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Log 21/11/06 – 02/12/06
Log 13/11/06 – 18/11/06

09/11/06 – 12/11/06
Celtic Spirit departed Rio on Thursday evening 8 November. We motored out of Baia de Guanabara and headed south down passed Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon beaches where the wind picked up a little and we had a couple of close encounters with fishing boats and their nets.

In the early hours of the following morning we were making our way into Baia da Parati which is situated to the South West of Baia da Ilha Grande, the jewel of the South Brazilian coastline with 365 tropical islands, one for each day of the year. Not only is it magnificently beautiful but it is a cruising paradise with many safe anchorages. By 0930 we were anchored just off Marina Engenho, belonging to Amyr Klink who has his boat Paratii-2 berthed there. This is a 90ft aluminium boat built specifically to sail to Antarctica and in which he has circumnavigated the blue continent. It has a laden weight of 100 tonnes, 33 000L fuel and 3000L water. It has two unstayed masts with a boom sail configuration. She is built for pure practicality and not for aesthetics however she is a fine looking vessel that had the crew wondering around her in awe. Although her owner was not in Parati at the time, we met her skipper Fabio who graciously showed the crew around and answered our many questions.

Parati itself is a beautiful town nestled beneath the surrounding mountains. It is one of the oldest Brazilian cities and a National Monument. The buildings are a unique colonial architecture and well kept. The streets are closed to traffic except pedestrians who wander along their uneven, irregular cobblestones which are washed clean at high tide by water that comes through from the harbour. This town is a favourite holiday spot for Brazilians as well as Europeans and is colourful and lively. It is also renowned for its excellent Cachaca.

Our two Brazilian crew joined us on the second day here and immediately fitted in becoming part of the Celtic Spirit family. Apart from being excellent sailors their local knowledge and help with languages has been most useful. In the evening we weighed anchor and motored over to a tiny island about two miles away, Ilha Rasa where we had booked the restaurant there for dinner. Here we had a beautiful meal in a beautiful setting returning to the boat for a bit of music, chat and Cachaca drinking. Celtic Spirits next destination, Uruguay.

Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cape Verde to Salvador, Brazil
Canaries to Cape Verde
Portugal to Canaries