Photo: Christopher Columbus was here: Case de Colon in Las Palmas

We've been to Las Palmas a couple of times to shop at the chandleries and visit friends in the marina there. We watched the frenzied activity prior to the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) departure to the Caribbean a couple of week ago. Over 200 boats left together on a pre-set date that didn't take the weather into consideration, and they sailed right into the doldrums! Some join the ARC for the parties and seminars, and some consider sailing rallies "safety in numbers," but we wouldn't want to be in the middle of a pack all crisscrossing each other's paths.



Las Palmas has little of sightseeing interest, but yesterday we strolled around the old part of town and went to the Casa de Colon, aka Columbus House, built in the late 15th century. It's purported that Christopher Columbus visited here, since it was the Governor's House at the time of his voyages that stopped in Las Palmas. Today it's a museum with detailed maps of Columbus' four voyages and other nautical and historical exhibitions. Definitely worth a visit. Amazing how accurately the ships sailed across the Atlantic and back again, given that the only navigation aids were a compass and a hand log. Back then they didn't know about hurricane season in the Caribbean, and sailed across in the summer. Lucky for them there weren't any major hurricanes during his four voyages to the New World.

Then we made our way to the Las Palmas Marina and enjoyed happy hour aboard the catamaran, La Perle Noire. We met Aussies Deb and Jim in Turkey two years ago, and they're on the same track. Maybe we'll spend Christmas together in the Cape Verdes!

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