Leaving for the atlantic...

Two days left, and off we go....

A little text....more will come

Cape Verde seen in perspective:

Taking care of my hangovers with a bit of eggs and potatoes mixed with fruit from the Cape Verde Islands. I have to write something for my blog, I have to share this experience with someone else, because this is so special, sometimes I almost feel that I am a neighbour with paradise (other time though, I feel dizzy from the 3-4 metres high waves which are joggling with our Good Ship Roselina.) Let me start out telling you the story from the start of our sail, because as most other things, you have to understand the start to be a part of “my trip”.
I had never tried to sail across oceans, I had never tried to travel for five days without seeing land, I had never considered that I should be sailing in a “little” ship for two months – however this became possible due to my luck; I heard about it, thought about it and said yes to the offer (sometimes I think I did it without thinking it fully true). I was going to work on Roselina as a “gast” (a Danish term for a person who is working onboard a ship) for two months. My trip was going to start only one week after that I have lived in a refugee camp for two months. I exchanged the landscape which consisted of sand dunes, camels and dust, with the big blue sea, flying fish and salty water.

My trip started on first of November from Gran Canaria where I met the rest of the crew and skipper, we started out with a total of 8 men and two women, and the crew will change during our trip. Roselina is going to sail around the world for at least the next 5 years, and I had signed up for the trip from Gran Canaria to Antigua. We sailed from Gran Canaria after two days of waiting due to some few problems with the batteries, that meant that the whole ship were more than ready to go when we finally set sail.
We sailed from the horrible holiday resorts on the Spanish islands, to the wonderful freedom of the open sea, it was perfect weather and perfect wind, and the dolphins followed us some of the way. Dolphins are incredible curious animals, and it seems like they are almost playing together with the boat when they swim and jump in front of us. Sometimes we only saw small groups of four-five, other times we were “blessed” with big groups of 50-60 dolphins in all different sizes.
We always sail with the fishing string behind us, and sometimes we catch a big tuna fish or some other colourful strange fish which we eat for lunch or dinner; it is not only fast food, it is also the freshest fish you can get. I must admit that I felt a bit ashamed when we caught and enjoyed a really nice fish, just outside the coast of the occupied area of Western Sahara. I had heard the stories in the camps about the struggle for the Saharawies to get their land back, first of all because they wanted to use the resources of their country – especially the fish, which the Moroccans are earning a lot of money on.
After two days of sail something horrible happened; our main sail and one of our head sail broke. These sails are extremely important, because we could only use the mizzen and the Geneva, both of them more of less useless when sailing around the Atlantic. All this meant that we had to start sailing with the engine one which makes a lot of noise, and it is not the same feeling to sail without sails when you have to big masts and a wooden boat.
I clearly remember one night when I suddenly heard a lot of sound on the deck; it was flying fish which had been hunted by dolphins and they thought they could escape death by flying on to our boat; unfortunely (for them) they ended their life’s, not in the stomachs of the dolphins, but instead on the frying pan. They taste really nice, and the wings make them into a really special animal. These fish are the only connection that the deep sea has with the air. I am surprised that they are not bigger or better hunter; I mean, they can fly and swim…but maybe they just like to be small and many.
We sail 24/7 when we are on sea, which means that two people has to be on guard all the time, also in the nights. It was hard for me to get up at three o’clock and stay awake until five o’clock; nevertheless I realized fast that you have the best talks with another person in the dark night silent and with the stars as the only observers. The stars looks like a big blanket covering the whole sky when you are on sea, and it is especially interesting to feel how the different star signs moves from east to west when you are on your watch. I have particularly felt in Love with three bright stars which are always looking on me when I am steering.
Talking about Love, I didn’t think I would ever fall in Love in a material, nonetheless it has happened. I must admit that I am not a big sailor, not at all; but I can sometimes take myself in speaking with Roselina when the waves are particularly high, and I feel a bit flattered when she moves in exactly the direction that I want her to. Sometimes she works together with you, other times she will challenge you, but she will always be there for you.

I am going to be brief in my descriptions of Cape Verde, I would have loved if you yourself could see this place which is not yet destroyed by tourism, on the same altitude as Barbados, great for shark fishing, diving, surfing, it is cheap and the people are extremely beautiful. There was no one here when the Portuguese first came here some hundred of years ago, so the people are almost closer to the Caribbean, than to Africa.
Cape Verde is right outside the coast of Senegal and consists of a bunch of small islands, every island is a bit different. We have seen an active volcano, an island covered in sand that has been blown in from Sahara (oh, what memories), a relative big cities. We have seen the really poor neighbourhoods and the places where people live as they have done since 1975 when they got their independence, the way they lived before the surfer tourists came here in the early nineties.

We have been out a couple of times for a nice dinner and a cold Sagres (beer which costs 1 euro), and we have never experienced any troubles, even though we have been the only “white men” in the town at 02.00 in the night. The main industry here (apart from tourists) is fishing, and we have caught a lot of big tunas ourselves.
We have been to one real tourist place and what I saw there really made me sad, the place had a nice beach, but it was all filled up with bars, restaurants etc., the city was full of souvenirs shops and more bars, and the back of the city was filled with hotels. If you walked a bit outside the city could you see that it all was just bare desert, the landscape was just filled up with small mushrooms of new hotels which was being built.
We got a lot of attention when we walked in the streets, especially from the street sellers who tried to sell us everything. A “sale attempt” would be like this:
“Hello”
“Hello”
“Where are you from… Germany? Gutentag”
“no, I am from Denmark”
“Ahh, Denmark…I luv Denmark…I have been to Denmark”
”okay…..”
”Do you know what? My wife just got a daughter and I will give you this bracelet as a gift because I am so happy”
“Ehh…thank you…Sorry, I have to go”
“no no man, let me show you my shop and a picture of my wife”
“No, sorry, I am busy…and I don’t have any money on me”
“Just two seconds in my little shop, it is a very special day, come on, what is your name?”
“mads……..”
“Masss come to my shop… Do you smoke?!”
“ no, I don’t smoke!”
“I can sell you a cigar? Or do you want a joint….Marijuana? Come with me…I show you, it is cheap”
“Sorry, I have to go now…maybe tomorrow….goodbye”
“Okay, go, but give me my bracelet back….”
“I thought it was a gift….?”
“Okay, One Euro?”
“bye!”

