BUENOS AIRES . THE PARIS OF LATIN AMERICA .

IF YOU ARE INTO HISTORIC BUILDINGS , BUENOS AIRES IS HARD TO BEAT .

CLASSIC OLD KOMBI PARKED IN FRONT OF A CLASSIC OLD CHURCH .
THE REAL ARTWORK WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS OLD SURF WAGON .

LA RECOLETA CEMETERY .
BUENOS AIRES NO.1 ATTRACTION WHERE PRESIDENTS AND NOTED ARGENTINIANS ARE LAID TO REST .

LISTED AMONGST THE WORLD'S 10 MOST BEAUTIFUL CEMETERIES .
FUNNY , UNTIL NOW I HAD NEVER THOUGHT OF A CEMETERY AS BEING A BEAUTIFUL PLACE .

STREET DRUMMERS AND DANCERS IN DOWNTOWN SAN TELMO .

OUTDOOR MILONGA IN PLAZA DORREGO .

THE ICONIC OBELISK .

THE CORBETA URUGUAY NOW BERTHED IN PUERTO MADERO .

POLISHING THE BRASS ON THIS SHIP MUST HAVE KEPT HER CREW BUSY FULL TIME .
 EVEN TODAY IT STILL SHINES LIKE A MIRROR . 

THE DETAIL ON THIS SHIP IS BEAUTIFUL .
NOTE THE SPARE WHEEL POSITIONED AHEAD OF THE HELM .

MY IMAGINATION WAS RUNNING WILD .
I WOULD LOVE TO TELL YOU THAT THIS PIC WAS TAKEN AT SEA WHILE UNDERWAY WITH 25 KNOTS OF WIND UP THE TAIL , BUT UNFORTUNATELY SHE WAS SNUG IN HER BERTH AT PUERTO MADERO .

THE THREE WHEEL HELM OF THE FRAGATA SARMIENTO .
SHE MUST HAVE BEEN A BITCH TO STEER AS THE PIC ABOVE THE HELM SHOWS THREE HELMSMAN , ONE ON EACH WHEEL .

THE RECENTLY LAUNCHED 172FT DONA FRANCISCA .
A COMBINATION OF CLASSIC BEAUTY AND MODERN TECHNOLOGY .

THE CITY'S BUILDINGS ARE ALSO A COMBINATION OF THE OLD AND NEW.

THE EL BESO MILONGA ( TANGO DANCE CLUB ).
WHAT WAS INTERESTING IS THAT THERE ARE NO AGE LIMITS TO TANGO DANCING AS THERE WERE YOUNG AND OLD SWAPPING DANCE PARTNERS THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT .

CHILLING IN THE PARK .

I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MANY STATUES IN ONE CITY .

PALACIO SAN MARTIN .
THIS PIC DOES NOT DO THIS BUILDING JUSTICE .

ONE OF THE MANY PLAZAS THROUGHOUT THE CITY .

THE OUTDOOR MEMORIAL TO COMMEMORATE THOSE ARGENTINIANS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE FALKLANDS WAR .

TOM WESO AND HIS BLUES BAND LIVE AT THE BEBOP CLUB .

GOOD TIMES WITH GOOD FRIENDS .
SARAH & GRIT ( TANGO ADDICTS ) WITH US IN CHINATOWN . 

THE IGUAZU FALLS . ONE OF NATURE'S SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD .

After flying from the north east corner of Brazil to its southern border with Argentina via Sao Paulo and then finally arriving in Puerto Iguazu in Argentina we had lost a night’s sleep . By the time we stepped into the reception area of La Cantera Jungle Lodge we were feeling as rough as a warthog’s knee partly caused by the fact that our luggage weighed a ton with yacht parts and all our kit . It was quite amusing watching volunteers offering to carry our luggage until they discovered how heavy it was . What was not amusing was my little wife telling any potential carrier “ please don’t worry , it is very heavy , my husband will carry it “. The only thing in my favour was that most of them did not understand her English although she quickly tried to sort out the problem by using sign language . I had been carrying all these bags since leaving our boat .

The following morning after a solid night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast we set off to see the mighty Iguazu Falls , and how mighty they are . Taller than Niagara and wider than Victoria these raging falls are one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights . Apparently when Eleanor Roosevelt saw the Falls for the first time she muttered “ poor Niagara “.

