Blog 36: Off to the Azores! First Port of Call Santa Maria Island!
And so, having loved Madeira and starting to feel quite at home after over a month here, we set off for our next destination, The Azores - even more remote islands in the middle of the Atlantic!
We spent our final couple of nights at Calheta Marina at the west end of Madeira
They employ a wonderful falcon (and his handler) to patrol the pontoons and frighten away the seagulls so they don't make a mess on the boats! It's very effective!
This was actually a much nicer passage weather-wise than the first one.
Here we are just leaving Madeira - the west end of the island is pretty remote with steep cliffs and fewer towns and villages.
Soon we got the sails up...
... and sailed into the late afternoon ...
Unfortunately, we did not have Caroline on board this time, so we had to share the watches between the two of us, but luckily the weather was kinder.
We also purchased a satellite communication device - a Zoleo - which allowed us to send short messages to family and friends, and receive a twice-daily weather forecast via Caroline. We thought it a sensible safety measure if there were just the two of us on board. The Zoleo also has a world-wide SOS facility in case something awful happens!
We did one 4-hour watch each overnight and split the day into 2-hour watches. Four hours is quite a long time and can seem quite boring - you have to do things to keep you awake and alert, like listening to previously downloaded podcasts, reading a Kindle or doing puzzles. But you have to have a good look round every 15-20 minutes, and check the AIS and radar. You don't want to spoil your 'night vision', so a Kindle with low lighting is a good choice!
This is dawn on Day 2 ...
... followed by sunrise!
... and pretty early morning sunlight catching the sails
A very rare sight of another ship! This one was a warship which came up on radar, but not on AIS (they don't want to advertise their presence when they're on military exercises).
We saw a couple of other ships on the AIS, but generally the Atlantic is a huge empty space!
Much of the day looked like this! This is looking back at our wake - hard to believe we are in the middle of the Atlantic! It's so calm!
What a horrible colour this drink is! It's some sort of pink tonic water - we avoid alcohol on a passage like this and I think I'm trying to pretend it's more exciting than it actually is!!
Sailing on into the early evening of Day 2
It's calm enough to have a relatively civilised meal in the cockpit
Sunset on Day 2
Day 3 - a bit greyer, but still very calm
Brightened up in the afternoon - the cloud formations are forever changing
... and our bow wave makes interesting patterns in the water too!
Sometimes it's nice to sit up at the bow on the 'pulpit' looking towards the boat's stern
7pm on Day 3 - flat calm and an empty ocean!
8pm on Day 3
9pm on Day 3
And finally a nice fiery sunset on Day 3
Land Ahoy! Day 4 - our first sighting of the Azores - Santa Maria island
Charles hoisting the courtesy flags
A pod of playful dolphins welcoming us to Santa Maria.
Apart from that we've seen relatively little wildlife - half a dozen flying fish and one flying squid!
We've also seen 2 fishing boats and a bit of discarded fishing net which we were relieved to miss, a cardboard box and a plastic bottle!
A view of the marina from the hill above - it is well-protected by the harbour wall and long breakwater.
Santa Maria
There is no longer a ferry service here, but there are flights - the trouble is they are often full in the summer, so Santa Maria is quite cut off and hard to get to. Nautical 'hitchhikers' walk along the pontoons looking for a lift to another island.
We had a couple of days to explore Santa Maria. The first day I walked into the main town, Vila do Porto, which is really just one main street with a few houses behind it and then countryside. The population is only 5,408 - little more than a big village really - and the island is only 17km long by 9.5km wide.
It was officially discovered by Portuguese explorer Goncalo Velho Cabral, and got its name when one of his lookouts suddenly spotted the small island in the distance and shouted out 'Santa Maria' (Holy Mary)!
Vila do Porto
This is the attractive main square in Vila do Porto
This is the main street - the entire length, maybe about a mile, is paved with typical Portuguese tiles and attractive nautical designs - it's quite impressive.
This is the Convent of Sao Francisco, now the Town Hall.
Like all the Azores islands, Santa Maria was subjected to many raids by pirates in the 16th and 17th centuries and many ancient buildings were destroyed. In 1616, along with the mother church and many houses, the convent was vandalised and burnt down by pirates. But its solid construction help to avoid total disaster and it was reconstructed to the original plan.
