white registration plates whereas taxis have red plates. But that didn't matter as many private cars operate as taxis occasionally. “We will give you an exceptionally good deal”, said the waiter. The taxi driver himself hadn't uttered a word so obviously, it was the waiter who was in charge here. “The taxi will take you from here to the supermarket, the driver will wait for you to do the shopping, after which he will drive you back to Itaparica Marina. And all this just for 200 reais!”


So far, we had been speaking Portuguese, but now the time had come to switch into English. Our waiter hailed another waiter to our table, and we started explaining: We are not newcomers, we have already been to Fortaleza, Natal, and Jacare, we have used taxis on several occasions, including a six-hour sightseeing tour in Natal for only 175 reais. As we thought this explanation might be convincing enough, we now gave them our counter-offer: 40 reais for the whole trip. After this had been translated into Portuguese, there was a short silence. Then both waiters burst out laughing, our silent taxi driver, smiling broadly, gave us the 'thumbs up' sign, and it was a deal! In less than ten minutes, we had gained 160 reais, pretty close to the sum we would later spend on the groceries.
It is so easy to get ripped off in Brazil, but it can be just as easy to avoid being ripped off. You just have to know how to play the game!

January 6th 2012

Enjoyable Sailing

We left Jacare on the 2nd of January eager to continue our journey. We have come to the conclusion that river anchorages as we have experienced them so far, are not for us. There are a number of reasons of which the three most important ones are that the strong tidal current too often keeps the boat turned at an awkward angle to the wind effectively preventing the use of a wind scoop, the river water is so murky and filthy that swimming is unthinkable, and at most river anchorages, there is a village or a town close by which invariably means harassing motor boats and water scooters, and most annoyingly, LOUD!!! and mostly bad music till the wee hours of the morning.


Although the conditions at sea were otherwise near perfect, the winds were a bit too light and so, on our second day, we decided to hoist the cruising chute. For the next two days, we were being pulled by the 144 square metres of this magnificent sail steadily towards Salvador at an average speed of 5.5 knots. Unfortunately, the joy derived from the chute was shortlived as, during the third night, its halyard broke and the sail plummeted into the ocean. As a result, we were forced to make use of the more conventional sheets but made good progress nonetheless. After four days of enjoyable sailing, we arrived in Baia de Todos os Santos (All Saints' Bay) and are now anchored in a small bay on the northwest corner of Ilha de Itaparica, 12° 53, 244 S, 038° 41, 237 W.

January 1st 2012

Magical Music in Joao Pessoa


On the last day of the year, we took the fifty-centavo train to the town of Joao Pessoa. As our familiarity with the town centre was nil, we decided to follow the dense crowd swarming up the street from the railway station. After a while when the throng started to disperse, at each corner, we took the street that seemed to be the most crowded, assuming that where there were people, there would also be something of interest. In this way, we eventually arrived at a tree-lined square with about a hundred plastic chairs in the centre, and a stage at one end. There were people sitting under the trees waiting for an open-air concert to begin.


We took three chairs, two to sit on and since it was lunchtime, one to serve as a table. Pekka went to a nearby restaurant and came back with a big plate full of scrumptious food which we shared between us. No sooner had we finished our delicious lunch than the concert began. A trio comprising an acoustic guitar, a Portuguese guitar, and a tambourine played music from different parts of the country, capturing that wonderful, characteristic sound of Brazil.


The midday sun was shining brightly but as we were sitting in the shade under the lush foliage of big trees, it didn't bother us. The only downside was that the trees were full of birds and I was hit twice by bird droppings. Normally, this would have annoyed me quite a bit but, this time, I couldn't have cared less. I just wiped the droppings off my (white!) trousers and Pekka brushed the dirt off my back, and then we continued enjoying the concert. We hadn't felt so relaxed and content for a long, long time. There must have been magic in that music!

December 23rd 2011

Suffering From Flu and Fish


It was a narrow escape from Natal as Pekka went down with flu the very next day we arrived in Jacare. We first thought it was some kind of allergy since he had suffered from flu just a few months ago in Trinidad but, unfortunately, it turned out to be the real thing. He has now made almost a full recovery and we look forward to continuing our journey towards Baia de Todos os Santos right after the holidays.


Since we arrived in Jacare, a couple of locals have got into the habit of coming to our boat for breakfast every single morning. They arrive around 5 a.m. waking us up and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. We don't know very much about them but this is not merely due to a language barrier, as they are fish. They stay for about an hour each time eating the seaweed or what ever there is growing below our waterline. We wouldn't mind this at all except for one thing; they are absolutely the worst behaving and noisiest breakfast guests we have ever had, splashing about and banging on the hull in their feeding frenzy! Because the river water is very murky, we have not yet managed to see them properly but many a time we have gone up on deck during the early hours of the morning in an attempt to get rid of these uninvited pests but, so far, in vain. The noise made by the fish resulted in that, in order to get enough sleep, yesterday we abandoned our newly renovated fore cabin and moved into the saloon (Riitta) and the side cabin (Pekka) where we have fans that effectively fade any noise coming from outside. But this separation also gave us new willpower to fight back and today, we scraped the bottom of the boat as best we could and are now looking forward to a Peaceful Christmas. And we wish you all the same!

