Tra Bhui and “The Costa
da Morte”
Having left Tra Bhui in Belz
(France) after the Golfe de Morbihan Festival in May we planned to continue the
summer sailing season by trailing her further south to meet up with Tyboat and
Appuski Too to sail along the northwest Spanish Coastline as part of “Camino
Maritimo Viking Cruise”, a Drascombe Association Rally being organised by Jack
O’Keeffe.
Jack had planned to break the
Rally in to three sections which would be completed over 5 weeks or so - Rias Altos
around A Coruna; Rias Baxos around Vigo including Santiago de Compostelas and
the Galician traditional Boat festival, and then on to the Duoro River in
Portugal.
Unfortunately due to time
constraints we would only be able to attend the first part of the rally which
included sailing along the Costa Da Morte. The Costa da Morte ("Coast of
Death") is part of the Spanish Galician coast which lies between the
villages of Muros and Malpica.
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We planned to haul Tra Bhui out
of the eater mid-way through the Galician traditional Boat festival which was
being held in Cabo da Cruz, after which we would leave our car, Tra Bhui and
trailer in Spain to be collected at a later date.
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| Costa da Morte - coast of death! |
The Costa da Morte received its
name because there have been so many shipwrecks along its treacherous rocky
shore which strewn with isolated offshore rocks and reefs is very exposed to
the swell and weather from, with the Atlantic Ocean.
Our passage would take us around
Cape or Cabo Fisterra, which descends from the Roman legend which held that
this area was the end of the world (Finis-terrae).
Wednesday 24th June
I had arrived home from
Kazakhstan on the Tuesday afternoon so after a hectic morning which included
packing, a haircut, paying bills, and visiting relatives, I set off to drive
down to Portsmouth leaving Lenzie just before 2pm This would hopefully allow me
to miss the worst of the rush hour traffic at Manchester and Birmingham.
As it turned out the drive to
Portsmouth was traffic free and I arrived in plenty of time to catch the 22.45
hrs. overnight ferry to Le Havre, which was delayed by an hour in leaving for
some unannounced reason.
Thursday 25th
June
The crossing to Le Havre was
considerably cheaper than the crossing to Caen but there was the additional
cost of crossing the toll bridges as I headed westwards to pick up the road to
Rennes. Despite the slightly longer journey and the toil costs crossing to Le
Havre had worked out cheaper overall and soon I was heading south towards
Rennes
From Rennes I drove westwards to
Vannes and then north to Belz where arriving at 13.30 hrs. I found Tra Bhui
sitting behind the gite that we had stayed in during the Semaine de Golfe
Morbihan, just as Kathleen and I had left her 5 weeks earlier.
No one was around, so I simply
hitched up and drove away. It would have been nice to meet the owner of the
Gite and say thank you as she had charged me nothing for the storage.
With Tra Bhui now in tow I headed
southwards past Nantes, Bordeaux and on to the Spanish Border at Irun.
The French motorways were
generally quiet and even the rush hour traffic around Bordeaux was not too bad
so just after 23.00 hrs. I entered Spain.
The roads in the north of Spain
were much better than I remembered from when we were last there with our
caravan a number of years ago. Obvious new construction meant that the route
across to Santiago de Compostela mainly followed toll roads / motorways.
The excitement of the trip was a
one of the trailer tyres
(new last year) blowing out at 02.30 hrs. on Friday morning. Of course the tyre
went in the middle of nowhere on top of a mist covered hill. The Spanish authorities obviously see hard
shoulders as a means of saving money when they build a new road and the one on
the side of the E5 that we pulled on to was a great example of this, being only
wide enough to accommodate half the width of the car and trailer.
Having set out two warning
triangles I set about changing the wheel, moving well clear of the trailer
every time a vehicle approached as I had
real concerns that a sleepy driver may not realise that the inside lane was
partially blocked by both the car and trailer.
It did not long to change the
wheel on the trailer and I was soon back under way. As the dawn appeared on the
horizon I found myself just short of Santiago de Compostela where I was due to
meet Kathleen at the airport.
Friday 26th
June
After following a very slow
moving large load for 5 miles or so I finally reached the airport at Santiago
de Compostela just before 8.40 hrs. having travelled 1500 miles since leaving
home and trailing Tra Bhui 900 miles since picking her up in Belz the previous
afternoon.
Kathleen’s flight (from Edinburgh
via Gatwick where she had stayed in the Bloc hotel overnight) was due in at 9.05
hrs. I still had to find somewhere to park the car and trailer. The trailer at
9 metres long is not
always easy to park as even on it’s own it is much longer than a standard
parking space.
The first option was the airport
itself. Santiago de Compostela has recently built a new airport terminal, parking
and access roads. Surprisingly the planners had failed to consider members of
the public who may want to bring a boat to the airport – something we have
found to be a common failure in many other airports. Once in the airport road
system I was committed but luckily as I could not read the Spanish signage, when
faced with a choice of 4 lanes for which I made the right choice as three of
them after passing through control barriers led to various multi-story car parks while the
one I had chosen led to the drop off and collection area. Although this did not
allow me to stop and park, it meant that I could extract myself from the
airport without entering the
multi-story car park.
Back on the public highway I
found a bit of rough ground on which I could leave the car and trailer while I
walked back up to the airport which is built on top of a hill. As I walked up
to the terminal I could see Kathleen’s plane taxiing into the arrivals gate.
Perfect timing!
From the airport we drove
straight to Sada where we planned to launch Tra Bhui and stay for 4 nights.
During our time in Sada we planned to stay at a local guest house while we day
sailed in the Ria de Betanzos.
Being the first of the three
boats to arrive we made arrangements with the local marina for berths for the
next few days and found a local slip where we could launch free of charge.
Having sorted out launching and
berths we set out to briefly explore Sada. The town itself is probably what
would be termed to be medium sized and consists of mainly flatted buildings set
in the mouth of a small valley where it joins the coast. From what we could see
the main industry was fishing, both fish and shell fish. The main road through
the town followed the coast. On one side there was an open promenade and the
other side the town itself.
We found a bar that was offering
a buffet lunch and drinks for 5 Euro per head. It looked OK so we went in and
enjoyed an excellent value lunch for 10 Euros plus an additional euro for a
beer. After lunch we went back to the car park where we had left Tra Bhui to
get her ready to launch.
As we were transferring things
from the car to the boat – well I was transferring things, Kathleen felt that a
short nap was more appropriate – Jack and Douglas arrived with Tyboat and
Appuski too respectively.
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Launching at Sada
|
After booking all three boats in
to the marina we trailed them around the harbour to the public slipway where we
launched them.
With Tra Bhui secured alongside
in the marina Kathleen and I headed off to find the guest house that we would
be staying in while we were in Sada. While I am more than happy to stay on board
Tra Bhui, Kathleen prefers the comfort of a hotel where possible. The
compromise (bribe) for this trip was a guest house at the start and end with 8
nights on board in between.
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| El Castro |
El Castro must be one of the best
hidden guest houses in Spain. Situated a mile or so uphill from Sada, it lies
at the end of a very narrow un named access road. If you are successful in
finding the road, your next challenge is to find the hotel which does not even
have a sign. Luckily we had co-ordinates for it which we entered into our sat
nav and which in turn took us right to the door. Obviously the guest house does
not rely on passing trade!
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| View from our room |
The guest house itself was really
very good. In a quiet setting amidst its own grounds, the house obviously had a
bit of history as a family home. Inside dark wooden floors extended everywhere
and our room with it’s ensuite bathroom had a great view of the gardens through
traditional Galician style windows.
In the evening we walked back
down to Sada to meet up with Jack and Douglas for dinner.
Saturday 27th
June
Our plan today was to take our
car and trailer to Cabo da Cruz where the boat festival that we planned to sail
to was being held.
When we arrived at the marina to
pick up the trailer we met up with Jack and Douglas. Douglas who had been suffering
from stomach ulcers had been feeling unwell over the previous few days and had
reluctantly decided that he was not well enough to sail on the rally and that
he should return to the UK as soon as possible for further treatment. This was
a blow, but we understood completely Douglas’s decision especially as we would
be sailing in some remote areas where a potentially incapacitating ailment
could become a much bigger issue.
While we drove south, Jack
planned to sort his own boat out and help Douglas recover Appuski Too back on
to her trailer. Jack had arranged to pick up his crew Patrick from the railway
station in A Coruna later in the day and had offered us a lift back to Sada if
we could meet him there.
