13 February 2011
We have a natural curiosity. We always want to see just what is around the corner. So to that end we lifted the anchor early on Sunday morning in company with Tzigane and Tucanon and headed across to the northern tip of Itaparica Island. A posse of World ARC yachts were anchored off the town but we will save that for another day. Civilisation gradually petered out as we made our way down the Canal de Itaparica lined with mangroves on either side. At its deepest point it is 22 metres, its shallowest depth, 5 metres. It is all part of the adventure and if you don't try these things you would never go anywhere. Every now and again an isolated village would appear nestled on the banks of the channel. It was well marked with port and starboard hand buoys. Here you have to remember it is the IALA system B buoyage, red right returning. Small local craft, saleiros, drifted lazily by, families out enjoying a leisurely Sunday afternoon sail. The people who live here are far removed from the Salvadorians. Theirs is a simple life, based on fishing and farming. On we went past the privately owned islands of Ilha da Saraiba and Ilha do Cal. Enormous mansions graced their shores. There is some money around here. Now we could see the bridge about two nm further ahead, which connects the mainland to the island. We dropped the hook opposite a small sandy cay on the west side of Ilha de Matarandiba and sat back to enjoy a peaceful Sunday afternoon, not a tourist boat in sight......
The pilot talks of the "secret" amongst the cruisers of Salvador. They refer to the Tororo Waterfall a short dinghy ride away from where we all lay at anchor. Not a drop, not even a trickle. Well, this is not the rainy season. We went ashore to the tiny sand spit and cooled off with a swim, although it is a contradiction in terms, for the water temperature is 28 degrees. Local children have been playing in the water for endless hours now and as the sun goes down a long boat comes over from the local town of Cacoes, to ferry them home. The families have enjoyed a day long picnic here, sitting under the shade of coconut palms. In the early morning calm fishermen sit stock still for hours in their narrow dug out canoes, watching and waiting for their "catch of the day". You get the feeling that if they go back to their families with nothing they will not eat. I am only guessing. Don't you sometimes envy their simplicity of life? I honestly don't know. I wonder what they are thinking when they putter past our, what must seem to them, luxury superyachts.
Susan Mackay