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LOG ENTRY DATE: June 23, 2003 The days are kept from blending into one another by the fact that Horta closes down from Saturday through Sunday, meaning the weekend is clearly delineated. It's now Monday morning, and many of the chores and errands we were unable to complete by Saturday can be tended to today. Many of the parts I need to fix things (the gooseneck, the compressor, the Monitor windvane) are arriving with Katie on Wednesday, so those will have to wait. In the meantime, there are many small things to keep us busy, such as replacing the lost batten, sewing the batten pockets closed, rinsing and drying cushions that got wet on the way, fixing loose bunks, putting chafe gear on the main halyard, etc., etc. We have also been able to see some of the sights on Horta and Pico. Since our first encounter with the island was on a rainy day with a non-English speaking tour guide, we felt compelled to explore a little ourselves, and rented a car for Saturday and Sunday. One of the principal features of the island is the huge caldera that was formed by a volcano. It's located in the middle of the island, and is 3400' high. Since it was socked in on our first visit, we returned to look at it yesterday (see pictures on this website), and were very impressed with it. It's about 1/2 mile wide at the bottom, and totally flat. In the middle of the crater is a smaller "volcano-ette", which is the result of a little activity after the main eruption. It's a peaceful place, having grown entirely over with vegetation, and being full of birds. It is far more vibrant than the moonscape of the other volcano that erupted in 1958, only a few miles away. Our trip back to Horta included an overland road through the forests and fields of the island, often very high up. Then we connected to the coast road, which took us clockwise around the island, through many small villages, back to the city. Also on Saturday, Tom joined up with the boisterous crew from Mistral (a 56' MacGregor canoe that hails from Maryland), and climbed to the top of Mt. Pico, on the island of Pico. They hopped a 3:00 ferry over to the island, and managed - on the longest day of the year - to climb the mountain and get back down again for the last (9:45) ferry. No small feat, as Pico is over 7000' high, and rather imposing when viewed from Horta. Again, there are some pictures of the mountain and the climb on this website. Time is skewed a little here... the evenings tend to be late, and one wakes up relatively late in the morning. Part of this has to do with the Azore's clock settings, which are 4 hours ahead of east coast time; the sky stays light until 10:00pm or so. And, since nothing opens before 9:00am, one might as well utilize the morning for sleeping, no? Have met a number of sailors and, like people everywhere in the world, they are all different. I've met a Norwegian couple on a 60' wooden motorsailor built in 1922, a group from England who are sailing their rather frail looking catamaran back to Guernsey, a hired French crew on an Oyster docked directly behind us, and another Norwegian solo sailor who has been on his boat, circling the Atlantic, for years. We keep encountering these folks at places around Horta, most often in the Sport Cafe, which seems to be the stand-by place for all transient sailors. They come and go, replaced by other crews from other places. Our itinerary, which calls for being here about two weeks, is longer than most, so we see a "changing of the guard" more often. Almost had a major mishap this morning... coming down the ladder from the seawall to the boat, my shorts caught on the top of the ladder - which i didn't notice until I was committed to making the leap to the boat. Potentially very embarassing! Shorts ripped, though, and I managed to grab ahold of the coaming to avoid becoming so much flotsam. Felt the laptop case slipping off my shoulder, too, which I managed to grab just in time! The Frenchmen on board the Oyster snickered—as they will—their little Frenchmen snickers, but later, I will come back and pull ze plug on zeir boat, hey? Looking forward to Katie's arrival in two days, and to venturing off with her to the island of Flores, where we'll spend several days before coming back to Horta. |
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