Charlotteville: 19 January to 1st February

The sea was rough and Clea was sick. But the landscapes were really beautiful. Very wild vegetation, lots of birds and even dolphins for a short while.

We arrived just after a rain squall in Charlotteville and anchored in Pirates Bay among 10 other boats. A French monohull arrived 2 days latter with a 7y-old boy called Arthur. He became very quickly Victor and Felix’s friend. We went for a braai on the beach one Saturday. The kids (even Clea joined them) spent 4 hours on the water doing some body surfing in short but strong waves.

We went for a walk in the rain forest, above the bay. It was really dense, green, humid ...and full of mosquitoes! We were looking for some branches to make a bow. We found one which became Clea’s fishing rode!

We had few days of heavy rain. It felt like being at home on a rainy Sunday with not much to do. We collect some rain water, for showers, to clean the deck and rinse the cushions from the cockpit.

Felix decided he wanted to do some business and have more pocket money. He then drew great pictures and went bravely to sale them in Charlotteville. The 1^st morning he came back with the equivalent of 3 euros and the motivation to draw some more!

At last, we used the hammock and enjoyed it a lot to read or take a nap. It is just under the boom so we can even have some shade there. The kids love it to read some of the books we borrowed at Charlotteville’s library.

We went swimming again everyday. Greg took the boys snorkeling often and they are becoming really good. Victor starts learning the fish names and soon will become a real expert (better than his mum!). Clea is also hooked on her mask and fins and is doing pretty well swimming with all of us.

One day we (the 5 of us and the other French crew we met earlier) went on a real expedition in the rain forest! It was presented like that. In fact, we walked 30 min to reach the Argyle Water falls. On the way, we encountered strong rains and we were completely wet. The boys had a swim in the falls. While we were waiting for our taxi to fetch us we tried to dry and had a good chat with the local guides from the falls. Clea even went to play with them one of their typical card games.

Then we went to Speyside to eat one of their specialty. As there is a strong Indian influence, Indian food is well spread. We all ate rotis – Clea tried to share hers with some stray dogs.