A Coruna

22nd – 30th July

On the way to A Coruna I saw a fire on the hillside and this twin engined seaplane landing on the sea scooping up water then dropping it on the fire, really impressive unlike my photo; anyway I moored at a new marina beautifully situated under the walls of St. Anton fort however the facilities weren’t complete and the showers and toilets were in portacabins. The toilets were the squatting type, a particular favourite of Debbie’s so I awaited here arrival with baited breath!
A Coruna in the capital of Galicia, it was the starting point of the ill-fated Spanish Armada and they cook octopus, pulpo, in twenty different ways and it’s still tasteless! It’s also a very busy attractive city and whilst Debbie and I were here there was a huge medieval market with all the stallholders in costume; there were minstrels and short plays performed and lots of food stalls which Debbie and I took particular interest in. It’s funny but true that Debbie and I always seem to focus much of our attention of the restaurant areas of a city!!!!
Anyway to burn off some of the calories we walked along the coast and visited the Tower of Hercules which is reputed to be the oldest Roman lighthouse in existence, it’s an impressive structure set on a hill surrounded by a sculpture trail.
When we got back to he boat I had a Ray Mears moment and pulled some plump mussels off the dock…..Deb cooked them and they were beautiful……and I didn’t keel over!
I’d hired a car so Debbie and I could spend a couple of days in Santiago de Compostela, St. James the Apostle, about 60km south set in the hills of Galicia. Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage centre with an enormous cathedral; the entire medieval core of the city is a Unesco world heritage site and was bustling with tourists and pilgrims. We went to the cathedral to see the huge 60 kg incense burner which 8 men using a pulley system swing at the end of a service but it was away being cleaned!!
Debbie left yesterday and I will be off on my travels again, this time along the Costa da Morte, Coast of Death, cheerful hey? to Camarinas then turning south to Portugal.