Albrolhos to Santo Andre, Bahia, Brazil

We departed Vitoria for Santo Andre (15 nautical miles north of Porto Seguro) on 29th August 2014. 

20 nautical miles southwest of Albrolhos islands and we've already seen over a dozen whales up close. It's mating season (July to November). We had 3 humpback whales cross our bows flapping their long pectoral fins as if they were waving "Hello!".

To be honest, 99% of the time its pretty boring being out at sea with 360 degrees of the same scenery day after day. But once in a while we get to experience these special moments of joy and amazement that remind us (me especially).. Life at sea is kinda cool! 

Humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 km (16,000 mi) each year, an adult can range in length from 12–16 m (39–52 ft) and weigh about 36,000 kg (79,000 lb)! {gulp} We're very thankful that they did not hit us or vice versa. I'm sure our fibreglass boat would not survive it. How these beautiful giants can grow so big on krill and small fish still befuddles me.

We picked up a mooring (S 16.37.157 W 38.54.616) in Abrolhos on 31st August, an archipelago consisting of 5 small volcanic islands with coral reefs off the southern coast of Bahia state in the northeast of Brazil. The name comes from the Portuguese word abrolho ("Abre Olhos") which means "open your eyes". This is a great place for whale watching and diving. The Abrolhos reefs represent the most extensive and richest area of coral reefs in Brazil and in the Southwestern Atlantic.

Wish we could've stayed longer but at 7:30pm that evening, we suddenly realised our mooring had broke and decided to resume our journey to Santo Andre, Bahia.  

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Hammerstein: Up Close & Personal with Cheetahs

An amazing experience - up close & personal with Oscar and Wilde, 2 adorable Cheetahs at Hammerstein Lodge in Namibia.

Oscar - The Male

Wilde - The Female

A selfie with Oscar

Alex's arm

Fiesty Caracal

More of Oscar

So Adorable

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Simon's Town, South Africa

We drove to Simon's town (or sometimes spelt as Simonstown), another town not far from Cape Town to see the African penguins, also known as the Jackass penguins! widely known as the "jackass" penguin for its donkey-like bray. A colony settled in Boulders Beach since 1985. 

They're really cute and didn't seem to mind us coming close to them for a photo at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience because it seemed as if there was an unspoken trust between us (humans and wild animals). Together in peace and harmony, that's really the way it should always be.

💛

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Hout Bay, South Africa

Entrance to Hout Bay - Misty

We entered Hout Bay on a cold and freakishly misty day on 28th January 2014. A two days sail from Knysna, we passed Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the African continent where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean officially meet.

Hout Bay is a town near Cape town which is surrounded by mountains to the north, east and west and the southern Atlantic Ocean to the south.

A beautiful bay

  

We berthed at Hout Bay Yacht Club (S 34.03.017 E 18.20.894) for slightly over a month. It lies about 15 nautical miles south of Cape Town harbour. The view of the mountains are spectacular. This is one of the busiest fishing harbours in Western Cape.

It may look serene but Hout Bay does suffer from very strong Katabatic winds from the East. We experienced winds of up to 50 kts one night.

We often had Cape Fur Seals hop onto the pontoon next to us. I found it interesting to know that they are the largest fur seal species, can live up to 21 years and exhibit large sexual dimorphism i.e. the males and females differ in size.

Cape fur seals feed on shoaling fish, squid, octopus, sharks and rays

I was surprised when I heard them bark like dogs. It's no wonder they are often referred to as "dogs of the ocean".

The one on the left must be a bull (male). The bulls can grow up to 2.5m in length and weigh 200-350 kg, the cows are much smaller at 1.2-1.6m and 40-80 kg. Males have a large chest and a thick mane and the smaller females have a silver-grey fur.

This is pretty much what they do all day :)

We also spent some time working on Raptor.

Replaced the rubbing board on the starboard side

Curious Cape Fur Seal came to check us out

Made some chopping boards

And we bought a second hand Singer sewing machine made in the 1930s at a flea market just opposite the Yacht Club.

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Chagos - A Cruisers Paradise

Chagos islands (one of our favourite destinations, accessible only by boat) is a group of 7 atolls, 500 km south of the Maldives archipelago in the Indian Ocean. To be honest, I didn't even know this place existed!

It took us 6 days from South of Addu, Maldives to Chagos due to the strong easterly current pushing us 30-50 degrees off course. We finally arrived on 16th May 2013, 693 nautical miles later and anchored in 25m of water with 80m of chain (S 05.15.328 E 71.46.313) in Peros Banhos atoll which consists of 32 islets. One of the two permitted sites to anchor, the other being Salomon islands (which we did not visit).
 
Did you know? Chagos islands is officially part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). It was sad to learn that the British evicted the Chagossians between 1967 and 1973 (to Mauritius & Seychelles) to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos islands.

Even though the Chagossians were not indigenous people and were a mix of African, Portuguese, French, Malay and Indian ancestry; Chagos was their home for more than a century and a half. Definitely heart breaking to be kicked out of your own homeland, especially such a beautiful one. 

Issues of compensation and repatriation of the former inhabitants, and the right to return continues in litigation. In November 2016, the British restated that it would not allow the Chagossians to return. If you're interested to learn more, read it on Wikipedia.
 
As such, the islands are uninhabited except for Diego Garcia (a US Military base, where we spent 11 days after getting 'Saved by the U.S Navy') and a lone donkey on Ile du Coin, the largest island in Peros Banhos atoll (if memory serves me right). 

We had 4 wonderful weeks of white sandy beaches and pristine waters all to ourselves. We spotted one other yacht - but only for a day. I guess they thought it was TOO crowded and moved away!

Diving is unfortunately prohibited in the marine protected area but we had loads of fun snorkeling everyday in the clear waters with lots of turtles, fishes and sharks swimming about while hermit and coconut crabs rule the lands. A place we will never forget! 

Hermit Crab

Snorkelling everyday

Work of Art

10kg Grouper

White Sandy Beaches - As Far As The Eyes Can See

Coconut Crab - worlds largest land dwelling arthropod

A species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief

It can grow to up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length from leg to leg {holy crab!}

Grouper ;9

Fleshy Coconut - My Fav!

Lots of Reef Sharks around

A Hammerhead shark just below our dinghy!

Exploring the island on Peros Banhos - Lots of mosquitoes!

Frigatebirds of Chagos seem to be attracted to our radar

Seabirds of Chagos - Red Footed Booby?

Alex the Groper/Grouper

Scrolling on the beach

Note: You are required to apply for and receive a Vessel Mooring Permit prior to arrival in Chagos via the BIOT website. It costs £50 GBP per week with a maximum period of 4 weeks (28 days) allowed. {too short!}

Chagos is definitely on our top 5 travel destinations. Goodbye paradise!

What's your favourite travel destination?

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