Well unfortunately no photos for the time being because we have had our second computer crash which is a major inconveniance since we use it for navigation, weather, communication etc. When the last one crashed the supplier sent a new one to us from Australia - they are supposed to be bullet proof - can´t believe it has happened a second time. This time we had just loaded all our photos and deleted them from the camera so it looks like they are gone. We have other nav gear on board so can get by for now but have to use internet cafes on shore to access the net.
Anyway here is the update,
We are still taking our time around the Spanish coast visiting a lot of the small coastal villages as well as some major centres. Guetaria and Zumia have been the highlight which are villages about 2klm apart. Amazing rual scene with vineyards, dairy farms, tomatoes and tiny little villages in the area with an amazing backdrop of mountains and coast - really quite beautiful. The people in the area are Basque with their own languge nothing like Spanish or French and they are fiercely independent. They are pushing for independence and believe they have been opressed by the French and Spanish.
Our progress has been slowed a little by some bad weather which has kept us in port longer than planned. In addition to Guetaria and Zumia we have visited Bermeo, Manduka, Santander, Vivero and now the big city of La Coruna. Manduka was another charming village and also a famous surf spot but no waves during our visit. We are now coming into swell season so hopefully some surfing in Portugal which is where we are heading on Tuesday.
We did encounter one unexpected weather episode when sailing towards Bermeo. The wind came in at around 30 knots (not forecast) with stronger gusts dead on the nose and a 3 metre swell. After pushing into it for about an hour and conditions looking to worsen we retreated and sailed back the way we came for 5 hours into the sheltered harbour of Zumia to wait for better conditions. This turned out to be a blessing becase we really enjoyed Zumia and spent 3 days there. Also the 5 hour sail with 30 knots of breeze behind us and running with the swell was a hoot.
On Tuesday we are heading for Varzim in Portugal which is approx 35 hours sail from here. We are both really looking forward to Portugal and intend to sail the coast for a couple of weeks before heading into the med for a short time. Only 8 weeks before we are due to head off across the Atlantic - hard to believe where the time has gone!
Apart from the computer hassle all is going well and we are loving it. No more sea sickness for Julie so Wilson is getting a rest - well sort of because when we are underway she tends to use Wilson for other purposes rather than go below and risk feeling queasy when conditions are rolly. Poor Wilson!.
That´s all for now. Hopefully we can resolve computer issues and will have the next update with photos in a couple of weeks.
Cheers from Hullabaloo