Just to give you some idea about how spectacular these falls are , they are made up of around 276 individual drops that stretch along 2,7km of cliff-face and they consist of beautiful cascades to immense cataracts . It is this variety that makes Iguazu so special and whether you are standing in the Devil’s Throat on the Brazilian side or 270 feet up on top of the Garganta do Diablo on the Argentinian side with the water thundering alongside you and getting soaked in the process this is one time in your life that you can truly say “ feel the power “. When the Iguazu River is at its peak 1,8 million gallons of water per second not litres plummet over these falls and they have been around for about 150 million years .

The Brazilians and Argentinians can argue all day about which side is the best but both sides give you such different perspectives that you have to see both .

Both sides of the falls are National Parks and the area is listed as a World Heritage Site and also one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World . Much of the park area is protected rain forest and also home to species of rare flora . The last populations of panthers also reside in these forests and the birdlife is incredible . A large flock of swifts actually roost under the falls , behind the curtain and watching them appear and disappear behind these thundering cascades is fascinating . Both sides of the Falls are immaculately maintained and well organised with even a small train on the Argentinian side to cart visitors to different sections of the falls .

We both feel very privileged to have visited these falls and if you don’t have enough cash to visit them , sell the car it’s worth it .  

THE MIGHTY IGUAZU FALLS .

WE FELT PRIVILEGED TO BEING ABLE TO VISIT ONE OF NATURE'S 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD.

WITH THE SCALE OF IGUAZU YOU CAN ONLY PHOTOGRAPH SECTIONS OF THE FALLS AT A TIME.

BRAZILIANS AND ARGENTINIANS ARGUE ALL THE TIME ABOUT WHO'S SIDE OF THE FALLS ARE THE BEST . THE TRUTH IS BOTH SIDES GIVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND BOTH ARE BEAUTIFUL AND NEED TO BE SEEN .

THIS LITTLE FELLA HAS TWO NAMES DEPENDING ON WHICH SIDE OF THE FALLS YOU ARE ON .
IN BRAZIL THEY ARE CALLED A QUATIS AND IN ARGENTINA A COATI .

THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 276 INDIVIDUAL DROPS OVERALL AND IN THE PEAK RAINY SEASON OVER 300 .

ON THE BRAZILIAN SIDE YOU CAN ENTER THE DEVIL'S THROAT ALONG THIS CATWALK AND EXPERIENCE NATURE AT IT'S AWE-INSPIRING BEST AND GET SOAKED AT THE SAME TIME.

ON THE TRAIN TO VISIT THE IMPRESSIVE GARGANTA DEL DIABLO .

THIS SIGN STANDS JUST BEFORE THE AWESOME SIGHT OF DEVIL'S THROAT .
ALTHOUGH IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE ENGLISH IS TRANSLATED , I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY APT.

STANDING ON THE EDGE , A DIFFERENT VIEW .
THESE FALLS STRETCH FOR 2,7 KMS .

FEELING THE POWER .
WHEN THE WATER IS FLOWING LIKE THIS THE CURRENTS IN THE RIVER ARE VERY STRONG AND YOU CAN'T HELP WANDERING ABOUT HOW MANY CREATURES HAVE BEEN SWEPT OVER THESE FALLS OVER THE MILLIONS OF YEARS OF THEIR EXISTENCE .

THOSE TINY SPECS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PIC ARE SOME OF THE LARGE GROUP OF SWIFTS THAT ROOST BEHIND THESE THUNDERING CASCADES .

OVER 270 FEET UP, STANDING ON THE EDGE OVERLOOKING GARGANTA DEL DIABLO .
ONE SPECIAL OCCASION IN OUR LIVES .

THE INCREDIBLE SOUND OF THE WATER ROARING OVER THESE CLIFFS AND GETTING SOAKED BY THE SPRAY IS ALL PART OF THE EXPERIENCE .

WHEN IT CAME TO THE BUTTERFLIES , URS WAS LIKE A MAGNET TO THEM .

THE ARGENTINIAN SIDE ,CALENDAR SHOTS AROUND EACH CORNER .

I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MANY RAINBOWS IN A SINGLE DAY .

STANDING AT THE END OF THIS CATWALK PUTS YOU A FEW METRES AWAY FROM THE DROP .
THOSE PEOPLE ARE SOAKED TO THE SKIN . I KNOW , I WAS ONE OF THEM .

THESE LITTLE GUYS ARE CRAFTY . THIS ONE'S COUSIN SNUCK UP BEHIND ME AND SNATCHED MY CHOW OUT OF MY HAND .

THE FINAL LEG OF OUR 2015 CRUISING SEASON TO CABEDELO .

After waiting for the high tide to give us enough depth to leave the Cabanga Yacht Club we motored down the channel and cleared Recife for our final sail of 2015 to Cabedelo . We had some decent wind so we raised the main , unfurled the genny and off we sailed heading for Ilha de Itamaraca .

