Fresh Bread, New People, Walk to ATM

Good Living at "Bracui Canal"

Well staffed security gate to Bracui

Thursday 9 August

Today was a day for following Ricardo's instructions. 

The alarm woke me at 6 AM so that I could get fresh-baked bread.  I had been looking for a separate bakery and Ricardo explained that the baking was done in the same grocery shop that I had been visiting, and their output could be found in a large wicker basket in one corner of the shop.  They had several bakes during the day but he suggested going around 7 AM.  I did this and found the wicker basket full of freshly baked and still warm loaves only about 6” long.  I purchased 6 and couldn't resist on eating one on my way back to the boat.  It was nice to have fresh bread for breakfast and later for lunch for yummy cheese and salami sandwiches.  The store is an easy walk of 10 minutes so I expect to visit them frequently for fresh bread and other things.

While I was in the office having my internet session a man walked in speaking English, inquiring about some papers that he had to sign.  He was reluctant to sign papers in Portuguese that he could not read and soon Henrique, the man whose employees had helped me with the staysail, was on the scene to help him.  While they were yammering away at the far desk I looked at the woman at the desk in front of me, raised my eyebrows, and exclaimed English!?  She laughed and replied in Portuguese that I could not understand.  I was just finishing my session so I packed up and waited at the bench outside to speak with the English speaker or with the lady who was with him.

The woman came out first and I asked “Do you  speak English?”  She replied A Little (in fact it was A Lot) and said that she was Swiss.   I told her that it felt so good to speak with someone in English and she gave an understanding smile.  I told her that I had overheard her husband (turned out to be her Partner) speaking English.   She told me that he had sailed from Europe to Brazil would be heading for South Africa in December.  “In a boat?” I asked.  Yes, it would be in his boat.  I replied that I expected to sail to Cape Town at about that time.  She lit up at that statement and became anxious that I speak with her partner.  I remarked that it seemed like a strange route to take for getting to Cape Town and she replied that it had all to do with winds and sailing seasons.  (Come to think of it, it is nearly impossible to sail south along the west African coast against the prevailing southerly winds.)

Soon the two men emerged from the office and we started to chat.  The man was Francois from France, and also spoke very good English.  He asked where my boat was and I suggested that we all walk to it.  I asked Henrique to come along because I wanted to discuss a job with him.  We got to the boat and Francoise (pardon the spelling if it is incorrect) immediately commented on the mast steps, which he said would have been handy for looking for shallows in the Tuomotus. He has done a lot of sailing, including purchasing a boat in Australia, and gave me a brief outline of his cruises.  I told him of my passage around the Horn and the reason why I had to beat my way to MdP Argentina to repair the boat.  He plans to visit Tristan da Cunha on the way to Cape Town as I do.  He plans to set off for Cape Town in January and I told him that I expect to leave Angra in December, spend a couple of weeks exploring the islands, then head south visiting Ubatuba and other delights before victualizing and clearing in Florianopolis.  By the time I set sail for Cape Town it will probably be January, so there is every chance that we will be able to sail in close communication.  It would be great to anchor and meet at Tristan de Cunha..

He and his partner (Marian?) won't be around for long because they will be returning to Europe for a while.  I know that Marian will return to work and I teased that she had not discovered the virtues of retirement which earned me a friendly fist on the shoulder.  They plan a trip to Parati but invited me and Henrique for dinner at “Phillipe's”, the cafe where I recently had lunch, next Wednesday evening at around 7 PM.  There we will exchange information on our plans and contacts at sea.  (He uses Immersat and would be able to provide me with Internet-based weather forecasts.) 

There does appear to be a sailing season here, by the way.  Francois told me that he had been here in January and the marina was crammed with boats.  I consider myself fortunate for arriving during the “off” season when there were plenty of free berths.

After the couple left I spoke with Henrique about a badly needed cleaning and polishing of the hull.  I asked him for a price and he came back with 500 Reals which I told him was higher than I had expected.  He spoke about possible difficulties with sections of the hull. I asked if his people would use electric tools for the polishing, and he replied that No, not over salt water.  I replied that in Mexico they did, but he countered that he couldn't accept the liability if there was a problem with his people working  with electric tools over salt water.  Fair Enough.  I accepted his price and shook hands with him, but it had better be a bloody good job for what is close to 250 US dollars.

In the afternoon I set off on a walk up the length of the canal development through the primary security gate of this gated community, to the main highway, a turn left to cross the Bracui river, and on another half kilometer to the “Supermercado” that had an ATM machine that accepted Visa cards.

I made the walk (about 6 km), taking photographs of the gracious living along the canal on the way, and found that the ATM machine would not accept my card, even though a Visa card logo was displayed on it.  I think that it is all to do with my Visa card being from overseas.  I will have to make a bus trip to Angra to get more cash.  The walk was not a waste because it gave me a chance to get some exercise and soak in some of the ambiance of the place.  I was amazed at the number of buses running back and forth along that highway and it made me realize that I am not bound to restricted schedule of the Bracui buses.  I can walk the 3 km to the highway and catch the first bus to Angra, as was done when I was taken to the highway on a motorcycle.  From Angra I should be able to take any bus to Frade and simply get off at the Bracui river then walk to the marina.

I then returned to the boat, downed two quick beers to cool off (love that refrigerator!) then set off to have a shower.  After returning to the boat I washed my change of underclothes in warm soapy water, rinsed them, then hung them up to drip dry overnight and dry in tomorrow's sun.  I don't see any need for relying on the commercial laundry when I have the water, electricity (to warm the water), soap, and time to hand wash as I go.  And I have yet to see a Brazilian, male or female, blush at seeing my unmentionables hanging on the line.