25.03.09
At last I am here. The island looks nice from the sea. I could not grab a buoy and I had to anchor at 18 meters. I dread to think about how much effort it will take to move the yacht. Formalities took me half a day – go here, go there, buy insurance, go to bank, do this, do that, geez... I am tired, hungry, and I don’t exactly smell nice... Eventually, I met Hazel, a lady from the hotel in the city centre. She allowed me to use her bathtub, but I allowed myself only for a quick shower – too many things left to do. Hazel took me to the laundry; tomorrow I am going to have a fuel supply. I had breakfast, too. There wasn’t much to choose from – tinned tomatoes (I have the same on Tanasza), sausages (although I hadn’t eaten them for a long time, one bite was enough – they were inedible) plus bacon, toast, and eggs, all of them dipped in fat... so I started a yoghurt quest... I’m craving for yoghurt, but there is none on the island... And there will be none until a supply ship comes (once a month). Nobody knows when that will happen, though... The place is a bit crazy, but the people are nice and kindly wave their hands to me...
There are several yachts at the anchorage. I recognised some of them as the ones from South Africa, but they all must be asleep now – there is no one to be seen in the streets. I arranged for a wireless Internet, brought in my laptop in order to call my family and friends... and it turned out that the connection had been closed earlier that day... Well, it’s just one of those things... there are green trees here and birds sing loudly. It is also expensive here and I have an impression that one day is way enough to check out this place. It is quite unique since there is no other way to get here than by sea, but the middle of an ocean is a really unique thing, if you ask me:)
I see many reminders left by friends who had been here before me. They make me feel a bit lonely... It’s not good to feel lonely while staying among people. One gentleman took off his wall a poster of a yacht that I “know” and gave it to me. It was nice of him and it made me smile.
there are about 700 steps to take if I want to climb high enough to see what Napoleon left here. My legs feel a bit weak, though, at least today. Maybe some other time, I need to rest... and where can I get this yoghurt???
I almost forgot! I asked a gentleman from a neighbouring yacht to remove the squid from my deck and I thanked him for saving my life. I wonder what he is thinking about me now? ;) I am invited to one of the yachts in the evening. There is also another one which has some problems with a self steering gear and I have the part they need. Maybe that was the reason for coming here...
later:
while I was waiting for the Internet, I went back to the Consulate Hotel. Very nice people. Pool? No, thank you. Porto? Yes, please, that would be lovely... I’m trying to untie my hair knots, but I’m not really successful. I let the laid-back atmosphere of the place infuse me a bit and life is getting better at once.
At the moment, I am sitting among trees and birds, looking at the ocean, at Tanasza... getting used to being here...