Our Sat Nav did not recognize
Cabo da Cruz, so we entered Borio as our destination as Borio was a larger town
only a few km from Cabo da Cruz. The drive to Borio was shown as just over an
hour so we set off mid-morning following first main roads, then secondary
roads, then tertiary roads before we ended up on what was little more than a
dirt track which lead us to a hill top which our sat nav confidently told us
was our destination.
We were obviously miles from the
sea and I realised my
mistake – there is more than one Borio in Galicia! With the correct Borio now
selected we set off again, gradually finding larger roads until we arrived in
the correct Borio an hour or so later. From Borio we followed the sign posts to
Cabo Da Cruz where we easily found the marina.
We had arranged to meet Pepe who
had been our point of contact for the boat festival and with whom I had made
the arrangements to leave the car and trailer and later the boat and trailer
via e-mails exchanged over the months preceding our arrival in Spain. During
our unexpected detour to the wrong Borio, Kathleen had spoken to Pepe on the
phone to explain that we would be a bit later than planned. Pepe assured us
that this would not be a problem and that someone would meet us at the marina
in Cabo Da Cruz when we arrived.
Arriving in Cabo Da Cruz we found
no one waiting for us, but after an hour and a half of waiting in the sunshine
and a few phone calls to Pepe, someone turned up who spoke no English, but who
was obviously there to help. After canvasing the marina’s restaurant for diners
who could speak English he gathered 3 assistants including the mayor of Borio
who could all speak English to some degree. Eventually everyone agreed that leaving
the car and trailer on top of the breakwater next to the marina would be the
best option, something we could have done ourselves 21/2 hours earlier.
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| Waiting for the bus to Santiago de Compostela |
With the car and trailer parked
we asked where the best place to get the bus was. I knew we could get a bus
from Borio to Santiago de Compostela, but I was unsure where in Boiro the bus
left from. Unfortunately
no one knew. It was now nearly 14.30 hrs. and the buses ran an hourly service
with the next one leaving Borio at 15.05 (I thought). This gave us just over 40
mins to get to the bus stop which was about 4 km away – if we could find it.
A sweaty 4 km later and we made it
to the bus stop to find that the bus actually came a 15.35 – better to be early
than late.
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| Then by train to A Coruna |
A 40 minute bus journey on the
express bus took us to the railway station at Santiago de Compostela. We wanted
to explore Santiago de Compostela, but as time was pressing we decided that
this would need to wait until later in the rally. After a drink in the
station’s café we caught the 16.55 train to A Coruna arriving at 17.35 to find
Jack and Patrick waiting for us.
Patrick who was going to crew on
Tyboat had met Jack via their local rowing club when hearing from a mutual
friend that Jack was going to spend time sailing the waters around Galicia,
Patrick said he fancied going along as he had lived in A Coruna and not only
knew the area well, but spoke fluent Spanish and Galician.
On the drive back to Sada, Jack
reported that Douglas had got away OK and had arranged a ferry home from Spain
for the Monday. We were sad to see Douglas go as we had enjoyed sailing with
him last year in Scandinavia on the Viking Cruise.
Jack dropped us off at El Castro
which saved us the long walk up the hill. Before he left we arranged that after
showers we would meet both Jack and Patrick for drinks and dinner in Sada later
on.
Sunday 28th
June
On the water at last!
Based on Jacks original passage
plan for the rally we planned to sail for two days within the Ria de Betanzos.
Leaving the marina in Sada late morning
in no wind conditions we motored south eastwards down the Ria passing under two impressive road bridges and
into the gently flowing waters of the Rio Mandeo.
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| We could do with some wind! - picture J O'Keeffe |
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| Sailing up river to Betanzos |
Following the haphazardly
marked channel up steam for 3.5 miles or so we came to the town of Betanzos
where we planned to stop for lunch. The town’s only pontoon was reserved for dropping
off and picking up only so after dis embarking Kathleen and Patrick, we picked
up fore and aft moorings in the form of a pair of buoys attached to some
dubious slime covered lines. Trusting the local’ assurances that the moorings
were in fact secure we left Tra Bhui and Tyboat moored side by side while Jack
and I elegantly rowed ashore in our dinghy.
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| Local moorings picked up for lunch stop |
Betanzos which is located in a fertile
valley was in the Roman times Betanzos was called Carunium or Brigantium.
During the Medieval period the settlement was known as Carunio.
It has one of the best preserved old
quarters in Galicia. Noteworthy is the Igrexa de San Francisco (St Francis
Church), erected in 1387 by order of count Fernán Pérez de Andrade, whose tomb,
decorated with hunting scenes, can be seen inside of the church. The Igrexa de
Santiago (St James Church), built in the 15th century by the guild of tailors,
has a main portal decorated with a horseback statue of Saint James.
Other sights in the town are several town
palaces, a 16th-century clock tower, and the town walls, which preserve three
of their original four gates.
Like most Galician towns, the older parts
of Betanzos are situated around an estuarial river, or in this case the
convergence of two, the rio Mendo and the rio Mandeo. One of Betanzos’s
festivals involves the decorating of its many local boats for a floral
flotilla.
As you enter Betnazos you immediately
notice the white galeria balconied buildings around the riverside and as you
look up into the old town this combination of white glass facades and red tiled
roofs cuts its way into the hill. There is no formal town plan and no
regularity or symmetry in the way that the town has evolved and this is what
gives Betanzos its special character and post card appearance.
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| Betanzos |
Leaving the river behind us we
climbed up the steep narrow streets to the square at the top of the hill where
next to the church we found a tapas bar for lunch. After a drink and having
shared some tapas we wandered around the town gradually making our way back
down hill to the boats.
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Jack, Kathleen and Patrick
|
Betanzos has gone to some lengths to replicate the
traditional multi paned class panels found around balconies on traditional
properties. While the old original glass panels have a look of age and a
presence about them, the newer copies are obviously factory machined timber or
UPVC and really detract from the overall look of the town – town planners and
architects please note!
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| Betanzos |
Heading back down stream we
motored into a head wind and while Jack and Patrick on Tyboat broke out the
sails to augment their motor we pressed on under motor as we know from past
experience on the Norfolk Broads that the Gig is not the most suitable boat for
sailing upwind in a narrow river channel.
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| On pontoons in Sada |
Arriving back in the marina
before Tyboat – they continued to sail in the Ria – I made use of the time until
Tyboat arrived to sort out a couple of electrical glitches that I had noticed
when we last sailed in France. While I pottered around on the boat, Kathleen
walked back to our accommodation to shower and change for dinner. Choosing to
stay ashore at El Castro was certainly giving us some exercise!
Later we ate in Sada with Jack
and Patrick. I was keen to try eating at a very iconic local building La
Teraza.
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| La Teraza |
La Teraza (translates at The Terrace) was
originally built in Corunna in 1912 in the Jardines de Mendez Nunez under project
architect Antonio Lopez Hernandez. It replaced an old kiosk which sold drinks
and snacks near the port and was built as part of the development of the
promenade in that area. After having several extensions, it was eventually dismantled
and replaced by a more modern building.
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In 1920 it was moved to its present
location on the seafront of Sada. It was re-erected on top of a much larger
basement structure which effectively raised it approx. 1 metre above the ground
and extends to form outdoor terrace and seating areas. The basement was planned
to contain storerooms, and a pantry. The ground floor has a ceiling height of
3.50 m and here the kitchens are located adjacent to the restaurant and
cafeteria. Upstairs the vaulted ceiling is 4 metres high, fully glazed and
transparent. Jazz concerts are regularly held in the upstairs area.
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| Full of Character |
La Terraza has come to be the most
representative image of Sada. When it was built was said to be a modernist
building, but we would probably associate it more with art deco.
Unfortunately the great looks of
La Terraza were not matched by the atmosphere inside or the food. Apart from
another family we were the only customers and the food while reasonably
expensive was not great.
Today's mileage 11.2 miles - rally total 11.2 miles
Monday 29th
June
Typically we appeared to be
getting wind from mid-morning until early afternoon. We expected that as a general
rule of thumb this would prove to be the case for most of the coastline that we
planned to sail subject of course to the arrival of any major weather systems.
The lack of wind first thing in
the morning meant that breakfast could be a fairly leisurely affair which
suited us fine as we could enjoy the breakfast at El Castro before walking down
to the marina to join Jack and Patrick.