The island is set off the coast of the historic city of Igarassu and the part that really interested me is that they have a protected area for manatees . Unfortunately the facility was closed for some reason so next season it might justify catching a bus down there to visit these gentle animals .

After enjoying a good sail we made our way through the reef and sand banks and headed around the island to drop our pick in the lee for the night .

The following morning we upped anchor and set off for Cabedelo our final destination for this season and it turned out to be a really nice sail with which to close the final chapter of 2015 . We arrived early evening and after being warned of fisherman who lay their nets across the width of the river we motored slowly upriver in the dark until we had Jacare off our beam and dropped our anchor for the night . Once again we were welcomed with a live band pumping high volume music across the water but fortunately they did not play until the following morning .

I had pre-arranged a long-term berth for Windward at the small Ribeira Adventure Club Marina across on the opposite side of the river so the plan was that Luciano the owner would meet us the following day and guide us through the sand banks to his spot which he duly did . Unfortunately as we were to discover on the full moon spring tides two weeks later is that the trunk of a large coconut palm was lying under our keel on the river bottom across our berth and during spring low tide we developed a serious heel that could have damaged our boat and our neighbours who were back home in the States at the time .

Knowing that l would get little sleep back home for four months worrying about this problem Luciano suggested we try and find a berth at Jacare , either at Marina Jacare Village or Peter’s Pier and with only two days left before we would be flying off to the Iguazu Falls the pressure was on to move our boat and settle her into a safer berth . With Marina Jacare Village being full we met Peter who immediately set about sorting out a great berth for our beloved boat , even laying a second mooring buoy to secure our bow . Peter’s approach to his business is very professional and l will have no problem sleeping while he takes care of our boat until next season .

We really enjoyed having our dear friend Philippe with us over the final five hundred miles of this year’s passage , so much so that he will be joining me next season for our passage to the Caribbean . We travelled to the Joao Pessoa Airport and bid him farewell until we meet up again in Sao Paulo .

We fortunately had some time to explore Joao Pessoa which l might add being the most eastern point of the America’s , gets to see the first light of day on the continent .

I have known about Jacare ( Alligator ) for many years and it is very popular with cruising yachts and is often the first landfall for many boats crossing the Atlantic . We met a number of cruisers even a French boat who were our neighbours in a marina in Paraty last season . I got to watch our Bokke scrape in against the Welsh and sat with the French cruisers and witnessed their team get a hiding from the now World Champions , the All Blacks . They were not impressed with their side and there were long discussions after the match about their game . I have a feeling that there were many French speaking Bok supporters in our semi-final against the New Zealanders .

The one attraction that Jacare possesses that l have known about for many years is the now famous sax player who goes by the name of Jarundy do Sax . Every evening and l mean every evening at sunset he stands in a canoe and while being paddled along Praia de Jacare he plays Maurice Ravel’s “ Bolera “ while the sun dips below the horizon . He ends his performance by raising his arms and saluting the sun and the crowds love every minute of it . He started playing on the river 15 years ago and has played this same number over five thousand times earning him a place in the Guinness Book of Records . He is the backbone of tourism in Praia de Jacare and a fleet of large cats carrying tourists anchor off the beach every night to watch his performance along with hundreds who stand ashore .

All too soon it was time to lock up our faithful little ship and catch a taxi to the airport . Our flight departed at 2.45am , an ungodly hour in the morning and we knew it was going to be a long day flying to the southern border of Brazil to visit the famous Iguazu Falls and then onto Buenos Aires , Argentina .

Exciting stuff lay ahead .

THE FINAL LEG TO CABEDELO .

ANCHORED OFF ILHA DO ITAMARACA .
THEY HAVE A REHAB CENTRE FOR MANATEES .

CAUGHT DAYDREAMING BY A SNEAK PORTLIGHT SHOT .
I WAS PROBABLY TAPPED INTO THE MEMORY BANK REMEMBERING OUR AMAZING 2015 CRUISING SEASON .

JACARE ON THE PARAIBA RIVER .
THE MOST EASTERN POINT OF THE AMERICAS .

THE WATER TAXI RANK AT RIBEIRA .
FOR TWO RAND THEY WILL DELIVER YOU SAFELY TO THE BEACH AT JACARE .

IF THE SPRAY OFF THE BOW STARTS WETTING THE PASSENGERS THE PERSON NEAREST THE BOW IS POLITELY ASKED TO ERECT AND HOLD THE SPRAY DODGER ( UMBRELLA ).

RIBEIRA ADVENTURE CLUB MARINA .
OUR FIRST PORT OF CALL .

