Atlantic crossing from Bermuda. 17
Thisbe
Tue 19 Jun 2007 23:10
Azores
Tuesday 19th June 07
Hired a scooter and drove around the
island. The place is very agricultural which answers a lot of questions re the
tidiness of the place. Small farms are everywhere and everyone seems
very busy moving cattle around, cutting hay a silage, strimming trimming and
generally keeping on top of the job. The roads are very quiet, certainly
by our standards so it was a very relaxed drive around, cold
though which was a bit of
a surprise. We drove most of the way up the volcano but had to turn back
through lack of fuel. The view from high up was fantastic and the air
wonderfully crisp and clear. The hedges we could see from the boat on our way
along the island are mostly Bamboo interspersed with mile after mile of
Hydrangea shrubs growing close together to form a windproof hedge. The whole
place has the appearance a cultivated country estate in England but
of course in this latitude the most unlikely plants grow wild beside the road
and are just kept trimmed back. Back at base in time to shop and reprovision for
Thursday departure. Its not easy to obtain things we take for granted, the
horror of horrors....no tea ! Have been
coming across people we met in St Lucia and other Caribbean ports and hearing
their tales of the last three thousand miles, the plucky skipper of Enya did it
solo and is still smiling. He is from Norway and has been away a year, he
departs on Thursday as well, looks like quite a little flotilla will be heading
out at the same time including the Azores and back racers from Falmouth who
I said were leaving today. All the talk is of weather forecasts of course so
fingers crossed for a fair wind.
Manny