Bisou de partout: A Coruña

Our first foray into the Old Town of A Coruña was a delight. Tired and hungry as we were, we spent a little time wandering the narrow streets full of people eating inside and out of the tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and checking out what they were eating. It also happened that Spain was playing the Netherlands in World Cup soccer so Tad was pretty keen to find somewhere he could watch the game. We ended up in a very crowded little place called “Taba Negra” which served the most delicious tapas and beer one could imagine – the game was disappointing for the Spanish but with a good beer buzz and a tummy full of yummy food, we waddled back to Bisou for a sound night’s sleep.

We were now due for our 50hrs (1^st service) on our two Volvo engines and also needed someone to take a look at our VHF antenna which seemed to have come off sometime during the trip across Biscay – it was still attached by the wire, but no longer to its bracket holding it aloft. Being the weekend meant that nothing would happen now until Monday so we decided to just take it easy and do a little exploring.

Our first foray into the Old Town of A Coruña was a delight. Tired and hungry as we were the first night, we spent a little time wandering the narrow streets full of people eating inside and out of the tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and checking out what they were eating. It also happened that Spain was playing the Netherlands in World Cup soccer so Tad was pretty keen to find somewhere he could watch the game. We ended up in a very crowded little place called “Taba Negra” which served the most delicious tapas and beer one could imagine – the game was disappointing for the Spanish but with a good beer buzz and a tummy full of yummy food, we waddled back to Bisou for a sound night’s sleep.

First on the list was connectivity – there is nothing like being away from loved ones and needing to know weather updates to spur one to finding either an internet café or some way of obtaining an autonomous system. We had purchased a ‘dongle’ in France with the reassurance that it could be ‘unlocked’ at any time and any Vodaphone SIM inserted. Needless to say, it was not as simple as this and we muddled through the purchase of yet another ‘dongle’ in Spanglish with the local Vodaphone dealer. We continued on our bikes (did I mention that we had bought two folding bicycles in La Rochelle which have proved invaluable in our exploration?) and did the circuit of the peninsula, exploring the beautiful coastline including stunning cliffs and sculptures as well as beaches. The sand on the beaches is not nearly as fine as ours in Australia, but the beaches are beautifully clean and well kept and the water crystal clear. Due to the strong winds and not terribly high temperatures (low 20s at the moment) we haven’t been tempted into the water yet.

Our marina here in A Coruña is really quite lovely – unfortunately there is considerable construction going on all around us as they renovate the promenade/walkway from the new marina to the old (where we are). It is due to be finished in another 10 days but meanwhile the construction continues from about 8am to 8pm 7 days a week! They are determined to finish on time and this apparently has been going on for two years! The Marina Real is a private yacht club which has a few public berths for visiting yachts. We timed our arrival well as there were hardly any boats in here – a couple of days later and it’s almost full. It’s a very short walk into the Old Town where we are spoiled for a choice of places to eat, shop and visit. There is another larger, newer marina near the entrance of the harbour but we had been told to come here and we are so pleased that we did!