Monday ended a bit of a wash out with strong winds and horizontal rain (so made us feel quite at home). It does raise the question of what one wears in these "hot" climates when it gets cold. All my "rain type" jackets seem to have fleece linings - I guess that is the norm for sailing on the Forth. That makes it a bit warm when worn with wind and rain but a temperature of 18-20C. Looks like I need to treat myself to a new Henri Lloyd jacket!! Well Pam got a new pair of Birkenstocks so she can't complain. It is interesting that up in Port Edgar, half of the chandlers in the marina (the Bonsun's Locker for those in the know) is taken over by displays of clothing - especially wet weather gear. Here in Vilagarcia the chandlers have none. Zero. Zip. Nada ( I think that is Spanish)!
We had a good look around the chandlers on site today. Interesting that there is a chandlers on site as this is the first marina since Dunstaffnage (in Oban) where there is one. Ok, there is a chandlers in Dun Laoghaire within a few hundred yards of the marina gate - but you know what I mean. We have got so used to having one on the doorstep in Port Edgar that it becomes and expectation. The upside of there not being any is the rate of money moving out of the credit card account is much reduced. We bought some rope for tying up the dinghy and got a catalogue. Boy the prices are expensive for boaty stuff here. Probably ok if the Euro/Pound exchange rate was 1.5:1 - but it isn't. We read Gordon and Anne's (Equinox) blog site today and noticed they were complaining about prices in Ireland. Well it's a lot cheaper here but buy your boaty stuff in the UK before you leave.
So it's been another quiet day. We walked around the street market selling all sorts of very cheap clothing. There were probably enough shoes to supply a 3rd world country although I fear not everyone would get a matching pair. Pam wasn't up for negotiating for some clothing which was probably going for less than 5 Euros so we went for a coffee instead.
This is our last night in Vilagarcia as we are moving south tomorrow towards the next Ria, the Ria de Pontevedra (or some such spelling - it is late and the Estrella is the limiting factor in applying the spell checker). I think we have worked out that Estrella means "Star". So it's Star beer we have been drinking for the last 3 weeks! When we lived in Dinas Powis, we used to drink in the Star - there's a tenuous connection. Anyway, where was I ..... oh yes....Vilagarcia has been a great place to act as a base to see around this area. The marina has been well worth the visit and the staff wonderful. The town is a few minutes walk away with loads of bars and restaurants - all in all a nice place to be at this time of year. It is a shame the fiesta is not until the end of the week as it would have been nice to be around but we have to get further south to see the other two Rias. Kilmore Quay is still winning the "best marina in the world competition" but only on the craic component - it may have been just as good here but we just couldn't understand it! Vilagarcia - you were close! You may have just edged out Portosin.......no I am not starting a "best in Spain....."
By the way, if anyone is coming this way, make sure you get one of the "passports". This covers about half a dozen of the marinas in the area and gives 10% discount. It costs 5 Euros so pays for itself in 2 days. La Coruna is one of the marina covered but of course they don't tell you that there. The cost here is just over 22 Euros per night (12m) with the discount so not bad and half of what we were charged in Dublin.
So let's hope for a bit warmer weather tomorrow. Today has been partly cloudy, no rain, but more like Scottish temperatures so the fleeces have always been close to hand. It's been windy as well but the forecast tomorrow is more sun, higher temps and less wind so a good day for a drift down the Ria.
Where are we going? I haven't a clue. 3 targets are Isla de Arosa, San Vicente or Isla de Ons. A lot depends on - what time we get up, what direction is the wind from and whether there is enough Estrella in the fridge to determine if a shore visit is needed (we can't go ashore at Isla de Ons). Hard choices! What's for certain is there should be plenty of time for a bit of fishing. Hope you aren't all working too hard at home. Back with more soon.
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