13-17.04.09

I got down to work straightaway, I pumped the pontoon, but then the outboard motor wouldn’t start. After a lot of sweating and cursing, it turned out that I forgot to open the fuel intake:) Clever girl, huh?;) Then, with a little help from Brazilian sailors, I dealt with a leak, then the customs. I didn’t have to pay as I hadn’t plan to stay here, and the island is rather expensive.
And then... yoghurt, at last!!! I gulped like a dozen of little bottles, then I found Paulo, the electronics guy, and we fixed the bilge pump (poor lad, he would get onboard a few times to throw up, but he was really tough, and always came back, until he finally repaired it), then he miraculously got me a loudspeaker (probably the only one available on the island),  and I can finally listen to some music!!!
A solitary French sailor arrived here yesterday. He had spent 2 weeks doing a 300-mile distance, as he has no engine, and there was hardly any wind... it must be great when you don’t have to hurry at all...

This night, I slept on deck, under the starlit sky. I got woken up by dolphins playfully splashing in water, and I passed a turtle on my way to the island:) This place is just awesome, really beautiful! I think it’s my favourite one, the best of all that I have visited during my journey around the world!!! The park is on the UNESCO list. It’s a top season right now, and turtles of a very rare species come out to a beach to lay their eggs there – I’m going to swim with them tomorrow:) It’s really green here, tiny streets are crowded with cafes, horses are grazing at the sides of roads, the town remains full of life until the small hours, and it’s really safe here. People are more than kind, and beautiful women keep strolling around wearing only bikinis:)

My anchor chain broke today, and Tanasza drifted to the ocean (she seems to like it, naughty girl, and she found her way to set free). I was not on board at the time, but some fisherman called the port authorities, and they kept looking for me, until they found me (the island is tiny, only 7 km). We drove to the shore, and pulled Tanasza to the buoy. Tomorrow, a diver from www.atlantisdivers.com.br will look for my anchor at the bottom, because I’m too scared to go down there (sharks!) They will do it for free, it’s very kind of them, isn’t it?:) 
I am really happy to be here. My autopilot got stuck in Sao Paolo, so I’m still waiting for it. As usual, there are many things to deal with, but I’m really glad that I can count on kind people. Leonardo, the owner of the shark museum, an artist, doesn’t speak a word of English, but he helps me a lot, like, with the transport of fuel or water tanks, etc.  
Cloudburst surprised me here yesterday- I left Tanasza open yesterday, and it got totally flooded, but well, it’s finally clean:) I forgot my flip-flops and had to walk in this mud barefoot. Good that nobody cares here, and you can hitch-hike here and get on one of those low jeeps. I met an Israeli family, and they took me for a great dinner, I also got a scarf with a Brazilian flag. Great!

We haven’t found the anchor yet, because there’s a lot of mud. We’ll try again tomorrow. I got burnt in the sun, so I think I won’t sleep on my back tonight. What’s more, mosquitoes seem to stay away from the locals, but they just can’t stop drinking MY blood.