Godbye to Pitoune

So we visited Flores for only a few days before we had to move on to Faial. The wind turned east and is supposed to stay that way for a few days. Since the port of Lajes is not protected againts easterly winds, the wave was building up making in unconfortable to stay. Before we left, we had a chance to rent a car and tour theisland. It was very quiet. Besides de birds singing no sound could be heard. We stopped at natural baths, water fall, ancient villages, parks, ... the scenerywas beautiful and there are flowers everywere. I promis to add pictures to the web site shortly. Our friend Daniel is still trying to cross the Atlantic so we have not had a chance to meet him in Flores. We are hoping that he will make it to Horta before we have to leave.
The crossing to Horta was done in close reach at 4 knots so it took us more than a day to get here. We finished it off with the engin because of lack of wind. A bit more than half way there, our bird who was free inside the boat got scared by a noise and attempted to come see me outside. Unfortunatly she was caught in the wind and taken outisde the cockpit. She was not able fly against the wind to reach us and we tried to turn around to get her but we could not catch up. So we lost our Pitoune. She will be missed. Hopefully she found a place to land and live her own adventure.
Horta is the opposite of Lajes. It is a big marina with all sorts of action and noise. The boats come from bit everywhere but mostly from France. This week is "Sea week" and soon a race from Sable d'Olonne will finish here so there will be plenty of action.The night are somewhat short but we are enjoying ourselves. Yesterday, we have had diner with Martine et Michel from "La Forêt d'eau" who also come from Quebec and are very charming (I'm not only saying that because I know they are going to read this he he he). The internet connection is easier here but we still have to be patient. We plan to stay here for many days to visit this Island and the one next to it (Pico). At 8 Euro per night, the marina is not very expensive. To give you an idea of the cost of living here, a bier is one euro.