It's a beautiful building with a lovely inner courtyard - what a great place to work as a local government official!
The day I visited there was an art exhibition at the Town Hall, so I popped in to have a look.
It was quite a varied collection - all by the same Azorean artist, Victor Silveira - using a variety of styles and subject matter. My eye was caught by the Mona Lisa with her mobile phone alongside the Girl with the Pearl Earring and The Scream with a background by Van Gogh! Not sure I'd want to look at it every day on my wall though!
On the other side of the main square is a large mural of a bird, made from what looked like recycled materials.
One of the distinctive things about Santa Maria is the chimneys - almost all the houses have this style of chimney and they pop up above the skyline in every direction.
An attractive older-style building in the main street.
We had a very tasty dinner here - the Charming Blue Hotel - rather oddly named as it is painted salmon pink!
Inside the altar is quite elaborately golden, but the rest of the church simpler with white-painted walls, stone pillars and wooden roof.
A street view with a pretty wrought-iron balcony
The fine church at the other end of the town
This is the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceica, the Mother Church of Vila do Porto and probably the earliest chapel in the town. It is situated within the fortress buildings, but when I took the photo they were setting up for an all-night festival and concert, hence the incongruous CocaCola cabinet, beer apparatus and portaloo!!
Ponta do Castelo, the fortress at the eastern end of Santa Maria
View from the fortress.
The following day we were lucky to be able to hire a car - they are in very short supply all over the Azores and expensive (about 100€ per day). But it was worth it to get a real flavour of the island of Santa Maria.
Baia dos Anjos (Bay of Angels)
Christopher Columbus stopped here on his return voyage from America in 1493 and some of his crew attended mass at the local church.
Lovely clear water and unspoilt cliffs...
... somewhat marred by the rather gaudy turquoise colour of the sea-water swimming complex, although it did look like a nice place to swim!
Many of the houses are newly decorated and renovated, some with very modern extensions ...
... but next-door is sadly in need of a bit of care and attention!
Charles in front of a lovely row of Jacaranda trees with nice gnarly trunks even though their lovely purple blooms are over.
Deserto Vermelho (the Red Desert)
This was the most extraordinary place - literally a red desert in the middle of a very green island!
Utterly parched!
Its real name is Barreiro da Faneca and it is an old basaltic lava flow overlapped by a layer of volcanic ash, which was transformed into red clay due to the hot and humid climate at the time of the most recent volcanic activity (approx 3 million years ago).
The wavy surface is due to rainwater run-off and wind action
A few decades ago the Red Desert only had a few spots of vegetation, but in recent years a spontaneous increase has occurred, particularly around the edges.
Santa Barbara and Sao Lourenco Bay
By contrast, this is the sort of green view we saw around the rest of the island!
The Azores exports a huge amount of dairy produce - there are 3 times as many cattle as people on some islands!
The roadside is beautifully green too and often lined with wild hydrangeas on both sides. The flower was originally introduced to the islands but has naturalised and often grows wild.
The village of Santa Barbara
The view from the Miradouro (viewpoint) overlooking Sao Lourenco Bay
The view from the Miradouro in the other direction
Us at the Miradouro!
Sao Lourenco Bay with its slopes of terraced vineyards and vegetable plots
The tiny plots are surrounded by volcanic basalt rock walls
A beautiful spot for lunch - we had a traditional prawn and bread hotpot to share
I couldn't resist a swim in the beautiful clear water - even Charles had a paddle!!
On the way back we passed this dramatic little church - the white walls with dark basalt volcanic rock cornerstones and detail is an often-used architectural feature in the Azores
This is the other main beach in Santa Maria - Praia Formosa - it's a much longer stretch of sandy beach, but we preferred beautiful Sao Lourenco!
Back in the marina and preparing ourselves for a night of festival music from the fortress up on the hill! It wasn't actually too loud! A few of us in the marina thought about going, but the average age looked about 14!
Off to our next Azorean island, Sao Miguel, before dawn tomorrow...!
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