THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF RECIFE . ( REEF )

THE CABANGA YACHT CLUB LENT US THEIR OLD WOODEN ROWBOAT TO TRANSPORT OUR STORES TO OUR BOAT TO SAVE US THE LONG WALK AROUND THEIR MARINA .

THIS NAKED LADY SITS UP ON A ROOFTOP IN OLINDA THE OLD CAPITAL WATCHING THE WORLD PASS BY .

PALACIO DO GOVERNO .
A MAGNIFICENT BUILDING THAT SITS ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER IN THE CITY .

WHEN THE CONDITIONS ARE PERFECT YOU GET A MIRROR IMAGE OF THESE GRAND OLD BUILDINGS ON THE RIVER . PITY ABOUT ALL THE UGLY MODERN STRUCTURES IN THE BACKGROUND .

I GUESS THAT BECAUSE OF THE THOUSANDS OF CRABS THAT LIVE ON THE BANKS OF THE THREE RIVERS THAT RUN THROUGH THE CITY IT WOULD ONLY BE RIGHT TO COMMEMORATE THEM WITH THIS WORK OF ART . 

UNFORTUNATELY MANY OF RECIFE'S OLD COLONIAL BUILDINGS WERE DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR THESE UGLY MODERN HULKS IN THE BACKGROUND .

WINDWARD SAFELY TUCKED INTO HER BERTH AT THE CABANGA YACHT CLUB .

EXPLORING THE OLD CITY .

BEAUTIFULLY MAINTAINED HISTORIC BUILDINGS ALONGSIDE THE RECENTLY RESTORED WATERFRONT .

GOOD TIMES IN RECIFE .

THE VIEW OF RECIFE FROM THE OLD CAPITAL CITY OF OLINDA .

THE OLD CONVENT STILL IN USE TODAY .

THESE BRIGHTLY PAINTED BUILDINGS ADD CHARACTER TO THE OLD CITY OF OLINDA .

GRAND OLD BUILDING CURRENTLY BEING USED AS MUNICIPAL OFFICES .

BOA VIAGEM .
ONE OF RECIFE'S POPULAR BEACHES .

THE OLINDA LIGHT .
WITH OUR ARRIVAL OFF RECIFE AT MIDNIGHT , WE SPOTTED THIS LIGHT WHILE STILL WAY DOWN THE COAST .

THEY HAVE A PECULIAR PROBLEM AT BOA VIAGEM BEACH . THIS PIC WAS TAKEN AT HIGH TIDE WITH THE BARRIER REEF SUBMERGED . AT LOW TIDE THE REEF DRIES AND TRAPS ALL CREATURES INCLUDING SHARKS INSIDE THE PROTECTED INNER REEF WATERS . THEY HAVE HAD A NUMBER OF SHARK ATTACKS INSIDE THE REEF HENCE THESE SIGNS POSTED ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE BEACH , NASTY !    

NORTHBOUND WITH A FEW " OFF THE BEATEN TRACK " ANCHORAGES ON ROUTE .

After spending almost a month in Salvador which included our five day sojourn in the mountains of Chapada Diamantina it was time to continue north but from now on until the end of this season’s passage we would be joined by our very staunch friend Professor Philippe Gouffon . We met Philippe and his lovely lady Frederique when we first arrived in Brazil last season and since then have become firm friends.  Philippe has been quite incredible in assisting us with everything possible in order to make our stay in Brazil as enjoyable as it has turned out to be over the last two seasons .

Apart from both being physicists at Sao Paulo University they are avid sailors so sometime back we started discussing the possibility of them joining us for part of this season’s cruise up the Brazilian Coast . Unfortunately due to Frederique’s work commitments she has been unavailable but Philippe has recently retired allowing him time to join us for the last five hundred miles of this season’s cruise . Having an on-board physicist is fantastic as everything from passage planning to the best way to place a cockpit cushion is discussed in detail but the best attribute our dear friend has is his polite gentle manner in which he conducts himself . He is one of the most decent , caring human beings l have ever had the privilege to meet .

We headed out of Baia de Todos os Santos straight into a two knot current on the nose and with the wind forward of the beam our 270nm leg was going to be slow. Our first night at sea was quite spectacular . We had front row seats to a full lunar eclipse and as a bonus to an already special event we had what is referred to as a “ super moon “ which apparently was last seen in 1982 and will only be witnessed again in 2033 . I ended up with a crick-neck from gazing up into the heavens for the time that it took to eclipse .

