This is is a nice little marina, in a nice little town.

There is not a lot of space for visitors and they put you on the pontoon nearest the entrance on arrival. Unfortunately there is a lot of surge that creeps its way past the mole and round the breakwater, so we took 3 attempts at putting warps and fenders in the right places to assuage the boat movement and the squeal of ropes and cleats. Even so, we had a pretty lively night and ear plugs were required. The guy who had seen us in had also departed speedily (he had stayed late to direct us) but this meant no pontoon key and no access to the facilities. Since it was about 2100 when we settled down to dinner, this was not too much if an impediment.

When we signed in properly on Monday morning, we discovered that the facilities are about the best we have ever encountered in a marina environment. They are splendiferous! Large and well appointed, you would not be disadvantaged if an army got in before you, there are so many cubicles. Clean and tidy, they are an absolute joy after 3 weeks on the boat and a few days sampling the dubious cold only showers of Lajes on Flores, or the tight facilities on Horta which were overwhelmed by Italian and French crews…

The Town

This seems the sort of place where locals prevail. There are few tourists, and people actually live here, despite it being a Unesco Heritage site: cobbled streets, handsome buildings, nice precincts and squares. It used to be where the Spaniards kept their gold en route home, and some of it must have trickled down! There are forts and fortified walls everywhere, and the place is well kept.

We will enjoy our time here till the travel hoist gets fixed and we can put her on the hard…

Watergaw