La Coruna

After a few nights at anchor in Cadeira we motored back out into the Atlantic, switched the engine off and waited for wind. And waited. And waited. A little further out another boat also sat rocking in the swell. A few boats motored past and Max was concerned they would consider us abandoned – bobbing on the ocean and gently rotating. A few hours later we had achieved 0.8 miles in the wrong direction. Just as we were despairing, the wind appeared exactly from the right direction, quickly picked up and pushed us along the coast to La Coruna.
The first thing you notice is a huge lighthouse in front of the backdrop of a big city. The lighthouse was originally built by the Romans and is, in its modern form, impossible to miss. We avoided a fishing boat and tanker and then anchored off a beach opposite the city hidden from wind and swell by a headland.

La Coruna
La Coruna

The next day we contacted the marina on the VHF radio and asked if they had a berth for us. “No problem! Go to pontoon 2 and I’ll meet you there.” We navigated to pontoon 2 and there was no one to be seen so we slotted in to an empty berth and got back on the radio. “Yes. Berth 232 is good.” The crew tied up, laid the electrics and got everything set for the marina while the skipper went to the office. “What? You are in berth 232 on pontoon 2? Why? That is not good!” I explained that we had followed his instructions and he explained that he doesn’t understand English.
In the afternoon we discovered that today was Saturday and everything would be open on Monday so we had a good excuse to stay two nights and cycle on Sunday. In the evening Max found a brilliant restaurant in TripAdvisor with great food and a fantastic waitress. We enjoyed a fantastic meal.
Despite the overcast skies and on and off drizzle on Sunday, Heidi and Neill cycled over 50 kilometers through the surrounding countryside. We were never higher than 250 meters above sea level but still managed 1000 meters of climbing. And a lot of the route was trails, forest roads or cycle paths. A brilliant route – thanks GPSies. We were attacked by brambles and gorse, rained on and felt like we were in a tropical rainforest. It was great fun but eventually we just took the road straight back to the boat and a much needed warm shower. One thing we now no for sure – nothing is open on Sunday. Even the motorway was carless. The track is at https://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ozpgmmuamxnvnhgs

Old bridge in Galicia
Old bridge in Galicia

On Monday Spain reopened so we bought a new reefing line, food, diesel and gas. We charged up everything that we own and filled up with water and then returned to our beach across the bay and back to anchor. Coffee with Baileys, homemade cheeseburgers and potato salad were the perfect end to the day.

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