Witch’s log, 13th to 20th of June, 2018
And then there were two. Having rested, we then decided to stay an extra day in A Coruña to see the city, which in the end turned out to be two days due to strong winds the following day. When walking about we discovered a hidden gem that served various types of Jamon and Cheese thingys, Went in and ordered bocadillos only to be served the most ginormous and delicious sandwiches we’d ever seen. Highly recommended, when in A Coruña look for a place called La Leonesa, not very far from the marina, well worth a visit!
While waiting for the weather we met John, a solo sailor from England who had just arrived from Loctudy having done a similar passage to ours! We had drinks and agreed to sail together to the port of Camariñas the following day.
Saturday the 16th; having woken up at 6:00 we finally headed west. As forecasted there was to be no wind which meant going under engine most of the day. Despite the picture of me steering in christmassy wooly socks suggesting otherwise, this wasn’t pleasant; the Witch’s engine is old, slow, noisy and smelly. It was painful but it had to be done. John passed us in The Otter (his boat) and we exchanged a few pleasant words over VHF until we were out of reach.
It was nearly 18:00 when we eventually arrived in Camariñas, a cute little harbour and town. Met a few other fellow sailors including a friendly one from South Africa who intended to cross the channel and go to Torpoint, so I asked him to tell Dave (its harbourmaster) that he’d seen us and that we were still alive 😂 Hope he makes it safely! The rest of the night was spent having drinks and tapas and I can’t really remember how it ended, only that I slept well.
Monday’s weather was going to be different and it was; strong winds from NW. We decided to take the chance and do it because we’d be going downwind all the way making it easier. Had we not, we’d probably still be in Camariñas as the following days were going to and, in fact, were much worse.
So we headed South to Muros. Calm at first, then the famous and infamous cape Finisterre we crossed which was an achievement. The by then strong winds and swell hit hard as forecasted and forced us to reduce to a small jib again while sailing downwind. Arrived in Muros at the end of the day and were welcomed by the marina staff who arranged a nice berth for us. Visited the village and had a few Cañas to celebrate.
Muros is a pretty little fishing village surrounded by natural beauty. It’s also very sheltered and has everything one could need, from the local supermarket to plenty of bars and restaurants. We ended up staying for 2 nights which was a good thing as the weather got worse the following day.
On Tuesday the 19th we headed south to Ria D’Arosa. Again not much wind which meant a mixture of motoring and sailing, allowing us to have delicious burgers which David cooked for lunch on the way. We then crossed a small channel surrounded by rocks and entered the Ria. The temperature which only a week ago had been freezing cold, was now unbearably hot with us wearing only shorts on deck all day and the occasional protective t-shirt. So hot that we had to stop the boat for me to have a quick swim on our approach to Pobra de Caramiñal where we arrived at 20:00 after a very pleasant day. Having gone through the registration we finally celebrated with some wine and later had a quick walk to town and back. When returning in the dark we spotted a couple of creatures that looked like they were treating themselves to a nice sleep on the warm surface of the wooden marina pontoon. Sadly they swiftly slid into the water when they saw us and while still uncertain of what they were, they pretty much looked like baby seals.
The Rias are beautiful; I didn’t know Galicia until a few days ago and I must say I’m loving them a lot!
Today we’ll further explore Ria d’Arosa and possibly go to a different town.
And I guess this was the gist of the last few days. Until the next one, Witch out!
