43°13.2'N 009°00.15 W Sunday 26th July

Ria de Corme & Laxe

Sunshine at last! Left Coruna on Saturday, past the headland and had the best sail yet of the trip. The winds were good, the sea was flat and the sun was out. We went past the Islas de Sisargas, rocky promontories off the beginning of the Costa da Morte (Coast of death). We wanted to stop off at the islands which are now a nature reserve and breeding site for many local species of birds, and an area containing interesting plant life. We had mixed information though, that anchoring at the islands was prohibited and on-the-spot fines would be imposed if the ban was infringed! Excursion boats were allowed to visit and circle it but not stop. Whether that was true or not, we do not know, we did see one yacht at anchor there on the western side. We carried on.

We put up our cruising chute (for the non-sailors, that is a very large, colourful asymmetric sail made of very light material) and had an unofficial race with a German boat going our same way. Well the owners were German, the boat was Swedish and bigger than us. We passed them with our chute and did well for a time, then the wind changed a bit and they put up a spinnaker and sneaked ahead. C'est la vie. We took some good pictures of them, and they of us (see cover pic) in the hope that our paths might cross to exchange them.

They carried on, we went in to the Ria de Corme y Laxe, a ria with a fishing village either side. We chose to go into Laxe. Spanish villages all look a bit industrial and ramshackle at first sight, with the odd crane, unfinished building and unsightly concrete blocks. But once you get behind the seafront facade, you find the old cobbled streets, the older houses, churches and funny little shops. Laxe had all of this, plus a clean wide sweep of beach, a fishing port and friendly people. We anchored in the harbour and spent the rest of the day exploring the town and fishing port. All along the seafront promenade were great sculptures made out of recycled bits of metal, of family groups, huge insects 7 ft tall, animals, unicycles, strange human figures. I love all their quirky statues - their public spaces are so stylish and so at odds with their ramshackle housing. Alongside the fishing port by the breakwater were huge stacks of logs, well tree trunks really, about 20 metres wide, 30 high and 200-300 metres long. Whether brought in, or to be loaded out, we weren't sure.

Today, we walked up and out of the town to the headland, the Punta de Laxe. Much of the eucalyptus is now gone, the area is all pine, heather, gorse and ferns - reminds me more of Scotland with better weather! The views were stunning - I forgot to take the camera. Heading off tomorrow for Camarinas on the Costa da Morte.