Route: Bilbao – Santander – Gijon – Ribadeo – Cedeira – A Coruna
Date: 25.04-04.09.2022
Miles / hours: 320Mm/66h
25-08-2022 Thursday, Bilbao
In the evening we go to Bilbao for the fireworks display. We have a Baric card (it costs € 3 and is valid for 7 years). It is an electronic purse – a contactless card that is filled with money (the quantum is € 5). When entering and exiting the metro and bus, he takes some amount off the card – much less than a single-use ticket.
We come straight to the main square in the old town of Bilbao for the pyrotechnics show. The man is wearing an imitation of a bull with cold fire launchers attached to his back – there is a lot of smoke, some fire and a lot of fun, because the “bull” attacks the gathered crowd. Then we take a walk around the old town (Casco viejo) too light. The fireworks display is “competitive”. Every day shows a different province or country – today the show is done in Granada. After the fireworks, we are still staying for the flamenco show. It is amazing. We return to the yacht around 1:30.
26-08-2022 Friday, Bilbao
After breakfast, we drive to Bilbao and see the Guggenhim Museum building from the outside.
It is very fancy. Then we go to see the Azkun Zetor building, inside which there are 3 other buildings standing on decorative columns.
We go to dinner together, it’s 4pm, so the pubs are closed (they won’t open until 7pm). We find an active Indian pub and eat a big delicious dinner – it comes out at 12 € per person. After returning, we do grocery shopping.
27-08-2022 Saturday to Santander
We leave at 8 am.
We already eat breakfast on the water. It blows 4-5kn, so we sail on the engine. Around 12 o’clock it fades a little, so we put the genoa. We reach Santander at 4 pm. We plan to stand in the marina in the city center, but it turns out that there are no places. We sail another hour and enter the Santander marina near the airport. After mooring, the marina’s staff comes and asks for a berth to another place, because the one where we stood is private. We sail to another place and the service takes the ropes from us.
We get a card with the timetable of buses and contact information and a card that opens the gate to the pier and the shower room. The bus to the city center runs every hour and takes about 20 minutes, and it takes about 15 minutes to get to the bus stop (you go through the tunnel under the airport). In Santander, we buy some vegetables and go sightseeing. We enter the pub for a grilled octopus – it is very tasty. We return to the yacht on the last bus at 22:30.
28-08-2022 Sunday Santander
In the morning we visit the showers in the marina. After breakfast, we decide to go to the artificial beach, but the water is low and a lot of rubbish blows into the “pool”, so we give up and go back to the yacht. We fill up the water, have dinner and go out. We stop for a swim at the anchorage near Magdalena’s Palace (we did not manage to get there, but the place is cleared), wait for the rain and move on at 8 p.m.
29-08-2022 Monday Gijon
Changeable at night, some clouds, some stars (there is a new moon so nothing illuminates the stars) The wind is rather weak, so we mainly use the engine, but we manage a bit on sails. We enter Gijon before 6 pm. We stand at the pier for guests. A speedboat arrives from the port service, helps to moor and offers a lift to the marina office (otherwise you have to go around the entire port). The gentleman is kind enough to bring me back to the yacht. The fee for the marina consists of many items (water, electricity, marinero service, garbage) all payable per m2 of boat. We move to a place closer to the toilets (marked on the c-map as places for guests). Hence, it is much closer to the sanitary facilities and the city. We embrace the yacht and go for a walk around the old town.
We return to the yacht at around 9 p.m., take a shower in the marina and go to bed early.
30-08-2022 Tuesday Gijon
The showers have push buttons, but they also have a temperature control (it works so-so). An additional attraction is the light that can be turned on for a specific time – too short to take a bath. After coffee, we go to the city – we replenish our food supplies (vegetables, bread, etc.) and go for a walk around the city. We come to dinner in the city.
Then ice cream in a different place and we visit the Aquarium. In the evening a slide show.
31-08-2022 Wednesday to Ribadeo
We leave at 7:20 as soon as it starts getting light. The wind is weak 4-5kn, so we sail on the engine.
We reach the Ribadeo marina at 8 pm. Bosun shows us the mooring place. The marina office is open until 21.
1-09-2022 Thursday Ribadeo
We get up at 8:30. We fumble a bit, so we go to the bus to the Cathedrals beach at 12:30. Fortunately, we leave a little earlier, because it turns out that the stop at the tourist information desk is not working and we have to go to the bus station. The bus leaves with a 10-minute delay. The ticket costs 1.5 € one way and is also a beach entrance. The beach is dotted with outliers and various rock formations.
The beach owes its name to rock formations whose arches both in form and size resemble medieval cathedrals. Their height is even 30 meters. We return by bus at 2:30 pm (the next one is at 6pm). We eat lunch on the yacht – delicious spaghetti and I pay for the second day of the marina – this time almost half as much is the first day of the low season. In the afternoon, we supplement our grocery shopping.
2-09-2022 Friday to Cedeira
We leave in the morning as soon as it gets light at 7:45. We go to see the Cathedrals beach from the sea. The water is high, so most of the rock formations are under water. The wind is changeable, so we use the engine a little.
We cast an anchor in Cedeira Bay. It is beautiful, but the water temperature is around 17 ° C, so we give up bathing. For a lovely combination of hot dogs, cucumber and peppers – the whole thing looks like a boat on the waves. In the evening, a film screening, then we leave the anchor watch and the rest goes to sleep.
3-09-2022 Saturday A Coruna
After breakfast, we tour the bay, take pictures and go out to sea. The weather is nice and sunny, although cool. The wind is about 12 knots from the south, so we go bajdewind.
We choose the club marina by the city. At first, the port staff claims there are no seats, but eventually finds a place at the end of the marina. I think it helped to say that for a week this marina is better than the first one. It is quiet, but you either go to the toilets by boat or circle the whole yacht basin (5 minutes on foot). We are standing next to a huge motorboat. The gentleman takes me to the office by boat, waits for me and then takes me back to the boat. He explains that the wind is strong and there is little space for a large boat. We get a 20% discount for longer stays. In the evening we go for a walk around the city and join “dinner”.
4-09-2022 Sunday A Coruna
After breakfast we go sightseeing the city. We start with the Castle de Santo Anton. Then we go through the city to the Hercules Tower – one of the oldest active lighthouses in the world. Unfortunately, it is closed due to strong winds. It’s raining, so we’re going back to the yacht. On the way, we stop in for lunch.