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| Tyboat |
Our planed sail today was to go
to Cabanas a small town roughly 6 miles away at the mouth of the Rio Eume on
the opposite side of the Ria Betanzos.
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| Tied up at the slipway in Cabanas |
As expected the wind arrived in
the late morning and we had a pleasant sail across the ria and down to the
mouth of the Ria Eume at which point we dropped our sails and motored the final
half mile or so to the towns harbour. Tying up alongside the town’s slipway we
left the boats and walked into the town to find somewhere for a late lunch.
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| Drascomber's breakfast |
After lunch we wandered around
the town, stopping at the main church so that those who wanted to could have a look
inside, before we returned to the boats.
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| Narrow streets |
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| Tower in Cabanas |
As we sailed back to Sada in the
late afternoon the wind gradually died away to virtually nothing at which point
we decided on Tra Bhui to start the engine leaving Tyboat as they persevered
and eventually managed to sail back to Sada.
Once again Kathleen and I climbed
back up the hill to El Castro to shower and change before joining Jack and Pat
for what was to be our last evening meal in Sada
Today's mileage 12 miles - rally total 23.2 miles
Tuesday 30th
June
Today our adventure would begin
in earnest!
Having spent the last few days
sailing in and around the Ria Betanzos in company with Tyboat it was time to
head southwards towards our final destination of Capo Da Cruz, which we hoped
to reach by Wednesday the 8th of July in time to take part in the Galician
Traditional Boat Festival being held there.
Our route would take us along the
Costa Da Morte which stretches from Malpicia to Muros. The coast’s name which
translates as the Coast of Death is reflective of the number of ships and
sailors which have been lost there, both in historic and recent times. Exposed
to the Atlantic swell with its steep seas, off-lying rocks, few points of
shelter and very variable weather conditions it is not a light undertaking for
any boat.
Tyboat set sail just before 10.00
hrs. hoping to make the best use of the very light wind that was blowing down
the Rias Betanzos. We delayed our own departure on Tra Bhui while waited for
the delivery of a new chip for our chart plotter, the arrival of which was
expected by 12.00hrs but which did not in fact arrive until 16.45hrs. This
delay was frustrating as while we spent more time in Sada, the most constant
wind that we had experienced to date blew all day.
Eventually the chip arrived and
we set off in pursuit of Tyboat. The only way to make up the seven hour lead
that they had on us was to resort to motoring so under grey skies we headed
south towards our planned overnight stop in Caion.
The coastline of the Ria is home
to numerous rafts which are used to farm mussels, a major industry in Galicia.
Keeping offshore to avoid not only the mussel rafts but also a number of isolated
rocks and shoal areas and the steep breaking waves associated with them.
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| Heading towards Caion - picture J O'Keeffe |
After 21/2 hours of motoring passed
A Coruna known to historians for the Battle of Coruna during the Peninsular War
and as the site of the “Tower of Hercules which is considered to be the oldest
lighthouse in the world. The lighthouse was clearly visible to us and had a
real presence on the headland at the mouth of the Ria da Coruna.
The Tower
of Hercules is an ancient Roman lighthouse on a peninsula about 2.4 kilometers
(1.5 mi) from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia, in north-western Spain. Until
the 20th century, the tower itself was known as the "Farum
Brigantium". The Latin word farum is derived from the Greek pharos for the
Lighthouse of Alexandria. The structure is 55 metres (180 ft) tall and
overlooks the North Atlantic coast of Spain. The structure, almost 1900 years
old and rehabilitated in 1791, is the oldest Roman lighthouse in use today.
There is a sculpture garden featuring works by Pablo Serrano and Francisco
Leiro.
The
tower is known to have existed by the 2nd century, built or perhaps rebuilt
under Trajan, possibly on foundations following a design that was Phoenician in
origin. It is thought to be modeled after the Lighthouse of Alexandria. At its
base is preserved the cornerstone with the inscription MARTI AUG.SACR C.SEVIVS
LUPUS ARCHTECTUS AEMINIENSIS LVSITANVS.EX.VO, permitting the original
lighthouse tower to be ascribed to the architect Gaius Sevius Lupus, from
Aeminium (present-day Coimbra, Portugal) in the former province of Lusitania,
as an offering dedicated to Mars. The tower has been in constant use since the
2nd century and is considered to be the oldest existing lighthouse in the
world.
In
1788, the original 34 metres (112 ft), 3-story tower was given a neoclassical
restoration, including a new 21 metres (69 ft) fourth storey. The restoration
was undertaken by naval engineer Eustaquio Giannini during the reign of Charles
III of Spain, and was finished in 1791. Within, the much-repaired Roman and
medieval masonry may be inspected.
The
Romans who conquered this region of Spain believed it to be, in a figurative
sense, the end of the earth, as described in "Finisterra". This
region is notorious for shipwrecks, earning it the name Costa da Morte,
"Coast of Death".
Through
the millennia many mythical stories of the lighthouse’s origin have been told.
According to a myth that blends Celtic and Greco-Roman elements, the hero
Hercules slew the giant tyrant Geryon after three days and three nights of
continuous battle. Hercules then—in a Celtic gesture— buried the head of Geryon
with his weapons and ordered that a city be built on the site. The lighthouse
atop a skull and crossbones representing the buried head of Hercules’ slain
enemy appears in the coat-of-arms of the city of Corunna.
Another
legend embodied in the 11th-century Irish compilation Lebor Gabála Érenn— the
"Book of Invasions"— King Breogán, the founding father of the
Galician Celtic nation, constructed here a massive tower of such a grand height
that his sons could see a distant green shore from its top. The glimpse of that
distant green land lured them to sail north to Ireland. According to the
legend, these Breogán's descendants who stayed in Ireland and their followers
are the Celtic ancestors of the current Irish people. A colossal statue of
Breogán has been erected near the Tower.
Unfortunately our time in Galicia would not
allow us to go and visit the lighthouse but it gives us an excuse – not that we
need one – to return in the future.
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| Approaching Caion |
Four miles short of Caion we
caught up with Tyboat which had just started to motor as what little wind there
was had died away altogether. Arriving in the harbour together just after 21.00
hrs. we made fast alongside the harbour wall.
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| Caion Harbour |
The harbour at Caion consisted of
an enormous
sea wall behind which local fishing boats sheltered. In common with most of the
small harbours we visited there was at least one fixed crane to lift boats out
of the water, something that happens frequently in bad weather as while the
harbours offer some protection, even with their massive sea walls they cannot
protect the boats in all directions or from the Atlantic swell.
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| House wall after exposure to weather |
Going one better than most harbours,
the harbour at Caion also included individual reinforced concrete boat
shelters, presumably to protect boats stored out of the water during really bad
weather.
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| The village beach |
Caion is a small village built on
spit of land with the harbour on one side and a beautiful beach on the other
side. We ate at a bar overlooking the harbour after the owner had agreed to
charge Tyboat’s batteries for Jack.
Today's mileage 18.5 miles - rally total 41.7 miles
Wednesday 1st
July
After a disturbed night due to
the coming and going of fishing boats and the continual bumping of a large
dingy which was moored on the end of a very long line and appeared to simply
drift around the harbour with the tide, we woke to a nice bright morning. Our
departure from Caion was delayed as we waited for the restaurant which was
charging Tyboat’s engine batteries to open at 11.00 hrs. This slight delay not
only allowed us time to buy local bread and enjoy our breakfast, but it meant
that the mid-morning wind arrived before we left at 11.45 hrs.
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| Tyboat, dwarfed by the sea wall at Caion |
From Caion we were heading for
Malpica another small fishing harbour some 23 miles away and with a light westerly
wind of between 8 and 10 knots we enjoyed a pleasant sail. To the north of
Malpica there is an area of shallows that were shown on our charts as being an area to avoid so we bore away from
the direct line course to take a route closer to the shore and avoid this area
altogether, while Tyboat continued directly to Malpica arriving slightly ahead
of us just after 15.00 hrs.
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| smiling is optional! |
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| Malpica |
Malpica like many of the small
harbours along the coast is a small working harbour and has no facilities or berths
for visiting boats. With no free moorings and no sheltered place to moor, our
initial look for a place to tie up did not look promising as the harbour was very
busy with fishing boats either unloading their catches or taking on provisions and equipment
at the harbour wall.
After a shouted conversation
between Pat and the crew of a fishing boat, we tied up alongside their boat as they
were not going back out until the early hours of the morning. With the boats
secured, we went for a look around the town and to find somewhere for a coffee.
