Heading south (Costa da Morte)

Engines serviced, VHF antenna fixed (thanks to Tad’s foray up the mast – again!), provisioned, watered, fed and rested, the weather was favourable for us to continue southwards.  We bade farewell to A Coruña in the early hours of the morning as the sun was making its appearance in the East, and headed for Camariñas in the Ria de Camariñas. The Rias of northwestern Spain are lovely inlets along the coast, generally surrounded by quite high hills and so are quite protected from the elements.  They are usually populated with fishing villages of varying sizes and often have a few beaches.  Unfortunately the weather was never warm enough for us to be curious about checking out the beaches, although there were always plenty of locals both on the sand and in the water!

We had read (and heard) that Camariñas was a charming place to stop, and our Aussie friends, Jeff and Sandra were to join us there.  Amazingly we had a fast trip down there mostly due to the fact that we motor-sailed almost the whole way as there was very little wind.  The swell started off quite high but within a couple of hours had slackened off and we had a very pleasant trip. 

The coastline is dotted with wind farms with some really large wind generators turning.  We hadn’t thought there would be enough wind to make them turn, but clearly it’s a windy area and they have enough to feed the grid.

We were anchored by 4pm and by 6pm were in town to watch the Aussies play the Netherlands in the World Cup football match.  Needless to say we were the only Aussies in the café, but the locals were also cheering for Australia as Spain had been beaten by the Netherlands and the Spanish wanted us to win to help them in their ranking.

Beers in hand we cheered the Socceroos with an “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!” each time they scored, but the outcome was not in our favour.  We weaved our way back to the dinghies and back to our respective boats for a quick dinner and then to bed as we were planning on another early start the next day.

Our next port of call was another Ria further south and our challenge on this passage would be Cape Finisterre (literally ‘the end of the earth’ so named by the Romans as they perceived it to be at that time) – this notorious area of the coast has been the scene of a number of sailing tragedies and the weather is subject to sudden changes in this area.

Amazingly we had absolutely calm seas, very little wind and a great deal of fog!  So much so that at one point we were navigating solely with radar and the GPS chart (nicknamed “Ray” for Raymarine). Just as we came past Cape Finisterre the fog cleared enough for us to be able to glimpse the forbidding cliffs and rocks.  We were very pleased to have modern navigation equipment and calm seas for this passage.

We reached Muros in the early afternoon and had time to anchor and get cleaned up before heading into town for a stroll and a look around.  We tried to moor our dinghy at the local marina but were turned away.  The only other option was to tie up to one of the sea walls, and as it was low tide the only way to reach the top was climbing a very rusty and seaweedy ladder!

While Muros was nice enough, it didn’t have the cosy feel of the smaller fishing towns and after a wander along the quay and a bite to eat we headed back to Bisou for an early night in anticipation of another early morning the next day.

The next day was damp and dark and I thought to myself that I was glad I was not a fisherman having to do this on a daily basis!  We weighed anchor and headed out of the Ria before dawn and had a good deal of cloud cover until quite far out to sea.  Another calm day with very little wind and next to no swell meant that our passage was by motor once again – we did try the genoa and the genaker at various times during the day but they just flapped in the breeze!

We had a little hitchhiker join us at midday – we think he might have come from one of the fishing boats we passed as he was a land bird and much too small to have flown out to sea about 6 nautical miles.  We nicknamed him “Chirpy” as he hopped around the boat chirping away (probably looking for his family).  Ever so often he would foray away from the boat for a few minutes (probably looking to see if he could get home) and then return.  Eventually, as we neared land again, he took off never to return.  He did leave us a few ‘calling cards’, around the boat, however!

The winds picked up just as we were entering the Ria for Baiona – fortunately for us we were somewhat sheltered as the winds were coming from the southwest and would have made our passage uncomfortable.  We had read in the pilot guide that we might either anchor (our preference) or pick up a mooring in Baiona.  The winds were such, however, that anchoring in the area was not feasible, and after trying to hail the marina on VHF radio for some time we simply picked up a mooring.

This was not as easy as it might have been, mostly because the moorings had no lines on them – as the bow of Bisou is some 2m from the water line and without a line it makes for a difficult attachment process.  Add to this a strong (20 knot) crosswind, and a long day at sea and you have a rather high stress factor.  Eventually we managed to get ourselves tied in and I went ashore in the dinghy to register.

Baiona is a lovely town with two marinas but if you arrive anywhere in Spain during the ‘siesta’ time (between 12:30 and 4pm or thereabouts) you are unlikely to get much attention.  After some discussion with the marina employees that I was able to find, it transpired that the moorings were no longer being used as they had not been serviced in some years and we would have to take a berth in the marina.  The attendant would show us where we could ‘park’ Bisou.

One thing I have neglected to mention in this blog is that we have been reading various sailing stories published by cruisers who have essentially cruised the same pathway that we are now doing.  One of the books, by Sandra Clayton, “Dolphins Under My Bed”, talks about dealing with marinas using ‘lazy lines’ – never having experienced this method of tying up, we were somewhat anxious about our first encounter (Sandra’s book mentions all kinds of awful situations she and her husband were exposed to with these mooring lines) and did not expect it to be so soon.  With the winds increasing and the day pressing on, we were keen to get berthed and be able to relax just a little.  So, we accepted the berth and kept our fingers crossed that the marina attendant would assist us as promised.

