Taking it easy in Porto Santo

On the first night of our arrival in Porto Santo, we are on the boat preparing diner when I hear someone screaming. So I look outside to see a woman trying to get the attention of another
boat but I don't know which one and nobody else seems to notice her. Gaston encourages me to take the raft and go see her. Which I did after a moment of hesitation because I have never used the raft alone before but I figured this was a good time to start. So when I get to the shore, she explains that she is leaving but she forgot her cell phone. Being nice, I offered to take her. Half way between the shore and the enormous Norwegian sailboat, she tells me that her husband is suffering for an early onset of Alzheimer's, that he is not accepting theillness, that he kicked her out and that she doesn't know what mood he is going to be in. As I am thinking to myself that I missed a great opportunity to mind my own business, I see the captain untie the boat from the mooring. Now with my little driving experience, I have to approach a boat in movement with a woman who is not hysterical because she doesn't want her husband to leave alone is his condition. We painfully manage to get her on board after which I scram because the husband doesn't look very happy. They left that night but the boat was back the next day with only him on board. We are hoping that he left he in Madera... To improve my driving skills, I decided to get an automatic pilot for the dinghy. We should fly with this!

Porto Santo is a good example of what happens when you over exploit mother nature. Before the Island was discovered it was covered in dragon trees. Each of which were big enough to build a boat the size of Bidule. The sap was also used for dying cloth since it was red. So when the first settlers arrived, they started cutting down all the trees. Today, none are left and the local are trying with limited success to get anything else to grow here. The island does however have a beautiful 8km long white sand beach with turquoise water that starts at the marina. We have visited little so far, besides doing a bit of boat maintenance, we have been enjoying the water.

Note that for us to get internet access, we have to go to shore on the dinghy with the computer and then walk for 15 minutes. So we are not going to be online often. We are getting a bit less service for a bit more money here. It's still not as expensive as in Canada but it makes us realized how spoiled we were in the Azores. Go check out the web site for pictures of Santa Maria and from the crossing to Porto Santo. Note that the film were taken with Gaston's Ipod nano. Surprising, isn't it?