We’d been in St. Lucia for about a week when we went on a three-day trip to the interior. We rented a very small car. It had an automatic transition, for which I was grateful. I didn’t know how grateful I would be until I drove on the roads. I guess I should have known that driving might be tricky when the advice from the rental car agent was, “Try to avoid potholes.” (I should also note that they also drive on the wrong side of the street here. Smile.)

January 8

Our first trip was to Rainforest Adventures, about 45 minutes away from the marina, to go ziplining. The road was very curvy, which was fine, and had a LOT of potholes, which I tried my best to avoid.

The package we signed up for had eight ziplines. The second to the last one was the longest at 347 feet. All were deep in the rainforest, so the views were lovely.

December 24-25

We sailed overnight on Christmas Eve to the first anchorage in St. Lucia. We had good winds for a time and flew the genoa.

We were the only boat in the Vieux fort anchorage. It wasn’t super pretty, but it was peaceful.

December 19:

We began our visit to Barbados anchored on the northwest side of the island, in the bay by Port St. Charles and Heywoods Beach. This provided easy access to check into the country. We also had easy access to a restaurant with a Santa Claus (as seen in pictures in our last post).

But first, we needed to start the dinghy motor. It started but it wouldn’t rev up at all. So we made an exceptionally slow trip to land to check in. Then we took an exceptionally slow trip back to Seahike. In the meantime, we had a lovely (albeit, very expensive) lunch at the little restaurant with Santa Claus.

Steffan and Michael did some brainstorming about the outboard motor. Steffan checked the spark plugs but said they looked good. If I recall correctly, he also replaced a filter. I know that Steffan removed, disassembled and cleaned the carburetor. And Michael posited that perhaps we’d gotten some bad gas the last time we bought it. So we emptied out the old gas (into one of our empty jerry cans) and took another slow trip to the fuel dock with our empty jerry can to get some brand new gas. The combination of new (good) gas and a clean carburetor (with none of the bad gas left on it), did the trick. We now had our dinghy motor back at full speed!

We had a dream crossing! We expected it to take 16 days (with a max of 20), but it took 13.5 days. The weather was great and our new spinnaker (which we used for the first time) was fantastic!

Let’s go back a bit, though.

We knew we needed to arrive in Cape Verde (from the Canary Islands) on or before November 29th. Two of our friends (one was our former sailing instructor) were meeting us at the marina in Mindelo, Cape Verde on the 29th. We arrived on the 26th.

We spent the days prior to the 29th prepping for the crossing so we didn’t have time for any fun. 🙁 We cleaned Seahike inside and out, updated our insurance, hired a weather router, did some provisioning (we’d already bought quite a bit of food and beverages but needed more), swapped an empty butane tank for a full one, re-inventoried all of our boat supplies, inventoried our food and beverages (after buying more), changed the engine oil and gear oil, and had some work done on Seahike:

1. New main halyard
2. New spinnaker halyard
3. New genoa furling line (we’d already gotten a new one but it turned out to be too thin – we needed a larger diameter)
4. New AIS (ours was still working, but not good enough)
5. Cleaned her bottom

We’d had our life raft inspected in the Canary Islands. It has now been certified for three years.

I talked about arriving in Mindelo in the last post, and I will talk about what we did to prepare for the crossing in the next post, but I haven’t shared anything about Mindelo. I am using this post to share the town and some of our time there – in a very random order – with you.

The statue you see below is the Eagle statue, or Águia (Eagle) Mindelo. It is a homage from the city of Mindelo to Sacadura Caral and Gago Coutinho. It is a commemoration of the 76th anniversary of the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic. It is even on Facebook! I like the FB entry:

The Majestic Águia Mindelo Statue: A Beacon of Inspiration 

In the heart of Mindelo stands a symbol that reaches for the skies and embodies the spirit of this remarkable city – the Águia Mindelo Statue

Guardian of the Harbor: Perched at the entrance to Mindelo’s harbor, the Águia Mindelo Statue has greeted sailors, travelers and dreamers for generations. Its wings outstretched, it stands as a guardian of this bustling maritime hub

A Tribute to Aviation: This stunning sculpture pays homage to the pioneers of aviation who dared to defy gravity and soar into the unknown. It’s a tribute to the first flight from Portugal to Brasil in 1922 and also a tribute to human ambition, innovation and the unwavering belief that the sky is not the limit

Wings of Freedom: The Águia Mindelo Statue represents the freedom of the open skies, the limitless possibilities that lie beyond the horizon and the courage to chase one’s dreams, no matter how high they may seem

A Place of Reflection: Whether you’re a local or a visitor, take a moment to pause by this iconic statue. Reflect on the journey that brought you here, the dreams you harbor and the adventures that await you

We’d hoped to leave Tenerife on November 16th so we would have some play time in Cape Verde before our crew arrived on the 29th. We actually did leave on the 16th but we aborted about 15 miles in due to the heavy winds and unfriendly waves (neither of which were predicted).

