Today’s achievement was a great (and difficult) hike up the backside of Le Chameau in the Saintes
Night
The conditions had settled during the previous day and most of the night was calm in the anchorage. There was a period where the waves or wind had shifted and there was a bit of slamming aft, but in comparison it remained a calm and quiet night aboard Zanshin.
Morning
I woke up early and edited the images from the previous day, then realized that my coffee supplies were running dangerously low so at around 08:00 I got in the dinghy and zipped across to Le Bourg from the anchorage. It was pretty choppy out there, making me realize how well protected the little anchorage at Pain de Sucre really is. The bigger cafes were unfortunately closed, but I found a nice little place for a coffee and breakfast pastries – but no internet connectivity.
After breakfast I went to the store and got some French 1664 beer for later and a small pack of coffee. I was surprised that among the big selection there were no beans, everything was pre-ground; but when it comes to coffee I’m versatile and can adapt to whatever supply I can get.
I deposited my purchases in fridge and cupboard respectively, then went across to Cyrilla and picked up Lincoln. We’d arranged to take the back path up the hill to Le Chameau and it was indeed a pretty steep walk up the hill. My shirt was soaked and the 500ml of water I’d brought were long evaporated by the time we made it to the top. Despite me leading the way and keeping a very slow pace so that I wouldn’t get winded we managed to pass 3 groups going the same way. I’m glad that we took the less difficult long way back on the paved road – I was feeling a bit wobbly during the last stretch and would not have enjoyed going down amongst the scree and roots and loose rocks.
Noon and Afternoon
I went for a swim to clean off and then tried to read in the cockpit, but despite the overcast conditions it was just a bit too bright to use just reading glasses so I just removed the glasses, turned off the book and took a nap while the music kept on playing in the background.
Happy Hour
I took my 1664 beer over to Esther and Lincoln on Cyrilla for their quality assessment and after we’d finished the supplies I returned back to Zanshin for a dinner of the two remaining hot dogs, a corn-on-the-cob and my last remaining slice of bread. But as I arrived I heard a shout and saw Esther waving at me, so I returned to Cyrilla and was invited to some really good pork chops with rice! Later on Luise and Uwe came by on their dinghy and we saw one of the more spectacular sunsets of the season. That included not only a green flash but also an extended orange afterglow.