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| Island of Sisargas |
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| Malpica from the south with the the pristine beach in front of the town visible |
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| The church that stands on the headland opposite Sisagras |
Malpica like Caion has been built
on a small headland with the harbour on one side and the town’s beach on the
other, so after coffee while Jack and Pat went back to the harbour Kathleen and
I went for a walk to the next headland, following the coastal path for miles, until
we were just opposite the island of Sisargas, a small archipelago used as
shelter by numerous marine birds and the site of the Church of Santiago de Mens
a 12th century place of worship.
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| Moving Tra Bhui (tent up) to a new berth |
Before dinner we went back to the
harbour and moved both boats to a space that had become available alongside the
inner harbour wall, where hoped that we could stay undisturbed overnight. In a
harbour such as Malpica a Drascombe really is the boat to have as it was not a
place to take a larger yacht.
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| Sunset over Sisagras |
Today's mileage 11.3 miles - rally total 53 miles
Thursday 2nd
July
Leaving Malpica at 11.00hrs we
set our course to pass inside the island of Sisargas, through an unmarked
channel, constrained on either side by shallow rocks and reefs. The wind allowed
us to reach right to the passage at which point influenced by the island and
the adjacent headland it moved to head us. With the tidal current against us
and the channel too narrow to tack some judicious use of our outboards ensured
that we cleared the shallows until we could bear away and sail again.
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| Flag power |
While the Gig points well we had continually
struggled to match Tyboat’s speed upwind. With the prospect of a day beating
against the light southerly wind (6 knots) ahead of us, we were found ourselves
severely hampered by the tender complete with outboard that we were towing behind
us. A very frustrating morning ensued where we really struggled to make any
headway at all against the tide. A later interrogation of the plot on our chart
plotter showed that we had on a number of tacks we were effectively only
sailing at 60 degrees to the wind due to our sideways drift. Our poor progress
was attributed to the tender and outboard, the tender itself is not much of a
problem, but adding the outboard appeared to have made a vast difference –
another lesson learned
 |
With Tyboat be now well ahead of
us we decided that a bit of motor sailing was in order to catch up otherwise we
would be in sight of Sisargas forever.
 |
| Inhospitable coast |
We caught up with Tyboat 6 miles or so before Laxe by which time the
wind was beginning to not only gain in strength, but to move round to the west.
This allowed both boats to fairly fly over the remainder of the passage to Laxe
as the wind was now reaching 15 knots and with full sail we were surfing the Atlantic
swell as we went.
 |
| Approaching Laxe |
The harbour at Laxe was a lot
bigger than any of the ones we had stopped in since leaving Sada and although
it was still a fishing port we noticed a few yachts moored off a long sandy
beach just inside the outer breakwater.
 |
| Breakwater at Laxe - beach sheltered behind it |
Tyboat entered the harbour first and managed
after shouting to some fishermen on the quay to secure the use of a mooring that
we could share. While exchanging pleasantries with the locals Jack and Pat even
managed to secured the use of a small tender to get ashore as they did not have
a tender of their own with them.
 |
| Tyboat's local tender |
 |
| Kathleen going ashore |
 |
| Sharing a mooring in Laxe |
 |
| Neighbours |
 |
| Typical houses in Laxe |
With both boats secured in the
harbour and our tents erected we went ashore to explore Laxe.
 |
| Crew hard at work! |
The restaurant that we chose for
dinner turned out to be very disappointing with poor food and service but at
least the company was good!
Today's mileage 19.9 miles - rally total 72.9 miles
Friday 3rd
July
 |
| Mares Tails form over Laxe ahead of the storm front |
 |
| The harbour was full of fishing boats waiting for weather front to pass |
The weather forecast for today
was for a front to pass through bringing with it 25 to 35 knot westerly winds.
This left us with the option of making a 7 mile dash to Camelle before the arrival
of weather front which was forecasted as lunch time, or staying put in Laxe. Given
the large local variation in the forecasted weather that we had experienced to
date we decided that we would stay put which gave us a day to explore Laxe.
 |
| Exploring the area |
Laxe is situated in the sheltered
Cabanas Bay and it’s expansive sandy beach is well sheltered from the southerly
winds that we had been experiencing to date. Kathleen and I spent the day walking
in the immediate area returning briefly to the town to meet Jack and Patrick for
lunch.
 |
| The beach with water as warm as it is in Scotland! |
With the sun out we braved the icy sea for a quick dip in the afternoon,
but it was too much like swimming in Scotland to stay in long.
 |
| Puuta Da Crucina |
 |
 |
While walking in the area we visited
the unmanned lighthouse at Punta Da Crucina beside which is an evocative statue
of a mother and child staring out to sea waiting for the fishermen to return
safely from the sea.
 |
Capella de Sta. Rosa de Lima |
 |
| View from the church over Laxe's harbour |
A small church stands on top of a
nearby hill overlooking the town. Climbing up to it we had not only splendid
views over the town and harbour below, but also a good view of the coastline
ahead, which we could see was being battered by the storm force winds which
were blowing outside the sheltered bay.
 |
| View looking south |
For a change we ate at a non-seafood
restaurant of which there cannot be many of them in Galicia as they eat
anything and everything aquatic! At my persuasion we went to a Pizza restaurant
which was empty before we arrived. This should have been a warning, but we paid
it little heed and as a reward we were served Europe’s worst pizzas – when in
Galicia avoid pseudo Italian restaurants!
 |
Today's mileage 0 miles - rally total 72.9 miles
Saturday 4th
July
With the weather front having
passed through we were faced with a windless calm as we set out for Camarinas
which lies just south of the Cabo Vilan headland. The lighthouse on Cape Vilan –
which is the oldest electric lighthouse in Spain - marks one of the most
dangerous sections of Costa da Morte.
 |
| Cabo Vilan |
Erected at 125 meters above sea level it’s
light is visible from 55km away. A stairway
cut into the rock face and protected by a concrete roof which protects users
from the extreme weather associated with the headland, joins the lighthouse to
the nearby keepers accommodation.
 |
| Capo Vilan - looking north |
While Jack on Tyboat decided to
try sailing we decided that with no wind, rather than just drift we would motor
until we found some wind and soon Tyboat was lost from site. 12 miles later we found
our wind just as we were approaching the Cabo Vilan where we encountered some
fairly steep seas caused by a local tidal confluence with the Atlantic swell.
 |
| Lighthouse at Capo Vilan |
On passing the Cabo Vilan we were
able to run last 4 miles or so under full sail until the small harbour at
Camarinas came into site.
 |
Camarinas is an important fishing
center on the Galacian coast and is also renowned all over Spain for the bobbin
lace work of its women.
 |
 |
| Marina office |
 |
With Tra Bhui secured alongside a
pontoon in the marina we decided to make
the most of the hot sunny day and walk back to the lighthouse on Cabo Vilan where
we ate our very belated lunch. Having lost radio contact with Tyboat earlier in
the day – Tyboat was having radio problems - we hoped to see them pass as we
walked along the cliff top road and hopefully raise them on our hand held vhf
that I we took with us.
 |
We arrived at Cabo Vilan in time
to see Tyboat pass the headland having resorted to motoring / motor sailing
earlier in the day.
 |
| Cabo Vilan - looking south |
HMS Serpent
On November 10, 1890, a British Navy torpedo cruiser, the HMS Serpent, which had been launched just three years before, and was built at Devonport in 1885, was wrecked on north western Spain’s infamous ‘Coast of Death’ – ‘la Costa da Morte’ in Galicia, killing more than 170 crew. Only three people survived.
The ship had set sail from Plymouth on November 8 for service on the Cape of Good Hope and the West Coast of Africa Station under the captaincy of Cdr. Henry Ross. But as the ship sailed through heavy seas off Galicia’s coast, she was cast onto rocks 600 metres off shore, in an area known as Punta Boi, close to Cabo Vilán. The ship went down in less than an hour.
 |
| HMS Serpent |
The New York Times reported at the time, ‘The weather was thick and wet, and the wind was blowing hard. There was a very heavy swell and the vessel, after striking, thumped helplessly upon the rocks for about half an hour, when she slipped off into deep water and sank to the bottom.
