Quiet Days Before the Rain

The last couple of weeks have been very quiet.

Nike left for northern Germany to restart the refit project on her big-ass boat Anna Maria, which has been patiently waiting for her in Lübeck.

Unfortunately, I caught a really nasty cold, which more or less took me out of business for an entire month.

Alone at Lamin Lodge

Most people who had dropped anchor here at Lamin Lodge had already left. And those who were still around were slowly preparing to sail to the Cape Verde islands for the summer, or continue on to Brazil or the Azores.

So once I had recovered, that left me pretty much on my own.

Rainy Season Begins

My plan is to leave Santana here during the rainy season, which basically started a few days ago. I had my first rain in ages, and the typical tropical thunderstorm finally washed off most of the dirt that had accumulated everywhere on the boat.

Obviously, the rain will increase in July and probably won’t stop much at all during August. September will still be very wet, but with a bit less rain and fewer clouds. October will hopefully start to feel like dry season again.

Next Steps

Next week, I’m planning another trip to Dakar to pick up my new passport, which I’ll need in order to be allowed back into the country after summer.

And on July 11th, I’ll leave for Brussels and Cologne. Later I’ll be in Berlin, and then in Switzerland for a few projects.

Over the summer, I hope to figure out how to send some needed spare parts to Santana. That way, when I come back, I’ll be able to do a few repairs — and then figure out where to point our bow next.

Stay curious, stay salty,

Floh