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Dala - The Azores cruise plus a weird story!



Hi, all

Here we are, back at sea, a very calm sea today, our first sailing day bound Marina de Lagos, Portugal, after a very pleasant cruise in the Azores Islands.
We visited four islands, out of the nine composing this archipelago:
- Faial, where we made our landfall, in Horta.
- Terceira, where we had a look at the traditional bull fight and had a nice tour.

- Sao Miguel, the main island, there we docked at the Ponta Delgada Marina.

- And the small and charming Santa Maria island, our jumping point toward Portugal

We arrived in Horta on May 31st, so we spent 14 days in the Azores. But this was definitely too short. I would have spent easily more than a month or two there.
Why? Again, just like in Bermuda, but in a different way, adorable people! Easy going, eager to help you, simply making you feel good.
Of course, it is now a ritual, a non negligible part of our time was spent taking care of the boat in order to have it in good shape for the rest of the crossing: Among others, Port engine full service, and we changed/upgraded the two halyards. Yes, I didn't make a note on the blog about that formerly but in the last part of the former leg we broke not only the mainsail halyard but also the code zero's!
We managed however to save time for touring, not enough for sure, no time for golfing or diving. But this only leaves us with the envy to come again.

An anecdote: When we arrived in Horta, we were greeted and honored by the rally team, being the first boat to cross the finish line: Drinks, Yoo-Yoo's, photos, symbolic honor to raise the rally flag in front of their office, and a ton of smiles and laughs. Pleasant, certainly!
Then, we were directed to a peer along which we docked. Two days later, on June 2nd, that was my birthday! And, without any relation to that event, Joelle started to look after some location for the DALA painting. For the ones among you who may not know, it is a rooted tradition for the sailboats arriving in Horta after the Atlantic crossing to paint a picture somewhere on a wall, a rock or the peer, to mark and celebrate their success and achievement.
Joelle, our Doctor-Cooker-Eminent crew-Captain's Lady is also the best painter on board. So, there was no debate about who should paint our "eternal mark" in Horta.
Very soon after starting her search for some location for the DALA painting, she was struck by a very old painting on the peer right in front of DALA's docking place:
The boat name painted there and still readable: ESSAOUIRA. That's the name of a lovely small city located in South Morocco, where I was born very exactly 63 years ago!
Incredible, no? But there is more: Usually around the boat name's painting are also painted the first names of the crew members. And one of ESSAOUIRA's crew's first name was Simon. And that is my second first name... And just near the ESSAOUIRA's painting there was a perfect free location for the DALA's painting!
So, a long time ago, a guy named just like me sailed to Horta, just like me, and his boat's name was my city's birth name! And I discover that the very exact day of my birthday!
I should stop writing now, otherwise I may deduct that this guy sailed to Horta very exactly 63 years ago and that some superior power kept a free location near his painting for me, and you my faithful reader, you may think that I became crazy or that I believe in G... or something weird like that...

Kisses from the middle of nowhere,

Albert

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