The three survivors, Edwin Burton, Onesiphorous Luxon and Frederick Gould, had managed to make it ashore to safety. Burton later spoke of the last moments on board the ship, ‘The Serpent rolled and shivered as every wave struck her, and we could hear above the storm the grinding and crunching of the rocks through her bottom. Shortly afterwards a great wave struck her on the port bow, and she heeled right over on her starboard side …. By this time we had all given ourselves up for lost, and the sight of so many of one’s comrades awaiting certain death was awful, as you may suppose’.
The New York Times reported on November 15, ‘The survivors were members of a lifeboat’s crew and wore life belts. They were washed overboard and, after a desperate struggle, succeeded in reaching the land. They staggered and crawled two and a half miles to Camariñas. The men are able to state nothing further accurately.’ Burton later spoke of how he found Luxon after making his way inland, and how the two were taken in for the night by a local family. They came across Gould in Camariñas the next day, who had spent four hours in the water before he was able to reach shore.
That morning dawned with bodies seen scattered along the shore or floating in the water with the wreckage from the Serpent. One hundred and forty two bodies were recovered and the dead were buried in an improvised cemetery near the beach. It’s known locally today as ‘the English cemetery’.
The tragedy was one of the worst ever shipwrecks off Galicia’s coast and is still remembered by the people of Camariñas, who pay homage to the crew of the HMS Serpent and to other sailors who have lost their lives at sea in a ceremony which is held there every year. The local councillor for culture, Mari Carmen Linares, told El Mundo newspaper, ‘The children know what happened here because they have heard it from their grandparents who, in turn, have heard it from theirs’.
The HMS Serpent’s figurehead was split into two parts when the ship was wrecked, but was recovered from the sea. The lower part was removed by the British Navy, while the upper part was recovered by a local fisherman who kept it in his garden until it was sold to a family from Camariñas, who still has it today.
 |
| Catching up with the outside world in the marina bar |
To make our walk circular we followed the coastal path back to Camarinas, climbing an isolated hill to visit an interesting building which turned out to be a church refuge dating back hundreds of years. Arriving back at the marina we caught up with Jack and Patrick at the bar and spent a convivial evening with a variety of characters from the yachts moored in the bay.
Today's mileage 16.3 miles - rally total 89.2 miles
Sunday 5th
July
 |
| Camarinas harbour |
Setting out mid-morning from
Camarinas it looked as though another windless day was in the offing. With no
safe refuge before Capo Fisterra some 20 miles away we had no alternative but
to motor again until we found some wind. Relying solely on an electric
outboard, Tyboat had limited motoring abilities so we took her in tow having
plenty of power with our 10hp Honda.
 |
| The hard life of the crew! |
With Tyboat keeping a constant station
some 20 metres behind us we made a good 4.5 knots southwards until the dramatic
looking Cabo Fisterra came into site. Keen to avoid the tides and currents
associated with the cape we kept a health distance offshore.
 |
| Approaching Cabo Fisterra - no wind! |
In
Roman times Cabo Fisterra was believed to be the end of the known world. The
name Finisterre, like that of Finistère in France, derives from the Latin finis
terrae, meaning "end of the earth". It is sometimes said to be the
westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. However, Cabo da Roca in Portugal
is about 16.5 kilometres (10.3 mi) further west and thus the westernmost point
of continental Europe.
The lighthouse (Faro de Fisterra)
sits on top of Monte Facho some 238 metres (781 ft) above sea level adding to
the dramatic setting of the headland.
 |
| This shows the height of the lighthouse above the sea |
As we rounded Cabo Fisterra the
wind finally started to fill in behind us from the north west making a nice
change from the headwinds that we had experienced to date. With Fisterra behind
us and all sails raised we now had to decide where were going to head for.
Wanting to maximise the favorable wind now we had it we decided to head to
Muros in the Ria of the same name.
 |
| Wind at last - picture J O'Keeffe |
The wind continued to rise and
soon we were running before a wind that was constantly gusting to 15 knots. We enjoyed a very exhilarating sail,
regularly managing speeds (SOG) in excess of 9 knots as we surfed the large
swell that was running with us. Turning into the Ria de Muros e Noia we sneaked
inside the off lying rocks and entered an area of relative calm which was short
lived as a katabatic wind swept in from the north rising quickly to 18 knots.
 |
| Runing towards Muros - picture J O'Keeffe |
After flying down the ria we
spotted a sheltered area near the shore that we headed to drop our sails.
Without a reef in we were being overpowered and with Muros just around the
corner I decided that we would quit while we were winning, although my crew
felt that we were dropping our sails too early.
Motoring out of the shelter we found that the wind had now reached 23
knots but with Muros clearly in site it took us under 5 minutes to motor into
the marina.
 |
| Muros |
Tyboat with her slightly smaller
sails continued to sail despite the gusting wind and only dropped her sails as
she entered the marina which was an impressive bit of sailing from Jack.
 |
Muros
is one of the largest fishing ports in the ria and still benefits from deep
waters that allow some of the larger fishing vessels to berth there.
Traditionally the ships at Muros land their catch in the early evening and make
shift markets are set up as soon as the boats approach so that the catch can be
sold whilst it is still fresh.
 |
| Muros Town Hall |
Aside
from its typical Galician coastal setting, Muros also features many narrow and
colonnaded streets that give the town an almost claustrophobic atmosphere,
especially as you walk in the alleys and pathways behind the sea front facing
miradored buildings.
 |
| Church |
 |
After sorting out our sails and
erecting the tent we went in to town to meet up with our local contact for the
boat festival - Pepe and his girlfriend Maribel.
 |
| Muros marina |
 |
| Marina facilities |
As Pepe’s guests we ate at a very
nice local restaurant before going back to the harbour to see a few of the
traditional boats that would be heading shortly to the same festival that we
were going to.
 |
Today's mileage 35.8 miles - rally total 125 miles
Monday 6th
July
 |
Waiting for the mid-morning wind
we had time to explore Muros in a bit more depth, something that having arrived
relatively late the previous day and then having met with Pepe and Maribel for
dinner we had not had time to do yet
 |
| Hospital |
 |
 |
| Hospital - sunken garden |
 |
| Market |
 |
| Town square |
Another long day was ahead of us
as we set out for the Ria de Arousa and our planned overnight stop at the A
Illa de Arousa (Island) some 35 miles away. There was just enough wind to sail
as we left the marina but this soon rose to a fairly constant 15 knot north
westerly which allowed us to broad reach down the coastline.
 |
| Kathleen on the helm - picture J O'Keeffe |
Running parallel to the swell
which was breaking into white horses we put a reef in and kept far enough
offshore to avoid the numerous isolated rocks and reefs that have caught out
many a boat in the past.
Although we were losing ground to
Tyboat (as usual) we made excellent time averaging 5 knots over the first 3
hours by which time we were approaching the end of the Riberia peninsular and
entering an area full of reefs and isolated rocks. By this time Tyboat, again
out of radio contact, was being lost from site behind the passing swells.
 |
| Tra Bhui - picture J O'Keeffe |
Deciding to head offshore to pass
around the rocks and reefs, the increasing wind strength and very agitated sea
state forced a quick re think of that plan, so we chose to find our way between
them instead. Being so close to the rocks and reefs that could end our trip
very quickly left us with the impression of just what force was behind the
massive Atlantic swell and just how little even at 26 feet out boat was. As we
turned to run through a very narrow channel that would take us into the mouth
of the Ria the wind began to rise again and even with reef in we were making
over 7 knots as we wove our way between the numerous rocks that we could see just below the surface- exciting
stuff indeed!
Once in the Ria we entered calmer
waters and for a short while we enjoyed a more subdued sail in the Ria while we
continued to make good speed. Further excitement was still to come however as
the katabatic wind kicked in again during the late afternoon rising very
quickly to 25 knots as we approached another narrow channel just off
Castineiras. Being now totally overpowered we decided that discretion being the
better than valour we
would drop our mainsail altogether. This rapidly changed to drop everything as
the wind continued to rise to 30 knots!
 |
| Tra Bhui - picture J O'Keeffe |
With all our sails down we
continued under motor with the wind blown spray passing right across the boat.
Kathleen by now had taken shelter from the spray under the mainsail which was
tied down on the deck as it was too windy to roll it away.
Realising that the 5 miles left
to go would be absolutely miserable we headed inshore in the hope of finding a
sheltered harbour or mooring to spend the night. Thinking that Jack and Patrick
on Tyboat would be sitting enjoying a beer on the A Illa de Arousa we again
tried in vain to contact them by radio to tell them of our changed destination.
