Vitoria to Rio de Janeiro

We were in Vitoria for three weeks. That seems to be about the minimum for recovering from an ocean passage, repairing the necessities and getting started in a new country. The yacht club employees were extremely helpful and many people we met in town were willing to find a way around our language challenges. We enjoyed patient explanations by our Brazilian friends of local foods, customs, and pronunciations, though we quickly learned that Logan's wicked sense of humor made some of his suggested Portuguese vocabulary suspect. Our stop in Vitoria was a fine introduction to Brazil though we didn't venture far from the boat or do any tourist things.

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Alexandre machined new bolts to replace worn parts in the boom gooseneck. The fit when reassembled was better than when it was new. We are so grateful for his generous efforts.

Logan entertained us and kept up a steady stream of Portuguese/English translation, including perfectly delivered jokes in two languages. He and his daughter Stephanie took us to a fantastic Italian restaurant before we left. Unfortunately our camera skills were not up to par and we neglected to take many photos.



Ginger was on antibiotics for much of our stay in Vitoria and had an allergic reaction to medication on our last day in town. Though we had to cancel lunch plans with Logan he delivered flowers and his special roasted almonds to the boat. With such hospitality we were tempted to stay a few more weeks! Before departing Peter secured the flowers for the passage by lashing them to the saloon table.



We look forward to returning to Vitoria some day to explore more of the city and to visit our friends.



Sailing down the coast took 47 hours anchorage to anchorage. It was an easy, comfortable passage and reminded us of coastal sailing in Mexico. The mountains provided a dramatic backdrop for the sunsets. We saw a huge sea turtle that looked like a large piece of styrofoam until we were close and could see the barnacles on his back. Sea birds were abundant and the sailing conditions were near perfect for a sail down the coast.

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There was a fair amount of shipping traffic.



The sun rise approaching Rio de Janeiro was a beautiful end to a good trip.



As we entered the famous bay and passed Sugarloaf Mountain we saw frigate birds circling overhead and reflected on all the ocean miles we had sailed since we last saw them in Mexico.