Location: Fortaleza, Brazil
8 Hours till what now?! I asked Bryant halfway through my morning 4 to 8 watch. I was happily dumbfounded, finding out that our expected 3-day passage turned suddenly into not even a 2-day passage in exactly 8 hours. It’s crazy to think that we will hit mainland Brazil, signifying and finally hitting home that we crossed the Atlantic Ocean. After so many boat checks and watches in our new home, Argo delivered us safely to Brazil, unharmed save a couple of sore muscles and backs and the unfortunate demise of countless flying fish. After my watch team was relieved, we all waddled our way back to midship, quickly debriefed while taking a couple of moments to admire the amazing sight of the Milky Way and constellations all around us, and then headed down below for some very needed study time and nap time before lunch and taking our OCE (oceanography) exam.
I studied hard in bed per usual and was not at all surprised when I was woken up for lunch with my laptop, headphones, blankets, and pillows all thrown around the bunk, which vaguely resembled an area where a tornado had a touchdown. I meandered myself out of my bunk and went upstairs to eat some chicken and rice casserole. Instantly greeted on deck by a light drizzle of rain coming from seemingly nowhere in the sky. After lunch, we all attempted to cram as much studying as possible in the 10 minutes we had before the test after putting my laptop back atop my pile of belongings, burying my bunk, and making myself a cup of coffee sweetened with honey. I was ready for the test. It went well, and it was nice getting done with the test and then going upstairs to cool off with a nice shower. After helping put away the showers, everyone went back down below to have an OCB (marine biology) review. After that, it was all hands on deck; we clambered up the companionway to see Fortaleza well within sight. We all worked together to take down and nicely flake all the sails back into their original position and waited in the cockpit, eyeing the pretty city off of our port side with a bit of excitement in my stomach. At least it might have been, although I was very hungry, and the smells from the galley of fresh French bread, chicken, and seasoned pasta were mouthwatering, to say the least. We finally came into the anchorage and had a little trouble securing the anchor, but it was nothing for the well-seasoned crew of Argo. Anchor secured and food on deck. We squeezed well and devoured the delicious food. After the jobs are all done, we all make our way back down below to get some nice relaxing hours before anchor watch and a vigorous boat appreciation day tomorrow as we give back to our home.