The quieter inshore waters
remained elusive as rocks and reefs littered the shoreline forcing us to keep
offshore, so we decided to head for the large fishing port of Riberia which had,
we believed a small marina and which was only a few miles away.
Even with a 10 HP outboard we
were initially only making 2 knots as we battled into the wind although this gradually
increased as we eventually reached more sheltered waters.
 |
On reaching Riberia we found that
it did indeed have a marina – not the best marina in Galicia, but a marina all
the same! As a very wet Tra Bhui and crew were drying out alongside a pontoon
we tried to contact Tyboat by text to let them know that we would not make it
to the A Illa de Arousa today.
 |
| The worst pontoon in Spain? - Europe? - the world? |
Unbeknown to us having decided
not to sail through the narrow channel that we had taken into the Ria, Tyboat
was not as far ahead of us as we had thought and had decided to stop for the
night in Castineiras.
Having tied up before the
dramatic wind rise, Jack and Patrick were standing on a small headland as we
sailed past and were a bit surprised when we sailed on and then disappeared
from site (we were dropping our sails).
As the wind rose, having no radio
contact and being unable to see Tra Bhui they became a bit concerned as to our
fate. Much to their relief they received Kathleen’s text asking them where they
were and advising them that we were in Riberia.
Leaving everything to dry in the
last of the sunshine, we went in search of café or bar for a pre-dinner drink
and a restaurant for dinner.
 |
| Riberia |
Riberia was the biggest town (in
fact it is a city) that we in since arriving in Spain. Its large harbour which
lay adjacent to the marina was home to a number of very prosperous and large
fishing boats. Around the harbour was a small industrial area and beyond that
the town itself.
Until
the 17th century, Ribeira's port was of little importance on the region, partly
due to several incursions of Vikings, Saracens and pirates from the 11th to
18th centuries. Nevertheless, it grew constantly to become one of Galicia's
most important fishing ports towards the late 18th century. At that time
businessmen of Catalonia arrived in Ribeira and created a successful salting
fish industry. King Alfonso XIII granted Ribeira the title of City on 1906
Although Riberia is also a
tourist destination it had more of a big town feel about it and lacked the atmosphere
of the smaller places that we had visited. It was now after 20.00 hrs. and the
bars and cafes were full of locals. We managed to find a bar that was fairly
quiet for a pre-dinner drink, before finding a restaurant for dinner.
Today's mileage 25 miles - rally total 150 miles
Tuesday 7th
July
 |
| A grey morning in Riberia marina - but it has WiFi! |
There was no immediate rush to
leave Riberia as we did not want to arrive in Capo Da Cruz which was only 6
miles or so away until late afternoon. As we were heading into town to find a
bakers we were surprised to see Tyboat entering the marina. It transpired that
Jack and Patrick had set out early in order to meet up with us again. While we
went to find a bakers, Jack went in search of something which he could make a
replacement sail batten out of as Tyboat had lost one a few days earlier.
 |
| Tyboat pays us a visit |
 |
| We can still see you Patrick! |
 |
| Local fishermen scrape the seabed with rakes to collect shellfish |
We left Riberia shortly after
Tyboat and after threading our way through a number of groups of small fishing
boats and numerous mussel rafts we eventually reached clear water and headed
directly to Capo Da Cruz arriving there at 14.30 hrs.
 |
| Capo Da Cruz in sight |
 |
The Ria de Arosa, which boasts of
being the most productive shellfish area in Spain, is home to hundreds of large
rafts all of which appear to be used to grow mussels. Numerous large fishing
boats fill local harbours and are used solely to service the rafts. This is
quite different to the fish farms that we are used to in Scotland.
Joining Tyboat alongside an empty
pontoon we found that the organisers of the festival had arranged for a
photographer to meet us as we arrived. Who know if we will ever see any photos though?
The marina appeared to be very
new and was far from full. In common with most of the marinas we had stayed in
the majority of the boats berthed there were power or sports boats. Yachts
remained in the minority.
Cabo Da Cruz which translates as Cape
Cross, is also called Pesqueira. It is a relatively new town with a population
of under 3000 people. Having been founded in 1929 it lies some 3km to the south of Boiro. While Cabo Da Cruz may
be relatively new the area has been populated for far longer. The parish church
of Castro, was probably built around 1640 .
 |
| Cabo da Cruz harbour |
 |
| The fishing fleet are all associated with working the mussel rafts anchored just offshore |
Most of the population works in
the sea. The port of Cabo de Cruz has recently been redeveloped and expanded
because of the increase in fish and shellfish farming in the Ria.
 |
Despite having a reasonable size
of population the town itself has very few shops, bars or restaurants.
As it was early afternoon
Kathleen and I decided to take a walk around the town which covered nearly all
the land on the end of the peninsular on which it was built. Walking around the
town was very pleasant as we managed to follow the shoreline by taking
footpaths and the narrow winding lanes that run between the houses. It was
interesting to see that the locals practiced small scale agriculture in
addition to the fishing industry as we passed numerous small fields filled with
maize or root vegetables.
 |
| From Ireland - I think! |
We ate at the marina’s bar, which
although small provided us with a very good meal.
Today's mileage 6 miles - rally total 156 miles
Wednesday 8th
July
Having spent our last night on
board Tra Bhui it was time to unload the stuff that we would not be needing
over the next few days and put it in the car. We planned to take Jack back to
Saga to pick up his van and trailer leaving Patrick (and friends) to move both
Tra Bhui and Tyboat onto the pontoon in the harbor that would be used for the
boat festival.
Leaving Cabo da Cruz at 8.30 hrs.
we reached Sada just before 10.30 hrs. having stopped on the way to drop the
punctured tyre from Tra
Bhui’s trailer off at a tyre dealer in Sada. The tyre obviously needed to be
replaced as it had virtually a complete sidewall missing.
By the time we reached Sada we were really ready for our breakfast. At a
café just outside the marina we enjoyed fresh orange juice, sandwiches and
coffee before leaving Jack to collect his van and trailer while we headed south
again to visit Santiago de Compostela which is the capital of the autonomous
community of Galicia.
 |
| Parking the car at the bottom of the hill we had ready access to the city centre |
Parking in a small government run
car park near the city’s centre we had easy access to the main places that we
wanted to see
 |
The
city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the city's
cathedral, as destination of the Way of St. James, a leading Catholic
pilgrimage route originated in the 9th century. In 1985 the city's Old Town was
designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 |
The
cult of Saint James of Compostela was just one of many arising throughout northern
Iberia during the 10th and 11th centuries, as rulers encouraged their own
region-specific cults, such as Saint Eulalia in Oviedo and Saint Aemilian in
Castile.
During
the 10th century and in the first years of the 11th century Viking raiders
tried to assault the town—Galicia is known in the Nordic sagas as Jackobsland
or Gallizaland—and bishop Sisenand II, who was killed in battle against them in
968, ordered the construction of a walled fortress to protect the sacred place.
In 997 Compostela was assaulted and partially destroyed by Ibn Abi Aamir (known
as al-Mansur), Andalusian leader accompanied in his raid by Christian lords,
who all received a share of the booty. However, the Andalusian commander showed
no interest in the alleged relics of St James. In response to these challenges
bishop Cresconio, in the mid‑11th century, fortified the entire town, building walls and defensive
towers.
 |
| The modern symbol for the Way of St James - the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela |
According
to some authors, by the middle years of the 11th century the site had already
become a pan-European place of peregrination, while others maintain that the
cult to Saint James was before 11-12th centuries an essentially Galician
affair, supported by Asturian and Leonese kings to win over faltering Galician
loyalties. Santiago would become in the course of the following century a main
Catholic shrine second only to Rome and Jerusalem. In the 12th century, under
the impulse of bishop Diego Gelmírez, Compostela became an archbishopric,
attracting a large and multinational population. Under the rule of this
prelate, the townspeople rebelled, headed by the local council, beginning a
secular tradition of confrontation by the people of the city—who fought for
self-government—against the local bishop, the secular and jurisdictional lord
of the city and of its fief, the semi-independent Terra de Santiago ("land
of Saint James"). The culminating moment in this confrontation was reached
in the 14th century, when the new prelate, the Frenchman Bérenger de Landore,
treacherously executed the counselors of the city in his castle of A Rocha
Forte ("the strong rock, castle"), after inviting them for talks.
Santiago
de Compostela was captured and sacked by the French during the Napoleonic Wars;
as a result, the remains attributed to the apostle were lost for near a
century, hidden inside a cist in the crypts of the cathedral of the city.
