And still the winds blow...
A year afloat: to the Caribbean and back
Sam and Alex Fortescue
Wed 3 Nov 2010 19:24
|
Wind is still howling through the rigging and the
marina sends up a sort of tormented shriek as a dozen boats all whine and strain
on their moorings in the gusts. We're still in Porto Santo, penned in by wind
that got up to 35 knots plus during the night and choppy seas outside the
harbour wall.
However, things are improving rapidly and we expect
to set off for Funchal on Madeira tomorrow. It's a small, busy port with cruise
ships coming and going all the time, so we'll have to squeeze in at the end of a
raft of other yachts. I expect we'll have to cross a couple of decks to get to
the shore and may find it hard to get power and water onto the boat. It'll be
great to be in a bustling town again, and we're looking forward to hiring a car
to explore the island.
We did another great shop today for the crossing,
notching up just over €100 of squid in tomato sauce, M&Ms, pesto and various
other bits and bobs. You can hear the packets of rice popping when you walk
across the floorboards in the main cabin. And it's possible that a few hours in
choppy waves will reduce our supplies to a rank mix of squashed chick peas,
tomato sauce and tuna. The bilges are not the ideal implement for preparing
food in, and we're not keen to spend meals dipping forks into the boats recesses
to fish out food.
We went to Christopher Columbus' house today.
Obviously he wasn't in, having died some 500 years ago. But his former home has
been turned into the sort of local museum that Alex and I have come to relish
during our trip so far. Did you know, for example, that Columbus was Italian? At
least, he would have been if Italy existed at the time,being born in Genoa. He
also died a bitter and discredited man, having insisted that he had discovered
the Orient by means of heading west. In fact, he'd recce'd most of the Caribbean
islands and, of course, America.
There was also a great display of silver ingots,
salvaged 30 years ago from the ancient wreck of a Dutch galleon. A Belgian
salvager basically nipped in and helped himself when Portugal was busy
overthrowing its long standing dictator, Salazar in the 70s. Good spot, I
suppose.
Well, it's odds and ends for supper until we hit
Gran Canaria next week. That means we're having green and red lentil, pepper and
feta salad - a classic combo, I'm sure you'll agree. At least I managed to tuck
away a steak sandwich for lunch. They cost €2 from a cafe in the town, and come
in fresh local bread, slathered with garlic butter.
Bootiful...
|