Well we made it! 48 hours after leaving Lanzarote, we motored in to Marina La Palma, in front of a huge green caldera with rather risky looking houses built in the middle…
La Palma is apparently the steepest island in the world, rising to almost 2,400 metres above sea level in just 10km… We have already hired a car for the weekend to explore the winding roads and take us up to the top of the mountain, the volcano’s crater and the cloud forest.
Being at sea already feels like another world, after an arrival lunch, long afternoon naps, excellent hot showers and a feast for supper (we have tucked into the leg of Spanish ham that has been hanging in the heads). But let’s see what we remember…
Halfway through my evening watch when Gill and John swapped over, we had another choir practice, and after John went to bed Gill taught me both parts to the Mingulay boat song and we sang quietly across the sea for a while.
Just before my early morning watch (5.30am), we had another close call with an ocean liner that clearly hadn’t seen us directly ahead of them in the moonbeam. John D radioed them and Tenerife Traffic promptly told them to turn immediately to starboard and pass us astern.
The wind dropped off again soon after and the engine came on again – it was a passage of wind coming and going and changing direction. La Palma was just about in sight behind the clouds when I came off watch at 8.30am, but hidden again when I re-emerged for breakfast at 10am.
It appears that there is some concern for my ‘mal de mer’ – fear not, no actual sickness yet and I felt much better today.
Anyway, a few photos from our passage:
Looking at the weather forecast, we are currently planning to set off from here on Tuesday morning, heading towards the Caribbean… For now, more sleep.
Mariel’s Travels 