Grown Ups Gap Year

The two days in A Coruna have gone in a whirlwind. On arrival into the Marina we had the usual boat cleaning, paying our Marina Fees and the delights of our first power shower since leaving Weymouth accompanied by the usual swaying when your eyes are closed. Jim assisted us by locating a sail repair loft and a willing sailmaker to repair a 50cm hole in our cruising chute as it was almost time to close. Thanks to google maps and a taxi ride the boys delivered our sail and walked the 10km back. Apologies to Jim for in his haste he wore inappropriate footware and gave himself blisters. At long last I was able to open up my new Paramedic bag and feel 100% useful!

That evening Jim announced that he would treat us to a farewell meal and in true Spanish style whilst in England we would have been heading to bed, we headed out on the town. We sniffed in the walm sea air and the buzz of excitment and atmosphere of their cities at night. Shops and restaurants heaving with locals and tourists rubbing shoulders alike, children chattering and the delicious aroma of the Atlantic Cuisine which awaited us. Passing through the 19th Century Maria Pita Square with its impressive City Hall (where we took our selfie) surrounded by restaurants we decided to head inland a few steets to find out where the locals woud dine. We then found a row of restaurants and bars one in particular looked extreamly popular with people queuing outside. I enquired about a table and was put about 7th on the list. Bearing in mind that the boys had not eaten for hours I was worried about their response to this news. However in the meantime they had engaged in conversation with a gentleman from Madrid who returned as ofen as he could to this particular restaurant claiming that it cooked the best Octopus in town. Despite Jims fish allergy he was keen for us to sample it and before long we were not diappointed. A big shout out to Pulpeira De Melide its food and wine was excellant and we were entertained by the Octopus charactures adorning their walls. Thankfully Paul the sober one escorted his sleep deprived merry crew back to the marina for some well earnt rest.

On Saturday sadly we had to say goodbye to Jim who kindly joined us for our Biscay crossing and provided the routing for our passage using his 'Course2Steer' software, six months in the planning. We are grateful for his balanced viewpoints and for helping us through the inevitable teething problems of a maiden voyage and to Angela for allowing him this endulgence! For Jim the departure was a bit of an epic session of arranging travel back home. Unable to secure a crewing trip by returning yachts he had to look for different options. His initial thoughts of trying to travel by train was made harder by there being no seats available from A Coruna until 10th of September as train seats have to be booked inadvance in Spain. Eventually he managed to secure a flight to Heathrow and then coach/train home.

He needed to leave the Marina mid afternoon which left us a few hours to explore on foot with Jim, blisters allowing. We met him in town and discovered the delights of the old town offering us a facinating insight into the history of A Coruna the churches and architecture revealing secrets of its medival and baroque past, whilst its shopping streets late 19th/20th century architecture lined with opulent facades in a mix of restrained eclectic styles with an Art Deco influence. In contrast to the modern glass frontage to the buildings lining the town Marina and promenade, hidden underground car parks and open air Lidos a superb mix of old and new. After sampling some delicious cakes we headed west to the Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse on the seaward approach to the city. This was our Leading light in the early hours during our approach to our Anchorage and therefore keen to share its glory in daylight with Jim. This lighthouse, the oldest active lighthouse in the world, was originally built by the Romans in the 1st Century but has undergone a number of changes with the last major improvement made in 1788 when the Roman masonary was coated with the current facade and extended in height to 59m high, 120m above sdea level. It is now a UNESCO Heritage site. As Jim said What did the "Romans ever do for us"!

Unfortunately those precious few hours flew by and Jim and Paul had to litrally run with his luggage to catch the local bus from the city certre to the airport leaving me behind to finish his beer drowning in my sorrows of his departure!

The second session of exploring has been by bicycle and saw us travel about 15 miles around the city seeing various sites. We started our tour by visiting the sculpture park locacted around the base of the Tower Hercules. This is a free open air museum with a large number of sculptures by local and national artists ranging from a Stonehenge lookalike to an upside down Viking style horn. There are a series of photos in the A Coruna album showing some of the pieces.
From the sculpture park we headed along the coast passing the main city beaches, Orzan Beach and Riazor Beach, a long sandy beach and onto the Millenium Obelisk, built in 1999! Rather than buying an icecream, a hardship for Sally, we rode the 'Funicular del Monte de San Pedro' from the shore to San Pedro Mount. This area gave us some superb 360degree views and allowed us to view the 'Death Coast' our next sailing passage! The grass in the park was exceptionally lush and the water sprinklers must be used daily. Another unexpected suprise was awaiting us on our arrival at the top in the Funicular, a wedding, my goodness what a magnificent setting.
After exploring the park and soaking up the scenery and Atlantic Ocean views it was back to reality of domestic chores and a fabulous downhill cycle back into the main part of the city for some food shopping.

The final morning in A Coruna was spent preparing the boat and doing the clothes washing (life is not all glamourous) by hand before heading out for a walk along the breakwater that protects the marina. The footpath/cycleway along the breakwater is marked in 50m steps from 0 to 900m so must be used for running/cycling events, shame it didn't quite make 1000m.

We departed from the marina and returned to our previous anchorage, Ensenada de Mera, for a quieter night away from a marina. Jim reported the trip from Weymouth to A Coruna was 568nm with our fastest recorded 250 second average speed of 8.7 knots.