We have spent the last couple of weeks pottering along the North coast of Spain.
From the Islas de Sisargas, we went straight to la
Coruna, passing the unmistakeable Torre de Hercules. We had already spent quite a bit
of time exploring the city on previous visits, so after Dave had visited the
fisherman’s stores, we decided to anchor in a new spot across the bay in Praia
de Mera. A short walk ashore showed us some lovely sculptures, and a big lake teeming with ducks, geese and swans, but not a huge lot else.
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| Sculpture at Praia de Mera |
We did,
however, meet some other British cruisers. One couple had just come back from a
7-year round-the-world trip, and another, younger couple, Jake and Lucie, were just starting
their cruise, having arrived from the UK a week before. Young cruisers are few
and far between and Katie and Reuben were keen to spend some time with them.
Happily they agreed to follow us around the corner to one of our favourite
anchorages, in Ares.
The first day in Ares was lovely and sunny, with crystal
clear water, and we spent a lot of time swimming off the boat. Sure enough,
our new friends sailed in that afternoon and in the evening joined us for drinks
on deck with another French cruising couple, while the kids swam some more!
We spent a fair bit of time with Jake and Lucie over the
next couple of days. They are on an extended cruise on a lovely boat called
‘Ragtime’, which Jake’s grandfather had previously sailed around the world.
Jake is a great swimmer and was more than happy to comply with Katie’s and
Reuben’s pleas to “jump in off the bowsprit!”
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| Jump! |
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| Jake and Lucie, with Katie & Reuben |
He is also a great diver, but is allergic to seafood. Lucky
for me, as I was the recipient of a handful of scallops collected from under
our boat. We were all fascinated at the spectacle of live scallops slowly
opening their shells, then suddenly snapping them shut. Apparently, this is how
they move underwater!
I had never prepared scallops from scratch before, but after
a brief search online, and a few fumbling attempts, I soon had a lovely plate
of pan-fried scallops. Delicious!
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live scallops, the one on the right is opening
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| ready to cook,yum |
While in Ares, we had several torrential rain storms with
serious bouts of thunder and lightning. We watched the first one from the
safety of the wheelhouse, mesmerized as the hills opposite, and even the boats
anchored nearby, got swallowed up in a white curtain of heavy rain.
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| hills opposite disappeared in rain |
The next day, rain wasn’t due until evening and we made a
plan with Jake and Lucie to kayak and row around the corner to a pretty little
village called Redes. Grey clouds were gathering in the distance as we launched
the dinghies but we set off hopefully, leaving Jake and Lucie to follow. Soon,
we were engulfed in rain. We were too far out to return dry so decided to press
on.
We could see Jake and Lucie behind us and surprisingly, they
didn’t turn back! By the time we reached the corner, thunder and lightning was
getting closer. One flash of lightning was almost immediately followed by an
enormous crack of thunder. That was definitely a bit close for comfort! We
paddled the rest of the way as fast as we could, and made it safely to Redes.
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clouds closing in
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| heavens opened! |
As we stood dripping on the shore, Dave pointed out that mine
and Katie’s and my hair was literally standing on end. It was quite a sight,
especially as Katie’s hair is so long, and I wish I’d taken a photo, but,
having heard it could pre-empt a lightning strike, we hurried into the shelter
of the nearest bar!
There were a few surprised looks from the locals when we
arrived, sodden, but they soon returned to watching Spain playing in the World
Cup on TV. We slowly came back to life with beers for the adults and hot
chocolate for the kids. Slowly the storm cleared and we were able to do the
return trip. Dave towed us all in a convoy, adding a bit of excitement by
squeezing through a tiny gap in the rocks!
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towing the convoy home
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| about to squeeze through the gap |
The time came to say goodbye and move on. We had made it a
mission to visit our friend Jono, who lived somewhere beyond Gijon. We had
passed this coastline five times without stopping, and decided this time we
would make a point of finding him.
It is hard to squeeze everything into the day while
cruising! As it was still officially school term, we tried to keep to short day-hops. This allowed
us to do a couple of hours of school after breakfast, have lunch before
leaving, then arrive in a new place with a little time to explore before tea.
First stop was Cedeira. We arrived late, with no time to go
ashore, but we saw a staggering number of swimming crabs off the entrance. We have seen these tiny creatures all along the Atlantic coast - they swim on or just below the surface, but never in such big numbers
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| swimming crabs galore |
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| better close-up |
The following day, we actually had the wind in the right
direction and managed to sail most of the way to the Ria de Viveiro. What
stunning scenery! We passed steep, green hillsides, dotted with clusters of
orange-roofed houses, all topped with a layer of cloud (we had blue skies at
sea). Cabo Ortigal itself has a wonderful set of offlying jagged rocks, and a
zigzag path down to its lighthouse. All very reminiscent of Cornwall or
Ireland, with so many shades of green!