December 15th 2011

Jacare

07° 02,149' S, 34° 51,423 W


The day before we finally left Natal, just after lunch, we heard a bang vibrating through the hull and, as we rushed up on deck, found a distressed looking Italian skipper standing on the swimming platform of his own boat and leaning heavily against Sarema thus trying to keep the two boats from colliding with one another (his was a brand new Swan!). The fact that his anchor was down and his dinghy on the other side of our bow did not make matters any easier. As a newcomer, he obviously was not aware of the strong tidal current's habit of turning one boat this way and the other one that way. While both men were pushing the boats apart, I brought the dinghy to the right side of the bow, after which the Italian was able to weigh anchor and move further away from us.


This reminded me of a similar incident that happened in Newport several years ago. At that time, we were the culprits as we had been dragging our anchor, and consequently caused some damage to the other boat. The boat had no crew on board, and it took us two days to locate the owners, with the help of US coastguard. We still keep in contact with them occasionally. So, Antonietta and Marco, if you happen to read this, MERRY CHRISTMAS!


Later in the evening when the tidal current changed its direction, it turned out that the Italian was still a bit too close to us although not quite within collision distance. The following morning while weighing anchor, we could clearly see how relieved he was to see us go. And we shared his sentiments but, of course, for entirely different reasons. Our stay in Natal had been compulsory, and not a very enjoyable one, and we were more than happy that it was now over!


We left on the 14th early in the morning during high tide slack. As we were nearing the mouth of the river Potengi, which is quite narrow, the seas were getting higher and higher and soon we were motoring against ocean rollers so strong that we could hardly make any progress at all. While competing against the waves with conspicuous reefs on either side, we understood why every commercial vessel, big or small, entering or leaving the port of Natal were being escorted by two tugboats. We experienced a few anxious moments and as the boat's engine has not been exactly reliable lately, our stress level remained relatively high until we were well past the reefs.


When we reached the far end of the breakwater, the seas flattened considerably and from thereon, sailing was most enjoyable. The winds were from east/south-east with moderate seas and clear skies. We followed the shoreline at 15 to 20 metre depth with the coast visible all the time. Throughout the night, on the horizon, we could see fires glowing as huge areas were being burnt (deforestation?!). Above us, we had the moon, the billion stars of the Milky Way, and at least a dozen shooting stars intermittently flashing across the night sky. As always, every time we saw a shooting star, we made a wish. Even if only some of the wishes we made during the night will eventually come true, we are going to be one prosperous family!


Because we had decided to take it easy, we did not continue any further but, early next morning, entered the river Paralba, sailed for about five miles up the river, and are now anchored in front of a small fishing village named Jacare. We will stay here for a few days in order to get the generator support welded and to buy a few more impellers, pump sealing rings, and bearings. But we will also take our time to tour the two nearby towns, Cabedelo and Joao Pessoa, which are within easy reach by train, a one-way ticket only 50 centavos (= 20 euro cents!).

December 7th 2011

Another Prolonged Stopover


We are still in Natal where we have been mending both our good boat Sarema and her hard-working captain. Pekka's blood pressure has sky-rocketed, clearly due to his constant worry about the boat and our schedule, and it should be stabilized before we can continue our journey to the south. But we have spent this compulsory interval most industriously. The boat's exterior has been de-rusted and patch-painted, and her cork flooring has been partly renewed, so that she now looks immaculate both inside and out. And all the pumps are working to absolute perfection!


So far, we have visited two Brazilian cities, Fortaleza and Natal, and have found both of them surprisingly skyscrapery. It is perhaps their age and history that misled us to think that they would reflect more the elegance of a bygone era.


The tour of the town here in Natal revealed the two opposite sides of Brazilian living which seem to be a million miles apart; ultramodern and dilapidated buildings standing side by side, the super-rich living in their magnificent homes protected against their desperately poor neighbours by high walls, electric fences, and armed guards.


Our taxi driver's favourite subject is crime. He keeps us informed which areas are safe and which are not, where and when the latest victim of crime was killed and why. Quite often the reason is simply that the deceased had a nice watch and a mobile phone that somebody else wanted. The driver also claims that the police are all corrupt and every other taxi driver is a criminal. This is probably true at least partly as the Yacht Club, for example, only uses two taxis that they know to be reliable. This practice was introduced after one of their members was robbed by the taxi driver who picked him up from the Club.


We are now perusing the three cruising guides we have on the South American east coast to find lone anchorages as far away from human habitation as possible. As we have always found the tropics not only uncomfortable but, at times, almost intolerable because of the scorching sun, we'll start heading south as soon as possible (doctor permitting) to the more gentle latitudes and hopefully more natural surroundings.