| Datum: | 8-06-2016 Cedeira | | | | Saturday 04-06-2016
Today we move on to a new destination. We rise at 7, as always, that suits us best; thus we have the whole day before us.
It is very cloudy and rather cold, so we dress accordingly and sail out of Viveiro Bay in a moderate tempo. Not enough wind, the engine switched on again, what’s new? It’s getting monotonous. The surface of the sea is as smooth as a mirror and our Pegasus slides through the dark waters along the Spanish north coast. The coast, up till now, was green, but gets more and more jagged. Every now and then you see a lighthouse, a little church, a weather station or some abandoned houses on the rocks, set against the dark mountains. The sky stays grey and grim and there is no sight of blue or a sunbeam in between the thick clouds. Still, we enjoy the sailing, the sea, the open space, a little music on the side…..completely right! I’m a bit disappointed that we don’t spot that many dolphins, but that is put straight a little later on: suddenly we see dozens of dolphins jumping out of the water, they dive just before and under the boat! They are very small, scarcely 1 metre, with a white tummy and a dark back. Wonderful to see and my day cannot not be better! They only stay around the boat for a short while and then disappear. Pity!
On the way we see another Dutch boat, coming from the west, otherwise only a few small fishing boats. As soon as we get near the entrance of the river to the village of Cedeira, the billow changes, it gets longer, real ocean waves. The lane to Cedeira is easy to do, provided you watch the little rocks of which there are a great many, but we can spot them well, now at low tide. The route is well described both on the map and in Reeds. Officially this is an area intended for the Spanish Marine, but you are free to enter and berth. We sail quietly into the beach, the weather brightens and immediately it gets a lot warmer. Around the bay it is also much more green. These Ria’s along the Spanish coast are really well worth the visit.
We sail around a bit to find out what is more convenient: roping on to a buoy or dropping the anchor. From another sailing boat, a Dutch guy calls out to us that all the buoys are taken and that the water is full of ropes, fishing nets and such. Better to drop anchor a little bit further away. So that is what we do, far enough from the other boats and not to close to the beach. We are already in place for some time, when a dinghy comes alongside with the mentioned Dutch guy in it. He starts off immediately and asks us where we are from, if we need anything, if everything still works etc. His name turns out to be Peter and he has been living here for 20 years and has not only a boat, but also a house on the hill. Purely by coincidence I read a blog yesterday of another sailor, where they mentioned him. In a short exposition, he tells us about the what and how in Spain and has a few tips for us. AOne of his tips is that it is quite handy to master the language….. I do need to start my course in Spanish! He also is willing to transport us to the supermarket in his car, for us to get our supplies. He will pass by tomorrow, an “adios!” and he is gone. Always fun, these kinds of encounters!
Fred is going to make an effort at repairing the dinghy and tomorrow we will see if it worked out. The sky is blue, the sun shines….what a difference in one day! I think it’s about 25 degrees C. and we enjoy it immensely. Snugly into the cockpit, an e-book at hand and then…. I fall asleep. Well, considering that we are outside all day, small wonder I get tired and sleepy. This evening we are having a dinner consisting of precooked chicken from the oven accompanied by a huge bowl of salad. And at last we can eat in the open air. Just before we start I manage to bowl over a glass of red wine in the cockpit. Not white, mind you, but red…which is always worse. In short, our dinner starts 10 minutes later! It stays warm pretty long and we take advantage of that; you never know in North – Spain. ..
Sunday 05-06-02016
Today it is beautiful, bright, brilliant sunny weather. On the hills around the bay grow very high eucalyptus trees, which are chopped every 15 years. In between these high trees you see an occasional open spot with young plantation.
We go by dinghy to a small nearby beach, which can either be reached by boat or you have to walk down a very steep slope. The little beach is beautiful, surrounded by big trees. The only sound we hear are the birds and the murmur of the (upcoming) water. On the dried up rocks there are mussels and of course I find a few pretty stones and shells. I only take – very hard for a beach comber like me – a few shells and but one stone. … We venture into the water, but the temperature is much too low, so up to our crotches and that is it…But we stay on the beach to absorb the quiet and silence. Next we sail around the bay and arrive at a large beach, along the boulevard, at the boundaries of the town. We can’t sail up the river that runs through Cedeira, because it runs dry at low tide and is just a little bit too shallow now. So we sit ourselves on a bench in the park near the boulevard and wait; we eat and drink a little. We make the well-known “Fritz-and-Gonny-travels”- picture! As soon as the water is high enough, we sail underneath the two bridges, to get a better view of the city. If we don’t want to walk too much, we have to go shopping at high tide. It’s back to the boat, we lounge around the rest of the day… it is Sunday, after all! Because it is a warm day, we stay outside for a long time. This is the life we want to live!