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wind behind us
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| lovely green coastline |
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jagged rocks off Cabo Ortigal
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| anchorage in Viveiro |
Arriving at Viveiro, we sailed most of the way up the deep
wide ria, before anchoring off the beach at the end, with a lovely view of
mountains in the distance behind. We took the dinghy up the canal to the town
and wandered the narrow streets of the old town, taking in the old castle and large
square, where they were in the midst of setting up for a medieval festival the
following weekend. A big, shallow lagoon behind the marina was obviously the
harbour in olden times, and now had become the perfect place for an evening
waterside stroll.
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| colourful Viveiro town |
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| medeival bunting |
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| waterfront, Viveiro |
Next stop was the Ria de Ribadeo, which was completely
different in character. The entrance was much smaller and narrower and, after
passing under a high road bridge, it opened out into a wide but very shallow
bay with a big sandbank in the middle. We tried to follow the narrow channel
around one side of the bank but it soon became too shallow, so we retraced our
steps and, hoping the chartplotter was accurate, followed the opposite bank
inland before crossing towards the town of Castropol. We touched bottom once
but floated off with the incoming tide and anchored where our fishfinder showed
deepest.
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| Castropol |
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| looking down from top of Castropol |
Castropol was a picture-perfect little town, winding its way
up a steep hill and with a pointed church tower at the very top. The town
surprised us with its elegant houses, many with glass-fronted turrets on top.
These were apparently old merchant houses. A huge barometer was on display outside
one shop, along with a plaque proclaiming it to be an English mercury barometer
from the 19th century. On top of the hill near the church was a neat
little gardens and statue outside an impressive building that was once the
casino. Obviously an affluent place in times gone by.
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| merchant house, Castropol |
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| lovely carving, Castropol |
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| plaque for English barometer, Castropol |
Nowadays, apart from catering to tourists and hikers, the
main business seemed to be in building lovely little sailing boats, to a
special design with heart-shaped transoms. These pretty boats, in various
colours, were dotted about the ria on moorings, and occupied a whole row in the
marina. They have an annual sailing
regatta in August, they must be quite a sight all together with their lateen-sails
hoisted.
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| sailing boats in Castropol |
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| heart-shaped transom |
This seemed to be an end to the bigger rias, with fishing
harbours taking over as places of refuge. Nearly all of them have a pontoon (or
wall) available for boats in transit, and in many of them there is no charge. In
Luarca, we picked up a buoy at one end of the boat and tied ropes from the
front to the tall harbour wall. At first sight, this looked a pretty tight space,
and rocky under the water, but in fact there was plenty of depth, and the water
was perfectly clear for swimming (although chilly!)
Jono came and joined us here with his daughter Naia, who had
never been on a pirate ship before, and was very excited. The novelty wore off
a little the next day when she felt the motion of the sea, but a long sleep seemed
to aid recovery. They sailed (motored – no wind) with us for 2 days, first to
Luanco and then on to Lastres. We had a lovely time, with lots of swimming, stunning
views of the coast, and a haul of sixteen mackerel at sea.
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| new crew at sea |
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| swimming time |
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| Jono relaxing at sea |
John had us sampling the local ‘sidra’ or cider, which is traditionally
poured out from above your head. This is a tricky operation with even the
slightest of roll on a boat!
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| Jono attempting to pour cider into a glass |
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| Reuben, Naia and Katie |
From Lastres, John picked up his car and gave us a taste of
the countryside inland. This area is close by the Picos mountains, which tower
over the region, giving a picturesque backdrop and catching clouds. Below the
mountains are steep green hills dotted with clusters of houses and farms, and
everywhere the Asturian grain stores – large square wooden buildings with an
overhanging roof standing on stone plinths well out of rats’ reach.
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| Pico mountains |
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| Jono's house, with grain store opposite |
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| Jono and Reuben in the tree house |
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| Asturian grain store |
Jono lives in a house in the hills, with a wonderful view
over all of this. He has chickens and a dog, and a variety of fruits,
vegetables and herbs growing in the garden. A lovely rural retreat, but just 20
minutes’ drive from the sea.
He took us to some natural caves, full of stalactites and
stalagmites. Outside the entrance, high above us, was a natural beehive, full of
wiggly honeycombs. We visited the nearby towns of Vilaviciosa and Colunga. We
picked up chunks of purple fluorite crystals from rocks outside an abandoned
mine and jumped waves in the sea.
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| natural cave |
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| inside the cave |
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| beehive outside cave |
We visited a fantastic maritime museum at Luanco, and a
dinosaur museum at Lastres. We were surprised by the sheer number of people on
the beaches – they looked packed to bursting point. Apparently it is common for
Spanish people to have a summer place on the coast, and all these towns seemed
incredibly lively, not at all the sleepy fishing villages we had imagined.
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| 'Ros Ailither' in Lastres |
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View over the rooftops, Lastres
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| dinosaur museum |
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| wonderfully detailed model in maritime museum |
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| busy beaches |
We are now in a lovely river- and seaside resort called Ribadesella,
where we are avidly watching the weather for a lull in the NE winds to get
across Biscay.
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| Ribadesella |
Watch this space!
