�� We were expecting a great night�s sleep so to be woken at 12.30am by an increasing veered wind was somewhat annoying. It was now a lee shore, so for the sake of sleep we moved to the marina. I closed my eyes at 1.50am and didn�t wake up until 7.45am. Oh bliss! Si then brought me tea in bed and made fruit salad and toasted crumpets for breakfast. More bliss! I then became a slug and sat writing my journal and reading Spanish dictionaries while Si checked us in at the marina and gave the topsides a thorough cleaning. A man�s work is never done! He then announced it was a perfect drying day and got the mini washing machine and spinner out to wash his smalls. J Photos to follow!

�� I lie of course; we both had filled a huge laundry bag with salt sprayed clothes and layer upon layer of protection from the elements. We set about our laundry with our appliances sitting in the cockpit and hose connected to the shore. Gradually Brindabella�s guardrails filled with drying clothes in the warm afternoon breeze. We paused early afternoon to eat tomato, feta, olive and basil salad with a nice glass of chilled white, then pottered about finishing our tasks for the day. By late afternoon we were ready to explore.

�� My feet hadn�t touched land since last Wednesday so it felt good to get the legs working again. We walked around the small town with its bars and taparias all teaming with early evening gatherings of families enjoying each other�s company: I lovely sight. It would have been rude not to stop and join them! We stopped under the canopy of a bar around a tiny square with a pretty stone drinking water fountain in its centre and sampled our first regional Spanish beer, Estrella Galicia. It was gooood.

�� Heading back to Brindabella the winds picked up and I had to hold my dress around my knees to stop it taking off! It was blowing a F7 in the marina. Unlike last night we ate dinner below in the cosy saloon and were just mulching down contemplating sleep when shouting from the pontoon shattered our calm.

�� A boat who had struggled leaving their berth this morning had now returned and was failing dismally amidst the strong winds to moor behind us. The wind was blowing them off the pontoon. We jumped into warm clothes and rushed to help the marina staff who were trying to pull in the lines. After several attempts we had them safely moored and Brindabella was unscathed.��������������������������������������������� ---Lini---