Mary: Back down to sea level at Ribadeo, what a great time we had in the Picos. Tidy up time on the boat as Kirsty, our youngest daughter, is arriving. My plan was to shop on Monday the day she arrives but its a fiesta day and all the shops are shut in fact some of the bars are closed to. Always something to eat on board though so we wont starve. Kirsty arrives at Asturias airport, then train to Ribadeo. We meet her at the station and have a relaxing evening on board, with the usual firework display in the background. For the last two nights, Liz and Andy on board Sally have heard what they think is chanting in the early hours of the morning, I must admit I don’t hear it, but tonight David hears the music and at three in the morning decides to investigate. He goes up to the main square to see and what sounds like chanting down on the marina is in fact traditional Spanish Band, which starts after the band finishes and goes on to the wee small hours. (David: The bands have trumpets, trombones, saxophones as well as keyboard. They have 4 or more singers some female and some male that do numbers in turn and all do complicated dance routines. I wonder if take that or the spice girls got the idea for their format from over here.)

We left early and motored (lack of wind) then sailed a bit, and decided to pook our nose into San Ciprian for lunch well the old quaint fishing harbour was tiny and we decided to pook our nose somewhere else, somewhere else being round the corner take the dinghy ashore, look around maybe have lunch. Disappointed again with the description in the pilot book the village now all new flats, we had lunch on board.

Sailing on towards to Vivero we anchor in the bay and Kirsty and myself take the dinghy up the narrow channel to the shops. Well we start to go and the outboard splutters and stops, before we had the oars out to row back we were rescued by a Spanish motorboat, just as well we had a long line on the dinghy, they couldn’t feel the heat from our faces. It was very good of them.
When we did get going we planed into town at twenty knots! Wind in our hair. No you didn’t scare me Kirsty! It was fun.

I think it was earlyish when we left, now off to Cedeira, the sea was uncomfortable and there was no wind! So motoring again. Cederia felt like home because we had been there before, and knew the best place to anchor. David cooks his favourite dish scurvy free chicken . Kirsty is impressed.
Next day and it’s a sail into La Coruna marina, pick up a hire car at the airport, meal out, mixed in with lots of chat to other sailors, some back from the Azores others off to Brazil, stories from a couple who had sailed to Dakar then on to the Gambia river, just makes you want to go! La Coruna is a cross road/sea. It is also home to Torres de Hercules, the world’s oldest working lighthouse, first lit in the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan, and according to legend built by Hercules. Anyway it was a long time ago and they used to carry the wood for the light by cart up the ramp that went around the lighthouse, you can see a diagonal band on the outside of the tower that mimics this ramp. The light house was renovated in the 18th century and now the light can be seen 24 miles away and on foggy days there is a fog horn that sounds and can be heard 7 miles away! Its an important place for boats.

The hire car is to take Kirsty back to the airport we drive across Galicia and Asturias all very pretty. A stop is made at Cudillero, which is incredibly touristy, pretty and quaint but for the tourist. Lunch stop is in a little town further on, Muros, where we have meal of the day, a three course lunch for 8 euros, amazing value and quite excellent food, and quick service. Airport is small but has all you need; a plane ready to go; easy check in and a café for coffee. For me airports are either sad or happy places there is no in between…