In the meantime though we have been busy preparing the boat and also having lots of leaving parties. We have also been out and about to Bahia Independance Day Parade, the beach, Aratu to antifoul the hull and Ilha do Frade or monkey Island.
Antifouling the hull was an experience. They used a cradle on wheels to haul out up a slipway - all a bit tricky as they don´t have many boats like Oceana here and it took a while to get the balance right. The Health and Safety Executive obviously havent got a branch here in Brazil as there were people painting and sanding and fibreglassing and welding and well just about anything with no goggles or face masks or steel toecaps, just flipflops and shorts. The guy who jacked up Oceana using an idustrial jack and large chunks of wood didn´t even wear flip flops - just bare feet!!
Anyhow, we managed to get the painting done in double quick time and were back in the water in two days. After this we sailed to Ilha do Frade to see the monkeys and anchored in a secluded bay with jungle and mangroves on three sides and an oil refinery on the other. We hiked over the island in search of monkeys but saw only beautiful scenery, goats, a cow, loads of vultures and a huge black snake blocking our path. Contrary to anything Christina may say I WAS NOT SCARED..
So then we are now making preparations to leave Salvador yet again, but hope that this time it will be for real as we head towards Rio de Janeiro where Martin is flying out to join the crew of Oceana for a while.
