First Day in Porto Santo

Well, we have now been nearly 36 hours here and are feeling like we are settling in. After a bit of searching around, we found the GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana or the national police force) who expect you to check in with them as soon as possible after arrival. A slightly dour but pleasant man peered at our passports and tapped some keys on his computer, asked us a few questions about where we had come from and where we were going then thanked us. We used to think that the procedures for arrival in Portugal were a bit heavy when compared with Spain but they are positively perfunctory when compared with Morocco. I dread to think what it would be like in somewhere like Algeria – the cruising guide says it takes a day to get cleared in!

We also found the marina office who took the usual copies of our paperwork though her method of copying the boat registration was to photograph it with a small camera: we can only assume that the photocopier was broken. We wandered into the island's town of Vila Balaieera and found the supermarket where we promptly made a beeline for the wine section and bought a bottle of our favourite rose for drinking that night. Not alcohol dependent us then! Perhaps most importantly, we have now had a shower and are a bit less pongy than we were. We will take a bit of a walk round the island in the next day or so as it is very small. It has a nice atmosphere owing mostly to its small size and the fact that it has a beach. The main island of Madeira doesn't have any beaches so the daily ferry from Funchal disgorges loads of beach bound bodies who return somehwat pinker than when they arrive.

Finally, it is also a very photogenic island and I will be taking loads of pictures.

I include this to show how ugly some modern boats can be. Apologies to the owner of this catamaran if they are reading this but they can console themselves with the view that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!