We arrived Saturday afternoon and anchored a bit outside of the few other boats in the anchorage, as it looked to be too shallow. After a few minutes a local man in a wood boat paddled over and told us to pick up a mooring ball closer in to shore. He spent an hour helping us get situated and wanted nothing in return, not even for the use of the mooring.

There were about six local sailboats anchored outside of about 20 local fishing boats moored in front of a small favela (shanty town). Not knowing what to expect, we took the dinghy ashore and after much ado, found the Federacio Alageana de Vela e Motor (Yacht Club). There were several friendly members who helped us to get our bearings. The club Secretaria also set us up with a local man called NeNe who would watch our boat during our stay and also help us carry our dinghy up into the confines of the club while ashore.

We spent the following morning trying to repair our genoa which had the clew ripped out on this last passage. Unfortunately our industrial sewing machine was not enough to get through the several layers of fabric and webbing. We had been told by some of the club members that there is a sailmaker in town, so decided to wait and talk with him on Monday.

As it was Sunday and could not get anything else done, we decided to make a day of the beach. We walked out to the very lively Praia de Pajucara. The beach was covered with families and groups of friends swimming, playing futbol, drinking beer, etc. We had lunch at a popular spot on the boardwalk - excellent grilled shrimp and salmon ceviche. After lunch we continued on to Praia de Ponta Verde which is much nicer and more mellow. The water is clear and almost green in color, and there is a fringing reef which makes it a great spot for swimming. We kicked on the beach for a few hours, which happened to be in a spot with two other groups of American tourists.

On our way back we popped into a little beachfront bar where dozens of locals were enthusiastically watching a seemingly important game of futbol. We stopped for a beer and then went to the modern and well-stocked Bon Preco supermarket to stock up for our next passage.

Monday morning we took the sail in and left it with the club staff who were trying to make arrangements with a sailmaker. We headed to visit the authorities which was surprisingly easy. We met with the Port Captain who checked us both in and out and told us that we didn not need to visit neither Customs nor Immigration. What a fantastic treat.

Depending on the state of our sail, we will most likely leave tomorrow to head north, perhaps stopping in Recife if necessary, otherwise up to Fortaleza.

Despite the less than ideal anchoring situation, we have found Maceio to be quite a charming town and had great experiences with the locals who all seem very helpful and honest. From the look of things, they do not get many cruising boats at all, which is too bad because the town has a lot to offer, especially after the hecitc pace of the larger cities.