The gentle rolling of our ship at anchor through the night made for blissful sleep with pleasant dreams. Many world-class racing yachts swung on their moorings in the bay around National Geographic Explorer, having competed in a regatta that began a few of days ago in Recife, several hundred miles to our west on the mainland of Brazil. When we arrived here yesterday morning, about thirty boats had finished the race, but by this afternoon that number had swelled to over seventy. The beautiful island of Fernando de Noronha is a Mecca for tourists and sailors alike wishing to escape the busy life of coastal Brazil.
After an early breakfast we joined our various groups and set off by Zodiac for the inner harbor to either see some of the historic sites, hike the nature trails, snorkel from the beach, learn about the on-going Tamar sea turtle conservation and research project, or venture along the island’s western shore to look for an illusive pod of spinner dolphins that are often found cavorting in the bays around this idyllic tropical isle.
We all returned to the ship for lunch and then went back ashore to engage in the activities in which we had not yet participated. Those of us who boarded local boats to snorkel in one of the more inaccessible bays were rewarded with a spinner dolphin escort along the way. By 5:00 everyone was back on board, the anchor was weighed and we were sailing off into the sunset with many pleasant memories of our two-day stay at Fernando de Noronha.