Monday 06-06-2016
Today I put the bread machine to work to knead and rise the dough, and put it in the oven to bake. We have found a recipe that makes a very tasty bread, recipe will follow shortly. Nothing beats a slice of freshly baked bread with butter and sprinkles! For Fred, it is a working day today, in an ‘office’ with every time a different view, the poor guy. I hang around, finally having the inner rest to read a book and started a new crochet project. Crocheting has been my hobby for some time now and I’m going to make really ‘Dutch’ things to give away when it is convenient. After dinner, Peter sails by and yells that he didn’t have the time to come by, he’ll be in tomorrow morning.
Tuesday 07-06-2016
Peter comes to visit and gives us a lot of tips about Spain and Portugal, but most of all about the Ria’s in Galicia. Anchor spots, pretty bays, cosy restaurants, shops, currents, rocks and mussel beds, which we have to watch out for. How to deal with the locals and the local authority. In short, a wealth of information, which would not be so easy the find out. On the paper overview maps we mark the spots and I make as many notes as possible. Peter has a problem with his autopilot and asks if Fred might help him, so they go over to his boat. Luckily, it was an easy to solve problem. We get a tip for a good restaurant in Cedeira to lunch. Tomorrow he will pick us up to show us his house. After Peter has left, we take the dinghy to town to buy supplies and have lunch at “Café Central”, known for its ‘Bacalao’ or cod. In the river, we see a couple of beautiful black swans. All the houses here have pendent closed balconies, most of them rather wrecked. I certainly wouldn’t dare to step unto one of those things. Back to the boat, the weather gets less well, it gets overclouded. This is how we fill our days.
Wednesday 08-06-2016
Today the weather looks good. We see a group of dolphins swimming into the bay. The small young ones jump above the water, a lovely sight to see. When they come too close to the beach, a fishing boat drives them back to sea. Peter comes alongside in his dinghy and steps aboard for a moment. We are just busy studying the map to determine the route for tomorrow. Peter gives us some more tips on where to drop anchor and says that we will no doubt bump into each later on over there: he has plans to sail that way this weekend. We follow behind him in our own dinghy to the slope on the shore and in his car we go up the hill to his house. On the way up we encounter some of the local residents, to whom Peter tells that us ‘Dutchies’ are going to have a coffee at his place. He lives at the end of the road and from his veranda has a really stunning view over the bay. Up against the hill, behind the house, a few goats graze in the pasture and further down in his neighbour’s garden there is a lemon tree, an orange tree and all sorts of vegetables. It turns out it’s not going to be a coffee, but a beer for Fred and white wine for me. Though the weather starts out fine, a cloudy fog covers the bay and moments later we can’t even see the Pegasus anymore. It now really gets too cold to even sit outside and we relocate inside. Peter tells us about his life and we ‘sip’ quite heavily. I finish a bottle of white wine all on my own and the men drink their beer. High time to have a bite to eat, says Peter, throws a few chicken parts on the BBQ and we also get a plate of pasta and vegetables. Everything is super cosy (and rosy). We leave for the centre of town to pick up his girlfriend Maria from her work and Peter drops us off at the supermarket, where we can do our shopping. We arrange a date for later on, at a restaurant for a drink with the four of us. Maria only speaks Spanish and a little French and Peter translates, but we all do our damnedest to understand each other. Again, the alcohol flows freely, which helps a lot… We get along well together and have a great evening. Pretty tipsy we go back to the boat.
Tips for other sailors, from Peter:
All the buoys in Galicia are free to berth.
If somebody comes alongside to ask for money, do NOT pay! If they are being difficult, get your cell phone out and tell them you are calling the Guardia Civil or the Policia Local, they’ll be gone in a jiffy. Talking back at them in Cockney or Liverpudlian (or any local accent of your own) may also be effective.
Watch out for the mussel beds, they go down to 5 metres deep.
The buoys in the bays are equipped with two ropes, that you pick up with a boat hook and please put gloves on: some of the ropes are full of mussels! These ropes you attach to the cleats on both sides of the front of your boat.
Watch your dinghy, outboard motor and jerry can with petrol, secure them very well with a steel cable when you are ashore or else…..
If you drop anchor, a 30 to 50 metre chain is enough most of the time to be well fixed in place.
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| | | 13-06-2016, reactie van Aad | Fijn die blog, leest lekker weg.
Denk er eens over na om die later tot een boek uit te geven. Leuk voor jezelf en voor anderen.
Ik help je daarbij wel.
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| | | | 14-06-2016, reactie van Caroline | Zal er eens over na denken en dan ga ik zeker gebruik maken van jou kennis!
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