As my primary language is not English, there are probably some mistakes in my translation.
Remember that the person who speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (
Hive account@vcelier), but Marc Allaria (
Hive account@marc-allaria), a French guy.
Heading for PORTO SANTO 3/3
The charm of night arrivals is the discovery of places at daybreak. Putting your head out of the window and looking at what the destination you came to look for is made is a very special moment. Here in Porto Santo, the mooring is located outside a large breakwater sheltering the port. The bottom is sandy, there is little activity, the virgin cliffs are not far, it smells of comfort, modernity, Europe. We are now in the 21
st century, and unlike all the sailing heroes at the beginning of the 20
th century, now it is no longer the population who come to welcome the traveler who arrives after 5 days at sea, but the traveler even who must go to the various administrative counters of the port. Marina, customs, police, in short ... as my ancestors would say, "it ain't what it was" !!
Everyone is rather nice at the port and the formalities are going well, except this trend of the 21
st century consisting in no longer considering the sea as a territory of freedom but as taxing income. Here the tax consists in making you pay the right to the mooring and the services of the marina. Do not consider that the right to anchor includes any assistance or insurance, it does not. You give money only because of your mere presence and you have absolutely no service or vested in return. As for the services of the marina, not using them will not disengage you from paying for them ... The sum is modest, but even at this price, I find it hard to be racketeered. In short, times change, we will have to seek freedom elsewhere!
As for the island, similar to the islands of the West African coast, it is dry, stony and the few traces of vegetation in altitude does not grow very high. I will spend almost a month there, between hiking, scuba diving and battles with the authorities of the marine reserves. Definitely, here we are indeed in Europe, freedom is not tolerated! The dives are interesting, in particular a wreck sunk for the diving industry: Le Cordeca. I will spend many immersions there. Hiking or mountain biking will also distract me for a while to discover a setting that I discover for the first time. That being said, I will not keep Porto Santo among my favorite destinations. If there is nothing to reproach the island in itself, the heaviness of the regulations practiced here reminds me too much of a European functioning that I can no longer accept. I prefer to leave that to those loving it, and sail away.
