Location: s/v Liberty, port of Lajes, Flores, Azores
Position: 39 22.9 N 031 10.0 W
Sunday, June 17th was a day of fast sailing. We had 20-25 knots of wind and were on a broad reach making 8-9.5 knots all day. At about 17 miles off, Mark won the "first to sight land" prize of free drinks for one night ashore with a hearty "Land ho!". Julie refused to concede, calling his sighting "clouds" until we could actually see the rocks on shore. Our passage from St Martin took 14 days. We made good time and we are all still talking and enjoying each other's company, so you can't ask for more than that!!
The wind picked up to 30-35 knots for the last couple of hours on our way in, but we managed to tuck in behind the seawall and drop the anchor at last light. On approach in those winds and with night falling, the island looked quite foreboding.
The cliffs surrounding the harbour are thickly populated by some kind of tern. They are very chatty birds whose sound reminds us of hyperactive portugese munchkins on crack. The entire crew was treated to a full night of uninterrupted sleep - no watches! We had also set up a pool to guess the day and time we would drop anchor. John won it, the prize being 2 bars of chocolate and a bottle of port. We had all chosen times on Monday but his was the earliest so he won when we arrived earlier than any of us expected.
Lajes (pronounced "lahdge-ess") is one of those "special finds". We immediately fell in love with it. It's a wonderfully picturesque small town with whitewashed concrete and stone buildings and terra cotta roofs built on terraces and steep hills. Everyone we've met so far has been friendly, helpful, and gracious, and seems to enjoy helping us with our nearly nonexistent Portugese. Mark did his part and listened to language tapes on his night watches but "Where is the customs office?" didn't seem to be part of his programme.
We met up with some friends of John and Carter's from another boat (Doug and Shanna from "Hobnob") and had a wonderful walk through town including a visit to the local grocery.
Leaving the grocery, a man wearing wellies (Wellington boots) drove by on a cart he had attached to a small two-wheel garden tractor engine - much like a Graveley mower or a rototiller w/o the tiller. In the cart with him were two calves, and tied to the back of the cart were two milk cows. He putt-putted his way on past us, gracing us with a toothless smile. If only we'd had our camera with us!
Paula's Place is the local cruiser hangout. We stopped there for beers on our way back to the boat and ended up staying until 5pm! We hadn't had any luck at the grocery finding fresh vegetables, but later in the afternoon Paula drove up and offered us fresh locally grown lettuce and vegetables. She's a real go-getter who speaks fluent English and is very helpful to all the transient cruisers.
We liked Paula's so much we decided to come back for dinner. Another exceptional experience. We sat outside and enjoyed listening to the locals and watching the kids play. Kids always seem to play in the same language wherever you go - it was great fun - it looked like several rounds of red light green light, giant steps, etc. An added bonus was free wifi so we all downloaded our email to check after returning to the boat. We must have spent more than 3 hours there, sipping wine, grazing appetizers, enjoying a slow, unhurried and absolutely delicious dinner out.
Mark & Julie
s/v Rachel
