The northerly arrived as ordered on Friday morning. We needed to get around to the other side of the island because we were starting to run out of chocolate milk. There are two ways of getting to the main yacht club from the north - either nip straight under the bridge, or sail all the way around the 30 mile long island. Sadly for us, the bridge is 17m, and our mast is 16.5m, which is a little close for comfort. Imagine Bren calling Dad to tell him that we got his boat stuck under a bridge. No, we decided to sail around.
The wind was great for it anyway. 18-20 knots from the north. We wasted no time in getting on our way, in no time we had the full main up with Tallulah hauling us along. Ciao Bella was wasting no time in getting to the south end of the island. We were actually going a bit too fast, and the beautiful side of the island was passing us in a blur. So we stopped and dropped anchor in the lee of an island called Ilha do Campeche, to stop and smell the roses.
Raf and I went for a snorkel and a mission to go for a hike around the little island. There were some really interesting reef fish around, as well as some crazy rock formations. The smallish rocks that you see on the are actually huge pillars which stick straight up from the sand 20 metres below. When we climbed up onto the rocks to begin our expedition, a lady who was leading a snorkelling tour told us that the rocks we were climbing on (and basically the whole of Ilha do Campeche) is a natural heritage site, and we weren't allowed to climb on the rocks. That kind of sucked. So we snorkelled our way back to the boat. Gina finished diving the bottom of the boat while we were out, so it was glistening when we got back.
Before we set off, I put some black beans (feijao) to cook on the ethanol stove. We've been using this thing extensively to economise on gas. The feijao is a staple food here that we have tried to cook a few times with limited success. This time we got it right. I would tell you how, but I am going to protect this recipe with my life. Ricardo's (infernally) hot sauce was a key ingredient.
The breeze had picked up to over 20 knots when we left Campeche, so in the spirit of cruising, we slammed 2 reefs in the main, and slid along at 7 knots down to the southern-most end of the island. There was shelter from the northerly in one of the bays, so we dropped pick there. Raf had scoped a little waterfall near to where we were, so I took our stand-up paddleboard (SUP), Wilhelm, to get a closer look. I also took my soap and shampoo for what turned out to be the best fresh-water shower. Ever. I knew there was a reason for all the rain of the past few days. The top of the waterfall also provided an excellent view-point of the bay, the boat and the sunset. I will post the photo right here when I have a chance. But for now, take my word for it: it's pretty good.
We had a butternut that we slapped on the braai so that we had something to have with the feijao. It was another culinary wonder. We're getting really nice and inventive in the galley of Ciao Bella. Boat-food will never be the same.
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