Santa Maria

 

Saturday 22nd June 2019 we set sail 50nm to the south to the small island of Santa Maria. The wind was westerly at 25 knots so we had a fast bouncy sail, arriving at a lovely sheltered marina in Vila do Porto at 1800. The contrast with the bustling and noisy Ponta was remarkable. There followed a week of chilled out sightseeing, trekking and sampling the feast of John the Baptist (São João) celebrations.

folk dancers in Vila for the celebrations

Floral carpet and decorations for Saint João

‘Medium’ difficulty trail – straight down beside a waterfall

hiking through forest of introduced Japanese cedar on the highest point of the island

Each island of the Azores has it’s own identity and is named accordingly. Santa Maria is ‘Ilha do Sol’ – island of the sun. It is indeed one of the prettiest of the islands.

beach at São Lourenço

Disused quarry full of singing frogs!

Typical chimney shape for Santa Maria houses

church at Santo Espirito

We even managed to leave our name on the wall next to Colin Hayes’ Saoirse. Colin having at one time looked after Laragh for us. We also saw the mark of the ICC rally

The marina at Vila do Porto

Where are we?

One problem presented itself when the domestic water pump, 30+ years old, started shorting fuses. Skipper pulled it out, cleaned points, checked connections but no good. It meant we had no access to boat’s fresh water supply so a replacement was needed. A phone call to Thomas the German up in Ponta and he has one in stock and will put it on the cargo ship arriving Friday morning in Santa Maria, freight cost €4.80.

We then motored back to Ponta in flat conditions. The Azores high had settled and now we had more typical weather. Temperatures in the low 20’s, light winds, light rain at times