Our second night at sea was a totally different event when l picked up a ship on a collision course with us and after making numerous attempts to raise them on the radio l was forced into altering our course by ninety degrees to avoid having to be scraped off their bow . Whoever was supposed to be on watch failed dismally in his/her duties as we have an AIS transponder which sets off alarms and displays a target on their screens warning them of our presence . Our new transponder has been a wonderful addition to our electronic system and this entire season we have watched ships alter course well in advance to give us clear passage , except for this idiot .

Prior to leaving Salvador we discussed our options regarding stopovers on our northbound route and decided to try out a number of anchorages “ off the beaten track “. These specific places required careful planning and good navigation and timing the tide with most of them was critical as our draft of 1,8m only allowed an entry at high tide . Our main problem was that information regarding depths was a little sketchy so caution would be the rule of the day .

Our first stop would be Barra de Sao Miguel 270nm up the coast which involved an angled approach through the extensive reef system and then a sharp turn to port through a narrow gap in the reef with breaking waves on both sides followed by a sharp turn to starboard and then a run parallel and close to the beach which is where our friend Pete Hill’s Cruising Guide left us to our own devices . Shortly after rounding a sand spit we touched the bottom but fortunately because we were motoring really slowly we backed off without any problem . We moved back into deeper water and dropped the pick for the night. No sooner had we relaxed in the cockpit to survey our new surroundings a young guy approached us in a powerboat and offered to lead us into the river to the anchorage that we had originally planned to visit . It turned out that the channel ran very close to the beach and he guided us in without a hitch .  Two days later after exploring the town and having an enjoyable stay in Barra we decided to “ employ “ him to guide us out through the reef which he did with great aplomb at 5.30 in the morning . As we headed through the reef a stiff onshore wind was blowing with some decent waves to boot and punching through them behind the wheel of our heavily ladened 13ton yacht , it brought back memories of ski-boating on the KZN Coast many years ago albeit in an entirely different type of boat .

Our next anchorage would be Maragogi a further 72nm up the coast and with less current on the nose we arrived late afternoon to find a pretty uncomfortable chop caused by the reef offering little protection on the high tide . It turned out to be a bit of a rock and roll anchorage so the following morning we were out of there heading for our next scheduled stop . Guadalupe is also protected by the barrier reef which virtually runs the full length of this part of the coast interrupted every now and then with small gaps in the reef allowing protected anchorages to be found if the depths allow anchoring a deep draught boat such as ours  . Motoring really slowly , feeling our way in we touched the bottom again . We backed off and dropped the pick in deep water , sat back and enjoyed the beauty of the surrounding palm fringed beach which judging by the timber piles placed in rows across its width was suffering some serious erosion .

The following day we headed across to a privately owned island Ilha de Santo Aleixo and while approaching a beautiful white beach very slowly under power we once again touched the bottom . After two seasons of cruising Brazil without ever touching the hard stuff we had done so now three times in our last four anchorages. Our pioneering spirit was fading fast and any thoughts of continuing the exploration of mainly uncharted waters to our next planned anchorage came to an abrupt end and after a great day anchored off this beautiful little island we set sail late in the afternoon for our next port of call Recife .     

NORTHBOUND VIA A FEW " OFF THE BEATEN TRACK " ANCHORAGES .

BARRIER REEF OFF BARRA DE SAO MIGUEL AT LOW TIDE .
WE NEGOTIATED THE NARROW REEF ENTRANCE AND HEADED UP THE RIVER .

ON THE WAY BACK TO THE BOAT WE STOPPED OFF AT THE PUB FOR A COLD COCONUT .

THE ROCK & ROLL ANCHORAGE OFF MARAGOGI .

A TRADITIONAL JANGADA SAILBOAT OFTEN FOUND WAY OFFSHORE .

SCULLING WITH A SINGLE OAR OFF THE STERN ALTHOUGH THE BOAT LOOKS LIKE A
 DOUBLE-ENDER TO ME .

IN MY ELEMENT AGAIN .

ANCHORED BEHIND THE BARRIER REEF OFF GUADALUPE .

ANCHORED OFF THE PRIVATELY OWNED ISLAND ILHA DE SANTO ALEIXO .

PROFESSOR PHILIPPE GOUFFON , OUR STAUNCH FRIEND AND ONBOARD PHYSICIST .
HE SAILED THE LAST 500nm OF THIS SEASON'S CRUISE WITH US .

