Sailors
Sailors and their habits
The sea at the wind side of Flores
Most of the time, the craters of Flores were covered in thick clouds. All you could see were the stripes on the road....
Sailors, especially solo sailors are very independent persons. They develop their own special habits which can be quite amusing and makes me wonder if I am developing similar traits. We met one, a Swiss banker who was retired. When he paid for his meal in the restaurant he took out an old sock containing his money! Others protect their space jealously. The marina in Flores was full for a week and new ships had to anchor outside. Our neighbour however did have a spare berth beside him which was designated 'occupied' by a set of lines crossing from his boat to the finger pontoon on the other side. Any boat trying to get in there got the reply that they were too big to fit in. Finally friends of them assigned a new boat coming in to that spot, which upset our 'my home is my castle' sailor for a couple of days and a lot of grumbling remarks.
One morning we heard the Autoridad Maritima leaving with their small RIB in wind force 8. Obviously something serious was happening:
A French sailing boat had a blocked rudder and were just a few miles upwind from the rocks of Flores. They were lucky to be rescued!
Most sailors are the opposite and easy to get along with. Deesse whom we met already in South Africa happily shared their rented car with us in Flores and showed us all the nice places they had already discovered. All restaurants on Flores had been tested by them and we agreed with their judgement on the good food. A French long time sailing couple had cought a huge tuna on the way to Flores and shared it with all on a BBQ on the beach. A lovely way to meet all sailors present.
After a week in Flores, most sailors there were eager to move on to Horta and were looking for an elusive weather window to make the one day sailing-trip. Even though the prediction for the wind increased drastically just one day ahead of our departure, we decided to leave anyhow, fearing that the next window might even become worse. We did get some heavy squalls and rough seas caused by wind against current. Our reward is a lovely city of Horta, grown rich from whale hunting and being a base for resupplying windjammers in the old days and becoming a communication hub in the 20th century.
The next island Pico and its vulcano 2350 m high. On the quay wall all the marks of visiting cruise boats can be seen.
Three building styles in Horta
The church of the Jesuites is obviously rich
