Lat: 38:40.8. N : Long: 028:12.1 W. Sunday, 29th June, 2014 in Horta Marina, Faial.

Sulana's Voyage
Alan and Sue Brook
Sun 6 Jul 2014 21:17

Lat: 38:40.8. N : Long: 028:12.1 W.

Sunday, 29th June, 2014 in Horta Marina, Faial.
 
Unfortunately unable to stay any longer in Horta, to meet up with Joachim & Rosa, the Owners of "Mariela" as we had  hoped, we headed out on a mission to keep another appointment, to meet up with David & Annie Chatterton, on board the other West Mersea yacht in the Azores, "Resting Goose". They were staying in the neighbouring marina of Velas, on Sao Jorge island, and David had used his extensive local contacts to secure us the last (or only) remaining berth for a 17 metre yacht for us. Only a very short 34 miles away, this was easily done as a short day hop under motor, as winds were very light indeed.
 
Velas was also a lovely little marina, well served, very cheap rates and provided with superb facilities, includsing  smart, clean showers and a modern laundry faciility, all with water and electricity thrown in for free, too! As we arrived a local festival was just concluding and we just managed to get the last free lunches of the day, with fresh 'Lapas' (Limpets) and a big bowl of fish stew. All this was provided by the local community as part of their celebration of the month of the Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit). Their hospitality was humbling, quite frankly.
 
We went to sleep very peacefully that night, listening to the hundreds of Cory's Shearwaters returning home in the dark and whistling, cooing and cawing like so many parakeets on an excess of sugar drinks.
 
Sao Jorge was lovely. A long, volcanic strip of an island, often covered with cloud. David had to drive very, very slowly in heavy, dense cloud, like fog, on our return trip from visiting the North-Eastern end of the island. We had