Horta, Azores

I have now been in Horta for a couple of days and am feeling better.  About a day before I got here I started to get flu like symptoms.  I didn't think it was possible to get sick in the middle of the ocean (except for seasick of course.)  So my first couple of days here have been mostly on the john or in bed.

Boat paintings on the sea wall

Acores (the Azores) is truly the crossroads of the Atlantic.  The marina in Horta claims to be able to hold 300 boats.  In truth it is like the end of the Chicago - Mac race.  Most everyone is rafted up three or four deep.  The inside boat is always the one about to leave so one spends a bit of each day shifting around the stacks.

In my raft today it is just Reboot and a boat from Poland.  Yesterday we had a boat from Ireland, the boats behind me are from England, France (I wonder if they realize that the channel is between their boats - reminds me of Rockefeller Center.) and Germany.

One of the traditions here is to paint your boat name, crew, and date on the seawall.  The picture is just a small sample of the art work.  In some cases boats have come back several times and updated their paintings.  It is quite a deal.

The Office

This is the "Office" on Reboot when I am doing a transit.  The papers hanging are, from left to right, port and navigation information, weather faxes, a calendar so I know what day it is and if I have taken my meds, and miscellaneous paperwork that I should have taken care of before I left port so I can feel guilty. You never realize just how easy it is to get information (weather, etc.) in the US until you leave and start dealing with the rest of the world.  BTW:  I will do the passage summary tomorrow as I am feeling much better this evening.


One last thought:  In Bermuda I had a crummy hamburger and two beers at the cruisers "bar" the White Horse for $30.  In Horta I had a crummy hamburger (with fries), two beers, two sprites, two coffees for 10 Euros (or about $12.50 US)  Things are very inexpensive here.  It is true (as I knew from my days at IBP) the rest of the world does not know how to raise beef.)