Saturday  February 22^th ,  2014

South Atlantic Ocean – off  Brazil, 11 09.8S 36 36.1W 

Today's Blog by David (Time zone: UTC – 3.0

10 days of partying with what became known (among us at least)  as the Salvador Seven¹ having taken its toll we are now at sea again heading north, into the wind and current (chiz chiz – but both pretty much as expected), en route for the Caribbean.  Assuming we don’t stop on the way, we will get to Tobago around March 8/9^th.

Against all our expectations, we rather ENJOYED Brazil, or at least that small part of the State of Bahia that we saw.   This was despite the fact that in Salvador we had the greatest language difficulty of the whole journey so far  - no-one in Brazil seems to speak English – fewer of us any Portuguese.  [If it hadn’t been for the Google Translate Language App which some were able to download and make it work off line – we would have been in some trouble].  We found the officials thoroughly helpful² and  the State and Local government Ministries of Tourism and Industry very welcoming.  Indeed, everyone we encountered seemed to want to make our stay enjoyable. 

The Yacht Clube da Bahia was pivotal in making detailed arrangements for the fleet  - ranging from the simple but most welcome provision of a minibus and driver to aid in our various transportation arrangements, to language assistance in our interaction with the authorities, arranging a discounted marina berth  and finally allowing us access to one of the most stunning yacht club facilities  we have encountered.

where in conjunction with the Ministries aforementioned they hosted a splendid evening’s entertainment.  

Peter is fond of the term “Wally Bomb” which he uses to describe something superficially innocuous that will blow up in your face if you are not careful – a banana skin, if you like.  Wally Bomb No1  is the sun, which is very intense and can turn you into a lobster in no time at all when you are outside working on any one of the myriad of  essential  maintenance tasks which pervade the cruising scene (those which, if you don’t complete them all, you know that the one you don’t will ruin your day sometime soon - Wally Bomb No2).

Wally Bomb No3 is a Caipirinha – the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster I have mentioned before. Having now investigated the concept in some depth, we have discovered this to be simply a mixture of crushed limes and caster sugar topped up with a generous measure of Cachaca – a  local hooch similar to Jet A1. It is very refreshing and slips down a treat - the ice and sugar covering the alcohol content until you finish your third ……..   

Ahem….

It is said that once in your life you will have four in one evening at which point it is too late to prevent an unscheduled visit to a local the Gay & Lesbian Bar ……...   with the all the resulting nudges and knowing winks among your so called Salvador Seven friends the following morning as one tries ……

To remember where everyone fits in ….. as it were…..

Thank heavens we have decided to leave before Carnival starts next week!

Notes

1                     “The Salvador Seven”:  those seven boats in the fleet who decided to run the risks of Brazil.

2                     “Thoroughly helpful” : Thorough, but helpful nonetheless