1. Enkhuizen-Baiona-La Palma

English version

1.Enkhuizen (Holland)-Baiona(Spain-La Palma
Train: Enkhuizen-Eindhoven
Plane: Eindhoven-Porto
Bus: Porto-Vigo
Taxi: Vigo-Baiona
Not exactly an environmentally friendly way to start a journey on a sailing cargoship without an engine. And really nothing worth writing about.

I blame the Americans for it.
My initial plan was to travel to Costa Rica by the this time of the year to join our fair transport friends who are building the Ceiba there (www.sailcargo.org)
That visit has been postponed. Part two of the plan was to sail back with the Tres Hombres from Santa Marta (Colombia). I did not want to skip that, so when I was at the Fairtransport office to arrange things, there was this opportunity to sail the whole tour. Lucky me.
However, the good ship Tres Hombres would leave Den Helder within a week and because the US are also among the countries to attend, I needed a visa. The procedure to get one is ridiculously devious and not to be arranged in a week.
So for the seventh time in my life I forced myself into an aeroplane. I sure hope to keep up this average of once every ten years.

One minus: my ears. A recent test showed that my hearing has been decreased significantly since the last one six years ago. My new earaid doesn't compensate it. At times that's bothering me, but does not spoil the fun. I consider giving gesture-language lessons to the crew, but then I have to learn it myself first.

And then there was some sailing to do. From the quite comfortable Galician circumstances to the more comfortable ones on the Canarian island La Palma. Wheatherly wise.
With fair winds and following seas , hardly any rain and beautiful sunrises and -sets, clouds and the endless swell of the ocean in all colours possible and amazing star- and moonlit nights as extra's. 24 hours a day in the most beautiful outdoor museum ever. The rare overcast nights caused a few bruises, and a few times I mumbled 'sorry' when I bumped against the dinghy.
Visual highlight: the nightly visits of dolphins You always see little lights in the water, plankton particles reacting with oxygin. By the way the dolphins move you don't just see the contours of the beautiful animasl, but also for seconds their swimming track. It looks like sea-snakes surrounded by a light cord. Hallucinating. The first time I saw it, a small moon threw a silvery beam on the quiet water and I assumed that I was dreaming. A firm pinch in my arm made me assume that I was dreaming pinching my arm. It was untill one of the other crewmembers shared his enthousiasm with me, that I knew I was actually witnessing this.
This kind of fenomenons makes it quite easy to understand that there was a lot of superstition going on among seafarers in earlier days.

With a beautiful maneuver we rounded the jetty of Santa Cruz de la Palma and moored on the sheltered side of this open port.
La Isla Bonita indeed. However as far as i"m concerened the 'la' may be altered in 'una', because there are more bonita islands and we're gonna see some on the other side.
A one and a half hour during bustrip to an art market on the other side revealed the beauty. The ride was an event. The meandering road went higher and higher and led partly through the enormous crater of the sleeping vulcano. To make sure it stayed asleep I hummed a few lullabay's.
Just like the previous time we visited the beautiful situated rum distillery. Six barrels of the best La Palma rum are in the hold now ready for app. six months of sloshing and mingling with the tastes of the barrels.

Next stop Barbados.
Cleem