Thankfully, there was an anchorage a short distance from us so we tucked in there. We ended up staying three days, leaving on the 19th.

We caught the 7:00 a.m. ferry from La Gomera to La Palma. We arrived at our hotel shortly before noon. We were happy to see that the hotel – H10 Taburiente Playa – was a lovely resort with several swimming pools, pool tables, and air hockey. We paid for half board, so breakfast and dinner were included with the price. The variety of food was quite good; we didn’t go hungry.

Here are some pictures of the resort:

We returned to Seahike (from our Tenerife road trip) mid-afternoon on November 4th and left the next day for La Gomera, a neighboring island to the south. To get to La Gomera, we first had to take a bus to the southern end of Tenerife then catch a ferry to La Gomera. Unfortunately, the bus was late so we missed the ferry. We waited several hours (maybe five?) for the next ferry. It was fine, though. Island time!

When we arrived in La Gomera, we rented a car, drove to the hotel, and went out to eat. As per usual, there was beautiful scenery on La Gomera.

I took a beautiful morning hike on the last day of our road trip: Barranco del Infierno: Heavenly hike in Tenerife’s Hell’s Gorge

Description: A somewhat unfortunate name for an idyllic haven: The Barranco del Infierno Nature Reserve, located in Adeje might well come with an intimidating name. But don’t let that put you off! It’s a haven of stunning beauty and diversity. The name comes from the steep slopes of the rocks and ravines, but the Barranco del Infierno is more heaven than hell: an oasis of unspoiled nature that will take your breath away. Journeying through the altitudes: You’ll go from 350 meters above sea level to an altitude of 1,300 meters, giving you the chance to take in constantly evolving panoramic views. The path narrows as you enter the ravine, leading you to an impressive 200-meter waterfall. To witness the waterfall at its most impressive, consider visiting during the island’s times of higher rainfall, typically between November and April.

A unique ecosystem: The Barranco del Infierno is home to a huge variety of flora and fauna, boasting more than 456 different species. You’ll come across native species such as ‘cardones’ (giant cacti), ‘tabaiba’ (a native species of Euphorbia), Canary Island dragon trees and ‘espineros’ (Rhamnus crenulata) in the thermophilic forest. And when you’re 600 meters above sea level, you’ll also get great views of the majestic Canarian pine trees. As for the fauna, you may well catch a glimpse of ravens, sparrowhawks, and even owls at sunset.

One of the nice things about this trail is that you have to register to hike it. They only allow groups of 20 or fewer to hike at a time. I was in the first group of the day (you don’t walk together, you just start together) and there were probably about 10 of us.

Stats:
Distance = 6.07 km
Duration = 2 hrs 53 m
Elevation = 990 meters
Route = Out and back

Map:

I will say more about the “impressive 200-meter waterfall” later, but let’s get right to the pictures.

Our first stop of the day was Garachico. We thought we might have had time to visit it the day before but we didn’t. No biggy!

This is our map for today’s journey:

Garachico

Nestled below a 500-meter cliff on the northern coast of Tenerife lies the sleepy beach town of Garachico. Cobbled streets invite visitors to explore the pretty seafront town and discover one of the best preserved historic districts in the Canaries. With a rich and ancient heritage, it was founded in the 15th century and was an important trading port. The town was almost destroyed after a volcanic eruption in 1706, the Church of Santa Ana was one of the places where the locals took refuge. After the eruption, the town’s busy trading port came to a sudden halt.

Among the town’s attractions are sea water rock pools teeming with tropical fish, a 16th-century fortress named Castillo de San Miguel, and the Iglesia de Santa Ana, which houses a wealth of artistic heritage.

The 1706 volcanic eruption, which buried the old port forever, formed the arm of the sea known as El Caletón (the cove) in a capricious way. Its “charcos” (puddles), Las Viejas (the old ones), Los Niños (the children), Los Chorros (the jets), etc., create a set of natural pools, with acceptable conditions for bathing and an excellent promenade.