After two seasons of
cruising in Brazil we were ready to move to our next cruising
destination which would be the Caribbean . My little wife decided
that she was not up for the 2200nm passage to Trinidad so my staunch
Brazilian mate Philippe Gouffon who had just retired from the
University of Sao Paulo decided to join me . Apart from being an
accomplished sailor he has also become a close friend and the two of
us looked forward to this sail on Windward our Shearwater 39 .
After flying out of
Capetown in the early evening via Joburg l arrived in Sao Paulo at
4.00am in the morning to be greeted by Philippe at the arrivals hall
at Guaraulhos Airport . After a couple of days spent in Sao Paulo we
flew to Joao Pessoa up in the North East of Brazil to rejoin our boat
in Jacare where she had been berthed at Peter's Pier for the four
months that we had been back in South Africa . We prepped and
provisioned the boat for sailing while taking strain in the intense
heat and humidity that even had the locals complaining . There was a
lack of the normal steady sea breezes which resulted in these
stifling conditions . We discovered a small restaurant in a
backstreet in Jacare where the locals all eat who served good wholesome
food so cheap that it did not justify getting our plates dirty back
on the boat . The main feature of their offering was fresh home-made
fruit juices served ice cold in 2lt Coke bottles . After working the
entire morning in that heat we would polish off two litres without
even blinking .
Philippe being very involved in the Brazilian Cruising Association has many sailing
contacts and in no time we had fellow sailors offering to transport
us around to the various places we needed to go and to assist us
wherever they could . Brazilian hospitality is something to be
admired and even after an incident where l suffered a gas burn to my
hand a local yachtie took me down to the local Emergency/Trauma
Hospital and sat the entire time in the waiting room while the
doctors treated my burn and then on the way back to the marina he
took us on a tour of the area which included a stop at a pharmacy to
pick up dressings and muti for my hand . Amazing people .
This time around I got
to meet Brian Stevens, well known amongst cruisers as the GOTO man in
Jacare when it comes to sourcing anything related to yachts . Along
with fellow South Africans John and Wendy Lochead S/V Headway he
invited us to his smallholding for the day where we chilled , swam ,
played pool and enjoyed a churrasco ( braai ) in typical Brazilian
fashion . It turned out to be our farewell party as we sailed soon
after for our last Brazilian port of call Natal .
We had been invited to
the Natal Yacht Club while in Recife in 2015 and arriving in the
early morning we motored up the river to a reserved berth at the club
dock . Once again Brazilian hospitality kicked in and friends of
Philippe's came to our aid organizing our stay at the club and then
escorting us around the city to check in with the authorities and
pick up bits and pieces .
After a comfortable
stay utilizing the club's facilities we cleared Brazil for the last
time and set sail for French Guiana .
Looking back as the
Brazilian coastline disappeared over the horizon l thought of all the
good times and wonderful people we had met during our two year stint
in this beautiful country . Tchau Brazil .