The
excavations conducted in the cathedral during the 19th and 20th centuries
uncovered a Roman cella memoriae or martyrium, around which grew a small
cemetery in Roman and Suevi times which was later abandoned. This martyrium,
which proves the existence of an old Christian holy place, has been sometimes
attributed to Priscillian, although without further proof.
 |
According
to a tradition that can be traced back at least to the 12th century, when it
was recorded in the Codex Calixtinus, Saint James decided to return to the Holy
Land after preaching in Galicia. There he was beheaded, but his disciples
managed to get his body to Jaffa, where they found a marvelous stone ship which
miraculously conducted them and the apostle's body to Iria Flavia, back in
Galicia. There, the disciples asked the local pagan queen Loba ('She-wolf') for
permission to bury the body; she, annoyed, decided to deceive them, sending
them to pick a pair of oxen she allegedly had by the Pico Sacro, a local sacred
mountain where a dragon dwelt, hoping that the dragon would kill the
Christians, but as soon as the beast attacked the disciples, at the sight of
the cross, the dragon exploded. Then the disciples marched to collect the oxen,
which were actually wild bulls which the queen used to punish her enemies; but
again, at the sight of the Christian's cross, the bulls calmed down, and after
being subjected to a yoke they carried the apostle's body to the place where
now Compostela is. The legend was again referred with minor changes by the Czech traveller Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál, in the 15th century.
 |
The
relics were said to have been later rediscovered in the 9th century by a hermit
named Pelagius, who after observing strange lights in a local forest went for
help after the local bishop, Theodemar of Iria, in the west of Galicia. The
legend affirms that Theodemar was then guided to the spot by a star, drawing
upon a familiar myth-element, hence "Compostela" was given an
etymology as a corruption of Campus Stellae, "Field of Stars."
 |
We really saw Santiago de
Compostela by following our noses in that we simply followed roads and streets
that looked interesting. Knowing that the main places of interest were at the
top of the hill we gradually worked our way upwards, at times following the
very evident pilgrimage trail (marked by people with walking staffs and rucksacks) and
at other times taking detours to see what lay down side streets.
 |
Having seen everything that we
wanted to see we returned to the car which we found quite easily despite only
having a rough idea where we had left it, and headed back towards Boiro and
then on to A Pobra do Caramiñal.
 |
| Casa Rural Entre Os Rios |
We would be staying at the Casa
Rural Entre Os Rios which is situated on the hillside above A Pobra do
Caramiñal for three nights while Tra Bhui was in Cabo Da Cruz. Casa Rural Entre
Os Rios is an immaculately restored traditional farmhouse which has stood in
various forms overlooking a small valley for over 400 years.
 | ||
Attention to detail
|
The current owners
have restored it to a very high standard over the last 40 or so years. As with
most properties in the area granite has been used extensively in the building
and surrounding landscaped areas.
 |
| Grapes give shade from the sun |
We particularly liked the covered
patio where breakfast was served each morning.
Having found Casa Rural Entre Os
Rios and dropped our bags off we drove back around the Ria to Capo Da Cruz
where we met up with Jack and Patrick for dinner.
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| Boat being lined up on pontoon for festival |
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| Thanks to Patrick for moving Tra Bhui to the festival pontoon while we were away |
During our absence Patrick had
spent the day exploring the area and had found a likely restaurant for dinner,
which he assured us was “just down the road” back to Borio. As Jack was
suffering from a twisted ankle (a pre Rally injury) and was finding walking a
bit painfull, a
restaurant “just down the road” sounded ideal. When Patrick’s “just down the road
turned into a 40 minute walk he had to put up with a bit of stick from his skipper.
To make matters worse the restaurant was awfull both service and food so
Patrick with grate diplomacy arranged a taxi to take Jack back to Cabo Da Cruz,
while we walked back to our car.
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The sun sets over Capo Da Cruz
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Today's mileage 0 miles - rally total 156 miles
Thursday 9th
July
Time for a bit of local
sightseeing –
After a very pleasant breakfast
taken outside on the open terrace at Casa Rural Entre Os Rios at a very
civilized 9.30 hrs. we drove around to Capo Da Cruz to meet Jack and Patrick.
Patrick had suggested that as the boat festival had not started we drive around
to nearby Vilagarcía de Arousa (an hour away), which was at the heart of the
area where Alberino wine comes from – Kathleen’s current favorite Spanish
white.
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| Sensible conversation at last then Kathleen? |
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| And the gentleman above is ----- |
The drive to through the Spanish
countryside offered us some splendid views of both the inland and coastal areas
around the Ria; if only we had more time to explore!
Arriving in Cambados just after 12.00 hrs. we parked on the seafront and set out to find a tourist
information office in order to see what vineyard we should visit. The tourist
information office provided us with the information that we required and also
some handy maps of the town.
The vineyard of La Capitana lies just on the
outskirts of Cambados (thanks Pat) allowing us to reach it on foot just before
it was due to close at 13.00 hrs. Too late for a tour of the vineyard itself we
found our way into the cellar where we were able to sample the wines made
there. Patrick was in his element translating the words of the lady working
there into English not just for our
benefit, but also the benefit of another couple of English visitors. I suspect
that not everything that Patrick said was a direct translation as he obviously
has a good knowledge of the area and it’s wines himself and would make a good
guide should he ever fancy a career change.
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Cheers
|
Leaving with 3 bottles of wine we
went to find some lunch choosing to go to the area around the church where most
of the restaurants appeared to be situated. Lunch followed what by now was a
familiar theme of a number of small dishes that we would share. As usual I
declined to share the seafood. Both Kathleen and I ordered Tortilla ( a potato
and egg omelet) which we had found usually came in small pieces. To our
surprise and horror we ended up with two complete Tortillas each of which was
bigger than the plate it came on and would have easily fed a family of 4 as a
full meal.
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| Picture of a pole with people in the background - note the spare Tortilla |
Leaving Jack and Kathleen to pay
the bill Patrick and I took the wine and the spare Tortilla which the
restaurant had wrapped up for us complete with the plate to take away. I wanted
to take it to the church as we had seen people begging outside other churches
and I thought receiving a Tortilla may make a change from receiving hard cash.
Jack however with an eye on the plate decided that he would keep it for
breakfast the next day. As it turned out there were no beggars outside the
church so the poor did not lose out!
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| Vilagarcía de Arousa |
After lunch we hoped to fit in a
tour of the “palace” or large house that formed two sides of the town’s square,
but the tour times did not suit us as we had to get back to Capo Da Cruz in
time for the opening of the boat festival at 18.00 hrs.
The opening of the festival
consisted of 7 dignitaries standing on a stage in one of the marquees and
making speeches all in Spanish. What 7 people can talk about in 10 minute slots
beats me and by the end more than a few attendees had slipped away to do more
interesting things. We got a quick mention – again in Spanish- but I have no
idea what was really said. I hope it was complimentary.
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Rapt attention to the speeches which were in Spanish!
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After the speeches everyone had
to go to the pontoon and raise the sails of their boats to signify the start of
the festival. This novel idea was not without it’s complications as with boats
moored on both sides of the pontoon many were not facing wind wards. Both
Tyboat and Tra Bhui were facing downwind so our sail rising was brief but
reasonably controlled. The pratt on the large ugly wooden caravan next to Tra
Bhui, the one with his fenders set far above his gunwales really pi**ed me off
as when we got to our boats he had already set his mainsail and was raising his
jib, but having sheeted them off tight his boat was trying to ride over the top
of Tra Bhui forcing her gunwales down and overriding my fenders. His complete
lack of awareness was staggering. Using international language I brought this
up with him, but he either did not understand meaning he was even more stupid
than I give him credit for or he simply chose to ignore me which I suspect is
more likely the case. Luckily the large external metal fittings that anchored
his shrouds to the hull did little damage to Tra Bhui as we arrived in time to
jamb additional fenders between the boats, but I was really not impressed,
which probably was noticeable to Jack and Kathleen – sorry guys!
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| All boats hoist their sails to signal the start of the festival |
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| Hoisting the sails to celebrate the start of the festival |
Our visions of the pontoon
sailing off in to the distance did not come to fruition despite all the boats
which were tied to it raising their sails and soon it was time for dinner.
The organisers had laid on catering
for everyone attending the Festival.