My rope-throwing skills have improved and Tad is more confident at the wheel of Bisou, so with teeth gritted we headed for the pontoon.  Everything went smoothly and other than some green slime and other detritus off the ‘lazy lines’ we were berthed!  I think I must have held my breath for about the 4-5 minutes that it took to get tied in as I ended up with a massive headache once we were in.  Tad was keen to get Bisou soaped down as she had endured massive amounts of construction dust in A Coruña and now was splashed with slime and muck from the bottom of Baiona harbour.  I left him to it and began to prepare dinner.

We fell into bed that night, weary, but happy to be safely berthed in a marina as the wind continued to blow that night and left exploring Baiona until the next day.

                                                         Safely anchored at Camarinas

                          Watching World Cup football (Australia vs Netherlands) with Jeff and Sandra
                                                     O'Connor from sister vessel "Nawii"

                                                       No further explanation needed!

                                                       Dawn departure from Camarinas

Arriving in Muros

Muros Port

"Chirpy" our intrepid hitchhiker

Exploring A Coruña further

We LOVE our bicycles!  It was wonderful for getting around La Rochelle which is essentially flat, and the marina was some distance (about a 20 minute brisk walk) from the Old Town.  In A Coruña, we hadn’t used them much to begin with, as the Old Town was within an easy walk and the streets much too narrow with the restaurant tables and chairs.  However, once we decided to get out and head for the Torre de Hercules (Tower of Hercules – the oldest still-functioning lighthouse in the world, first built by the Romans), we got the bikes out and headed off.

The weather was sunny and clear but with a brisk north-easterly (the prevailing wind, it seems) – the north coastal area of the city is spectacular, rugged and exposed. The city has done an amazing job of creating a beautiful parkland, complete with sculptures, walkways and even picnic benches!  The only thing missing is public toilets!  What is it about the lack of public toilets in Europe?  In the month that we were in La Rochelle, we learned where the (paying) public toilets were located so that we were never caught out, but the ‘servicios’ or ‘aseos’ in Spain seem to be well-hidden.  Even the beautiful long beach along the north-western edge of the city had no public facilities in sight.

The sculptures were an interesting mix of ‘local’ monuments, including the menhirs known to those who are familiar with Asterix and Obelix comics.

We managed to ride a wonderful circuit from our marina, around the peninsula and back through the Old Town to the marina again in about 3 hours (with lots of photo stops and of course the mandatory “helado” = ice cream).

A Coruña really is a lovely city and deserves a visit if you are in the area.  For yachties, it is a good place to stop after a Bay of Biscay crossing since there are good marina facilities (2 marinas to choose from), mechanics, electricians and chandleries as well as delicious food and pleasant people.

                                                    One of the many sculptures around town

                                    Torre de Hercules - the oldest working lighthouse in the world

                                                          View from the fort of St Anton

                                                             Menhirs overlooking the Atlantic

                                   Our pretty harbour with a large cruise ship in the background

                                                      A typical door-knocker in town

A Coruña and beyond

One of the wonderful things about being secure in a marina is that it affords you the ability to go off on excursions without fear that your boat will float away without you!

We had found some Aussie yachties (whom we had already met in La Rochelle and who had preceded us to A Coruña) at the new marina and decided to go out for a drink as they were planning to head south the next day.  In the end they decided to delay their departure as the winds were predicted to be high again, so we joined them in a day trip to Santiago de Compostela.  We ‘googled’ the train timetable and found that it was a mere 35 minute train ride; the station was a healthy bike ride away, but we caught the 12:40pm train and settled back in a very comfortable, clean and speedy train all the way to Santiago de Compostela.

The train station is at some distance (uphill) from the Old Town and the main Cathedral but we rode/pushed our bikes to the main square of the Santiago Cathedral.  From here we spent the afternoon wandering the streets, had a good look through the Cathedral and enjoyed a tasty lunch in the hot afternoon sun.  Call me a prude but I was surprised at the lack of reverence for a site of supposed religious significance!  No dress code for entry into the Cathedral (as in St Peter’s in Rome, for example), and plenty of beggars wandering the streets and the plaza outside the Cathedral.  Far too many touristy shops and restaurants but it was still a lovely place with some great views as we took a ride on our bikes through some leafy parks.

All too soon it was time to head back to the station and catch our train to A Coruña; we parted company with our friends at the station as they were taking the bus back to their marina and we of course had our bikes.  We decided to try a different way back to the Marina Real and found ourselves in a lovely park high on a hill with a planetarium, an outdoor concert venue and an Opera Theatre!

Another delicious tapas dinner out and then to bed –exhausted!

                                                 Tad and Robin outside the main Cathedral

                                                    The entrance to the main Cathedral

                                   View of Santiago de Compostela Old Town from a nearby park

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.

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.

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!

                                                      The local brew - tasty and cheap!

                                        Tapas - roxas (pork pieces in sauce) and calamari (fresh)

                                                     Watching the World Cup on tv

                                           Plaza Maria Pita in the centre of the Old Town