Santa Maria

Even in a strong easterly swell, the marina in Vila do Porto on Santa Maria remains a tranquil and pleasant place. It is probably the best sheltered marina in the Azores. We definitely like the somewhat remote and sleepy place. Sleepy except for the busy fishing boats that kept coming in to unload and just turn around to head out again for another big load of tuna. Seems fishing is good this season. We spend a lazy week in the familiar place and as always carefully looked what had changed since last year, as we see a steady progress on the island. The economy is so small and the crisis so far away. In the past years the main project was the gigantic sea front at the eastern village of Sao Lorenzo and now, that this is finished, some magnificent old buildings that have been decaying over the years in Vila do Porto, are now being renovated. Also new is that the big travel-lift has started to operate and they now have a few boats on the hard there. It seems also a great place if need to get out of the water for a quick repair, as craning with the new 85 ton travel-lift is a steal at 90€ for a boat our size.

Harald had the usual land tour per rental car with Henry and Kikki of Endelig, but Beate preferred to stay on Taniwani not feeling too great. The pictures give some impressions around the island. For this time in the year the steady NE winds were a bit unusual, while the had brought us here quite swiftly if a bit rough, they caused a rather hazy weather around the islands. So, the pictures are lacking a bit of sun.