ON THE TRAIN TO CABEDELO TO CLEAR IN WITH THE AUTHORITIES .

PHILIPPE AND I ENJOYING OUR LAST SAIL OF THE SEASON .

THE ONE THING I CAN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS SEASON IS THAT WE HAD SOME CLASSIC COASTAL SAILING CONDITIONS .

MARINA JACARE VILLAGE .
CAUGHT UP WITH SOME WORLD CUP RUGBY EVEN THOUGH I WAS THE ONLY SPECTATOR AT THE BOKKE GAME .

MARINA JACARE VILLAGE DOCKS .

WE CAUGHT THE TAXI TO JACARE TO WATCH THE BOK/WALES MATCH .
WE CAN'T BE ACCUSED OF NOT MAKING AN EFFORT TO SUPPORT OUR BOYS .

PRAIA DE JACARE .

THE LEGENDARY SAX PLAYER JARUNDY DO SAX .
HE HAS PLAYED RAVEL'S BOLERA EVERY SUNSET FOR 15 YEARS WHICH NOW EQUATES TO WELL OVER 5000 TIMES .

RIBEIRA ADVENTURE CLUB MARINA .
OH DEAR , WE HAVE A DEPTH PROBLEM .

WINDWARD SAFELY BERTHED AT PETER'S PIER UNTIL WE RETURN NEXT SEASON TO SAIL FOR THE CARIBBEAN .

RECIFE . THE CITY NAMED AFTER IT'S REEF .

After a pleasant sail up the coast we arrived off the entrance to Recife’s harbour at midnight and entered the canal which runs down behind the breakwater built on the barrier reef . We anchored off the first Yacht Club in the harbour to wait for the high tide to proceed further down the channel to the Cabanga Yacht Club and hopefully a berth .

Generally we don’t enter unknown anchorages at night particularly for the first time around preferring to either lie hove to or we slow the boat down to time our arrival at first light . But having Philippe with us and using his knowledge of previous visits we entered using the bright city lights to navigate our way down the channel .

While still a long way down the coast we had spotted the Olinda lighthouse and a couple of lasers scanning the night sky . We discovered that the origin of these lasers was a huge nightclub near the waterfront where a live band was pumping music so loud that there was definitely no conversation taking place amongst its patrons . Brazilians love their volume and the music boomed out across the water until around 4.30 that morning .

We later called up the Cabanga Yacht Club at the bottom end of the canal and secured a berth which we headed down to on the high tide . We were fortunate to find space in their marina as the yachts that had taken part in the Refeno Race to Fernando de Noronha were arriving back at the same time that we were there with most of them seeking temporary berths before sailing back to their homeports .

Recife is built around three rivers with forty nine bridges connecting its different boroughs. We decided to do a river tour on a catamaran to get a feel of its layout and certain parts of the city with its neo-colonial architecture give it a distinct European flavour with many of these grand old buildings in very good nick having been well preserved over the years . Unfortunately many of these stately historic buildings have been razed to the ground to make way for modern structures most with no character at all and in some cases they were not even completed. During calm weather with no wind these grand old buildings reflect off the water surface on the rivers creating mirror images of themselves .

Recife has its own Copacabana in the form of Boa Viagem Beach which stretches for 9 kilometres and is linked to a very upmarket residential beach district . Philippe introduced me to one of the nicest per kilo restaurants l have come across in Brazil . As in Rio there is a social beach culture of various sports but swimming at this beach is not at all popular due to a number of shark attacks that have taken place inside the protected waters behind its barrier reef .What happens is that at high tide the reef is submerged completely but with the outgoing tide the reef dries and traps fish including sharks in its inner waters. There are signs all along the beach warning people of potential shark attacks should you decide to venture in .

One of the highlights of our visit to Recife was our time spent in Olinda which by the way means “ beautiful “ . The historic city founded by the Portuguese in 1535 was the original capital of the State of Pernambuco . The old city is now a UNESCO World Cultural Site and with narrow cobblestone streets that wind up and down its steep hills bordered by brightly painted colonial buildings with latticed balconies and heavy doors it has a unique charm and to crown it all the views from the top of the hill of both Recife and the Atlantic Ocean make it quite special . Olinda’s Carnival is rated as one of the best in Brazil as it is considered the most traditional Carnival compared to Rio and Salvador , meaning there is a lot less skin exposed . It lasts a full 11 days and a huge amount of effort goes into making huge dolls and puppets for the parade .

After enjoying a great time in Recife it was time to stock up on provisions and set sail for Cabedelo , our final leg of this season’s passage .