Most had to pay for their tickets but coming from another country we were
deemed to be invited guests and so we were given free vouchers for Thursday
lunch (we missed it as we were in Vilagarcía de Arousa wrestling with Tortillas),
Thursday Dinner, Friday lunch and Friday Dinner. This was great. Dinner
consisted of a two course seafood meal – not great - a pudding and a drink. Being a keen abstainer
of sea food I collected two pieces of bread, two yogurts and a beer.
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| Fish, fish and more fish! |
To get the festival underway
entertainment was laid on. A large stage and a very large PA system had been
set up next to the harbor. First up was a group of Spanish wifies who proceeded
to screech to the accompaniment of too many tambourines and the pipes from
hell. The noise for that is all it was, was excruciating and must have had
every dog within a 10 mile radius hiding under their owner’s bed. Seemingly
this is Galician folk singing! Kathleen however who freely admits to being tone
deaf appeared to like the sound which left me completely at a loss for words.
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| They start screeching at an early age! |
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| The Eskies - hopefully they have day jobs! |
After the hellish noise of the Spanish folk singers the
main act of the evening took to the stage. The Eskies were billed as an Irish
Band and from Ireland they may well be. Their music was not traditional Irish
in fact it would be hard to pigeon hole it into any category as it was a cross
between country, rock and folk. They were OK, not great. The lyrics to their
songs were questionable – a lot of anti-god stuff which was really hard to make
out in fact they could have sung any words and no one would have known. I
suspect they will have a good market in Galicia if their main competition is
local folk screeching and where I am sure no one understands what they are
singing about.
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No it's not a camera trick - he really can stand like that!
|
Despite the music we had a good
evening and left to go back to our accommodation well after midnight.
Today's mileage 0 miles - rally total 156 miles
Friday 10th
July
Today would be a busy day as we
planned to collect our tyre, take part in the festival’s morning sail lunch
with Jack and Patrick, haul Tra Bhui out, di rig her and find somewhere to
store her, say our goodbyes and then take our leave of the festival in the late
afternoon which would allow us some time to explore the nearby town of A Pobra
do Caramiñal before returning to the guest house for our final night at Casa
Rural Entre Os Rios.
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| Pepe and Maribel |
To that end we were at breakfast
sharp. While 9.15 hrs. may not be early by UK standards, it is the middle of
the night for a Spanish hotelier (maybe I exaggerate slightly). After another
very nice breakfast we set off to collect our tyre which was ready and waiting
for us. Unfortunately the current favorable exchange rate with the Euro appears
not to be applicable in the tyre trade and our tyre cost a good bit more than
it would have done in the UK. But no matter we had a tyre and we were ahead of
schedule!
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| Tyboat competes in the most flags competition - no not really! |
We arrived at Cabo da Cruz just
as the morning briefing finished. This was not a problem as the briefing had
been in Spanish and for all the Spanish we understood, they could have been
planning the invasion of France for all we would have understood of it. We had however Patrick, who not only
explained what the plans for the morning sail were, but who had also taken a
photograph of the route plan on his phone to show us.
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| Patrick |
The planned sail involved a
simple sail around the bay, passing close to the restaurant that we had eaten
at the night before (Mirimar Borio) where the organisers expected a crowd to be
on the beach to see the boats sailing.
After motoring out from the
pontoon we raised our sails in the harbour before setting off behind the lead
boats. Jack having retrieved his beloved Yuloh from his trailer sculled Tyboat
out from the pontoon and set sail just behind us. The first leg consisted of a rundown
wind towards the Mirimar Borio where we could see there was absolutely no one
waiting to see the boats sail by. Not only were there no spectators, but there
were no boats as the Spanish boats all sailed in slightly differing directions
resulting is boats being spread out around the bay. This disregard for the
route grew steadily more bizarre as soon boats were sailing between the
anchored mussel rafts in the area that we had been told was a no sail area.
Traditional Boats
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It appeared that Tyboat and ourselves along with a couple of Spanish boats were the only ones following the planned route and by the time we were half way around most of the Spanish boats were sailing back to the harbour. Unexpectedly Tyboat also turned and headed for the harbour so conscious of all that we had to do during the day we followed suit. Later when asking Jack why he had headed back, he told me that the organisers had shouted to him to head back rather than complete the course. Perhaps the sail was taking longer than the organisers had anticipated – who knows???
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| A Mussel raft |
With 30 mins or so before lunch, we took the opportunity to haul Tra Bhui out of the water, leaving her parked on the slipway while we went for lunch.
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| Hauling out as we have run out of time off! |
Lunch was again a communal affair, but this time a meat fritter – two pieces of ham with cheese between them was on offer. This was more to my taste – no sea food – and along with a small beer made a nice lunch.
Leaving Kathleen and Jack eating I went back to Tra Bhui to de rig her and pack everything away. A certain amount of care had to be taken when packing stuff away as everything would be left in the car which would be staying in Spain for another 5 weeks before I would collect it and take it to France.
With Tra Bhui packed up it only remained to put the new tyre on the trailer before we followed a couple of officials in their car to the nearby marina where the organisers had very kindly arranged that we could leave Tra Bhui on the hard for the next 5 weeks or so.
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| Pepe and Maribel - our hosts |
After that it was time to say goodbye to everyone and to thank Pepe for his help in organizing storage and for his hospitality while we were in Spain.
We were sad to say goodbye to Jack and to Patrick both of whom had been great company. Patrick’s local knowledge and language abilities had allowed us to get more from our time in Galicia than we would have done had we been on our own. Had it not been for Jacks idea and organization we would probably not have considered coming to sail in the north of Spain. A big thanks to both of them.
On the way back to the guest hose we stopped in A Pobra do Caramiñal to see what the town had to offer. We parked in a large and very empty car park beside the harbour wondering where all the cars that would be required to fill it could possibly come from.
With it’s large fishing fleet and harbour accommodating larger ships (there were two docked when we were there) it was one of the bigger towns that we visited. As it was only 17.00 hrs. The town was quiet and most of the numerous cafes and bars were closed. After a short circular walk around the sea front area we sat down for a coffee at a sea front café. Finding that they had no snacks we quickly moved to a second café from where after again finding that they did not sell snacks we moved to a third café. Having moved twice already we settled for 2 large coffees and a pre wrapped donut to share.
After coffee we went back to the Casa Rural Entre Os Rios to sort out our bags, do a bit of reading and get changed for dinner before coming back sown to A Pobra do Caramiñal for dinner. Arriving back in A Pobra do Caramiñal we struggled to find a parking space as the previously empty car park was now full.
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| One of many grain stores that we came across |
Walking into the town we found a table outside a bar for a pre-dinner drink. The bar which was one of numerous ones along the narrow streets was a pleasant place to sit so we sat and watched the locals strutting their stuff all dressed up and out for the evening.
Later we found a table next to the open windows overlooking a small square in a restaurant not far away where we ate dinner while watching a couple of very talented and entertaining musicians playing a selection of American and European folk, rock and popular songs to the diners that now filled the tables around the square.
A great end to a great holiday in Spain
Today's mileage 4 miles - rally total 160 miles
Saturday 11th July
With our flights back to the UK (Easyjet 8590 to Gatwick and then Easy Jet 813 to Edinburgh) scheduled to leave Santiago de Compostela at 10.15 hrs. we unfortunately had to forgo another excellent breakfast on the terrace at the Casa Rural Entre Os Rios as we were leaving some 3 hrs. before normal breakfast time – there is a lot to be said for Spain’s laid back approach to the day!
After an uneventful hours drive to the airport we left our car in the onsite multistory carpark from where I would collect it again in just under 5 weeks’ time. After that we checked in with Easyjet and waited for our flight to Gatwick.
Arriving at Gatwick at 11.00 hrs. we had approx. 6 hrs. to kill before our next flight to Edinburgh. Originally we had intended to catch a train to Brighton but unexpectedly our daughter Eilidh was up and about – she had just finished a nightshift and we expected her to be sleeping, but as she was up and about, we arranged to meet her at St Pancras Station for lunch. Eilidh lives in Dunstable and suggested St Pancras as a meeting point as it is approximately midway between Dunstable and Gatwick.
After an hour on the train (it broke down enroute) we reached St Pancras where we were met by Eilidh and Scarlett. We ate lunch at an Italian restaurant and then spent some time wandering around the station and the adjacent Kings Cross Station, home of the famous platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter films.
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| St Pancras |
Leaving Eilidh and Scarlett to catch their own train we headed back by train to Gatwick in time to catch our flight to Edinburgh.
Video links
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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