Santantao Art Resort Santo Antao

... Will and Allie - that was our only purchase - fortunately they accepted Euros and we were able to make a clean exchange - although a coin or two would have been kind of nice for our foreign money collection. Jim was really ready to return to the ship and so we did walk back and we were not the only ones - many people had already returned and as we walked back to the ship while people were on their way out ...

... and was very proud of myself. Somehow, I think the local people half-expected to bargain. Most foodstuff are generally expensive for the local living standards...almost the same or more expensive than in France...perhaps it's because everything is imported here....not much fertile land for agriculture. Only seafood remains inexpensive.. 3 EUR for a medium size red snapper! Here are more photos of the city. Enjoy!

After 11 days of voyage, we finally arrived in the city of Mindelo, 2nd largest in Cape Verde. The last 2 days were terribly slow...we were travelling only at 1-2 miles per hour...if this doesn´t build up your patience, what does? It was a relief to finally be on land, to exercise our leg muscles, and to be able to take a nice clean shower! We visited the little town centre...charming with portuguese-styled architectures everywhere, fishing boats ...

... Un groupe de dauphin passe lentement à quelques dizaines de mètres. Avec les quelques nuages dans le ciel, on devrait avoir un superbe couche de soleil. C'est magnifique...mais c'est chiant. On décide de démarrer le moteur. J+ 11 : Sunday 18 Nov Apres une nuit au moteur on voit enfin la terre. Vers 10h le vent se lève un peu, enfin on peut couper le moteur. On devrait jeter l'encre vers 3h.

... God Little" by DBC Pierre. It's a rather disturbing book about a 15-year-old boy whose life was very much perturbed and ended up being accused of multiple murders. The first book I finished was a much better read...in my opinion. "Saving fish from drowning" from Amy Tan. It was a gift from Agne. Thanks, Agne! I really enjoyed the book. It's a story about 12 American tourists who got into trouble while travelling in China and Burma...what else is new...you ask. I'd definitely recommend it.

... arrive finalement a le récupérer, tout tremblant et surtout tout nu. Dans l'effort il avait perdu son maillot de bain. On a eu un peu plus de mal a récupérer la bouée. Une bonne bière pour passer l'émotion et tout rentre dans l'ordre. (In English) Weather was hot and sunny. It's been days since we all took a nice shower. Today looks like a good day for a swim. We shampooed ourselves on the deck, before taking turns to jump into the water. At this time, we were travelling ...

(En français) Apres nous être fait dépasser par un voilier qui avait une voile a droite et une voile a gauche, on décide de faire de même pour permettre de mieux prendre le vent qui nous arrive de derrière. Gagne, on accélère enfin et tient une vitesse de 5 noeuds. On décide également de changer notre destination. Au lieu d ...

... we were treated to tribal dance of dolphins in the horizon. There must have been around 30 of them, one leaping after the other. They reminded me of the scene in Lion King, where all the animals gathered to meet their new king. I quietly wished for them to approach, but they didn't. 10 minutes before my night shift, Eddy woke me up to alert me of the dolphins. There were maybe 2-3 of them. Streaks of green line criss-crossing decorated the sides of the boat.

... to our first caught meal...deep fried calamari. For dinner, I prepared stir-fried calamari. During our night watch, we saw dolphins again! This time they stayed a bit longer... I made sure that Greg does not switch on his lights. The night was moonless and the sky was dimly lit by the stars. We could vaguely make out the silhouette of the dolphins leaping out of the water! Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures...they just appear black on the screen.

... se met a se balancer dans tous les sens. A l'extérieur, ça passe encore mais à l'intérieur c'est insupportable et pour faire la cuisine, bon courage... Cependant se retrouver au beau milieu de l'océan, entoure seulement d'eau laisse une grande sensation de liberté, a condition de ne pas être malade. On se sent également minuscule. (In English) When we left Arguineguin, we were aided by strong winds, travelling at 7-8 ...