POSTCARD SAILING .

CHAPADA DIAMANTINA . OUR ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS .

One of Brazil’s gems the Chapada Diamantina National Park  covers an area of 152,000 hectares consisting of mountains , huge canyons , waterfalls , caves , natural pools and grottoes . If you are into the outdoors and enjoy hiking it is hard to beat with trails lasting a couple of hours to five day hikes through breath-taking scenery .

We first got to hear of this amazing place after receiving an email from the now well-known British cruising couple Paul and Rachel Chandler , the same two people who were held captive for over a year by Somali pirates and where Rachel mentioned that they were visiting the place at the time of writing her email . Once settled in Bahia Marina in Salvador we started making enquiries and not only did we find out that it was a place of immense beauty but also that the annual Vale do Capao Jazz Festival was going to take place the following weekend. It was a no-brainer , we were going and to make things even better our good friend Saulo would be our personal guide and would meet us in Capao.

After an eight hour bus ride we arrived at 21.00 in Palmeiras and after collecting our backpacks we hopped into an ancient Kombi with eleven other people and bounced along a bumpy track all the way to Vale do Capao . We eventually arrived late into the night where our good mate stood waiting for us with a beaming smile on his face . He had organized a little cottage just outside the village which would become our home for the following five days .

The next day we headed off for our first hike to Brazil’s highest waterfall Cachoeira da Fumaca . When translated it means Smoke Falls getting its name because through its height by the time the water reaches the bottom of the falls it has turned to mist . The hike starts with a steep climb up to the plateau and then levels off to the top of the falls . The return trip is as tough walking down the mountain but we were pleasantly surprised the following morning to wake up feeling quite fresh in the legs and not bedridden . A couple of days later we hiked to Angel Falls and spent the day swimming in amongst the pools at the base of the falls .

The Jazz Festival for me was one of the main highlights of our visit and it did not disappoint . People travelled from far and wide to be there and with great music and a wonderful vibe in the crowd the bands played until the early hours of the morning . The locals that live in Vale do Capao are a motley crew who have chosen to live an alternate lifestyle in a remote mountain valley . Saulo our good friend packed in his job at Bahia Marina and has moved to Lencois for a quieter , simpler lifestyle and after spending time in both Palmeiras and Lencois it is easy to understand why people opt out of city life to live in this mountain paradise.

Having spent the last two seasons cruising the Brazilian coast we really enjoyed seeing a part of the countryside particularly a part as stunning as Chapada Diamantina .   

CHAPADA DIAMANTINA .

THE ONLY WAY TO RECOVER AFTER A LONG HIKE .

HIKING THROUGH THESE MOUNTAINS BROUGHT BACK GOOD MEMORIES OF THE DRAKENSBERG .

ON A GOOD DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER .

MY LITTLE LADY LOOKING DOWN ON CACHOEIRA DA FUMACA , BRAZIL'S HIGHEST WATERFALL WITH SAULO MAKING SURE SHE DOESN'T GO OVER THE EDGE .

RESTING OUR PINS AFTER A STEEP CLIMB .

STUNNING SCENERY .
JUST BEHIND THESE PLANTS IS A SHEER DROP HIGHER THAN THE HIGHEST WATERFALL IN BRAZIL .

THE WATER IN THESE MOUNTAIN STREAMS ARE RICH IN COLOUR .

IN VALE DO CAPAO THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF ARTISTS AND THE BUILDINGS ARE BEAUTIFULLY PAINTED .

THE NORMALLY LAID BACK VILLAGE CAME ALIVE WITH THE ANNUAL THREE DAY JAZZ FESTIVAL.

SORRY , MORE PICS OF INTERESTING BUILDINGS .

THE HISTORIC TOWN OF LENCOIS .
ONCE AN IMPORTANT TRADE HUB FOR PRECIOUS STONES .

LENCOIS IS BUILT ON A STEEP INCLINE .
NOTE THE SLOPING BENCHES 

THIS RESTAURANT OFFERED TABLES IN THE STREET AND AFTER A MEAL YOU CAN LIE BACK AND RELAX ON CUSHIONS ON THE PAVEMENT WHILE YOUR STOMACH DIGESTS ITS CONTENTS .

THE OTHER OPTION IS TO TAKE IN THE VIEW WHILE WATCHING THE WORLD PASS BY .