We leave the marina of Salvador on Monday, December 19th in the evening to anchor a few steps away in front of the yacht club. Indeed, we prefer to arrive during the day at Morro de Sao Paulo, our next destination 30 miles to the South, and not pay for another night at the dock in Salvador where the rates are Western... The expected favorable wind is not really there, and so after a few hours of beating, we drop anchor in front of the beautiful village of Morro in a tropical paradise setting on Ilha da Tinare. In Morro, there are no cars, the only means of transportation are wheelbarrows, tractors, or donkey backs. The sandy alleys are very pleasant for a walk with the girls. Although very touristy, the island is really nice, and traveling by sailboat isolates us a bit from the 'crowd,' which is relatively small, and allows us to access deserted beaches. The pink-orange cliffs that we see when the lush vegetation does not invade the shore offer us the opportunity for a funny 'mud bath' and a good body scrub, which Nina and Diane really enjoy.
Mud bath for the whole family Stock of fruits when leaving Salvador and its markets In the streets of Morro de Sao Paulo Libertaire The 3 girls At the top of the zip line Local means of transport On the way to new adventures...
The beach under the clay cliffs Diane and Perrine in their bath We leave this beautiful stopover on Thursday evening for a night sail, heading to Itacare 60 miles to the South. Indeed, the trade winds usually blow stronger at night, and we must arrive at high tide to pass the shallows of the Rio das Contas estuary. We also need to raise the keel for this anchorage, which requires some maneuvering, and thus we beach surrounded by tropical forest. We spent a few long minutes stranded on a sandbank just after passing the bar while we were barely drawing 1m10... Libertaire dry, Damien can access the stuffing box whose inner seal has been leaking since the launch. Indeed, we had poorly reassembled the spi seal, which was torn for a centimeter, allowing the oil from the oil bath stuffing box to pass. We had disassembled the propeller shaft before leaving to have the bearing surfaces of the seals rectified by a turner, where the steel was marked. To the great joy of our girls, we spend most of the time swimming, especially since Nina has become really comfortable in the water. Depending on our mood, we can enjoy the calm inside the Ria or cross the strip of sand that separates us from the ocean and play in the waves. These hours of swimming open our appetite for a good Nutella crepe! Itacare, a town with an omnipresent ecological and surf culture, enjoys a young, relaxed atmosphere far from the palpable tension of Salvador. So it is in this tropical setting far from snow and fir trees that we celebrate Christmas between foie gras, champagne, fresh mango and coconut juice that our girls adore.
Entrance to Itacare The crew in front of Libertaire on Christmas Day on the beach of Itacare Coconut juice for Diane View from the cockpit, amazing the lifting keel Libertaire in Itacare among the canoes Charlotte pear/chocolate for Christmas!
Feliz Natal!! View of the village Diane and sunscreen before the bath Nina and Perrine, the buoy allows them to stay in the current of the ria which reaches 2 knots Tonight it's pizzeria, an excuse to find a WiFi connection! We leave tomorrow evening for the Abrolhos archipelago, a national marine park 200 miles to the South.
Happy holidays to all!