I always felt a bit bad about leaving them, even though I have experienced these sale tricks so many other places in the world before. However, one time when I left one of the street sellers, a man looked at me and said: “They don’t like it, they are poor… we are a poor country, we have to!”, I answered him with a understanding smile and said: “I understand, I am sorry” and his response was: “As long as you understand……”
It seems to me that the poverty is even bigger in the capital, than in the small tourist resorts where the street sellers are. You will find a lot of young men who are willing to do whatever you want them to do for a small amount of money, and they will for sure approach you if you are white. So many beggars, so much money, so much different…but what can I do? Send the answer to my mailbox.

I expected a lot before I arrived to Cape Verde, these unknown pirate islands in the Atlantic, unspoiled from civilization and with sandy beaches and turquoise water. The water is beautiful (and 26 Celsius degrees), some areas are unspoiled, but it is not as “Sandy beaches” as I expected. You can find them, but they are for sure not everywhere. All the islands are made by volcanoes (from where still one is active), and their have been droughts many times in its short history.

“INTERLUDE”
Okay, this is going to be a bit confusing. I am not writing this whole entry in “one go”, but over days (due to the high prices at the internet cafés). So, I wrote the “B.I. (Before Interlude)” around 2 weeks ago, and a lot have happened since then.
As I said in the B.I., the islands are very diverse and different, and we experienced that when we went to a little town on the main island, Santiago. We sailed from the capital Praia after two interesting days there, especially the “Mercardo Municipal” was a great experiences, a little area of 40 X 20 square meters where a lot of small “shops” were pushed in between each other. You could all kinds of vegetables, fruits, spices and I saw a tuna fish of the size of a little man.

URGENT

If someone knows would like to help a poor little backpacker, then I have a little request for you.
I will be sailing across the Atlantic on december the first, which means that I will not have any internet for more than 2 weeks. Furthermore, I have to plan my "next trip".....soooo, if you know how to get AS CHEAP AS POSSIBLE from Barbados, Martinuqe, or Antigua to La Paz, Buenos Aires or Montevideo then please write me an email of how to do.
I am willing to take the most crappy busses or hitchhike in Columbia...as long as YOU can offer a realistic and cheap way...

I have been thinking about Antigua - Miami - La Paz (by plane) which was my first "cheap plan"; but I got the idea about taking a ferry from Barbados to Venezuela and then backpack from there....Are there any busses from there to the rest of South America?!?!? Please write me before the first, or just ask your best south american friend for a bit of help.....
Thank you.

/Mads - total bagstiv...

Close to Paradise....

Just a short update from the country which I could live in the next many years of my Life.... We have been on an active volcano yesterday, driving in the most facinating landscapes, seen the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises (still nothing beats Sahara).... Yesterday we went swimming of the ocea, what a feeling....Afterwards we caught a big fish (when then felt off, damn).... We have tasted Cape Verde wine (damn, don´t do that at home) and drank a lot of cheap beers.... Life is good, even though the ship can be a bit small when 11 people is on board (and no showers :S....) .
We arrived at the second largest city in Cape Verde this morning, and we are staying here for a week....we might go trekking on the neighbouring islands... We are leaving for Barbados on the first of december, and will most likely arrive 15 days later, inshallah.
I am planning my trip to Bolivia these days...the only problem I have is that I don´t have any flight ticket or anything else...and it is impossible to arrange anything from the middle of the Atlantic...so if anyone has any suggestions how to come cheaply from Antigua to Bolivia then tell me....
The air is 35 C and the water is 26 C......Hasta luego!

Cabo Verde...

We arrived at Cape Verde yesterday morning...and it was a bit of a surprise to see a "Eastern Europe" looking harbour and not the sandy white beaches as we expected...nevertheless, we checked in and got to see a bit of the area...then we went on to the beautiful part of this Island (also meaning, where all the tourists goes). Cape Verde is quite poor, and it seems like they put all the money on tourism, and then just hope that it works. The sailing is going well, and we are enjoying the evenings with a glas of rum or beer on land... We have three weeks here, so we are most likely going to climb volcanos, dive near the corals, eat some sharks and enjoy Life....Keep in contact guys!
/Mads

Live from Roselina

Sitting on the deck with a laptop and wireless internet, HURRAY FOR THE MODERN WORLD!
We were suppose to leave early today, but we had too many problems with the batteries; so the plan is to leave tomorrow morning....
We have loads of fresh water and food with us, and every single little corner is filled up with things we need and dont need. Max and I are sleeping so close together that I could feel him the whole night.......nonetheless, I slept wonderful here in the harbour in Gran Canaria with the sound of the water splashing on the Good Ship Rosalina.
We are 10 people in total on board, 4 on our age and 4 much older men (and two girls in total)....Life is Good, the weather is good....and the beer today was great!

I will be on the sea the next 6 days, so do not expect anything on my blog for a while....
/Mads - Cape Verde, Here I come!