It was another noisy night with little sleep and three more additions to my bite collection. At 4.30am I sprayed every inch of the cabin with bug killer and unable to sleep read for a couple of hours eventually going back to sleep when I should have been getting up. Daily chores took us until late morning.

   The postcards we wrote in Santiago still needed posting and we were running out of bottled water with no hands free to carry it yesterday. Another trip into town was definitely in order and while there we could always have one of those ‘hot chocolates to die for’! Well that will teach me to be greedy – my hot chocolate today was disgusting and not the sort that sets in the cup that I was expecting. By mid afternoon we were ready to explore further into the ria.

   It was a hot afternoon with little wind and the engine was needed to get us through the dead still times. A nasty vibration developed in the direction of the propeller. We sailed, well, drifted with the tide actually, past Vigo where the ‘Independence of the Sea’ was just departing and blocking out most of the city. The busy port was bustling with activity. Around the hills giant viaducts took the traffic to the enormous suspension bridge which straddled our route ahead. The sun was now lowering behind us and the islands were just outlines in the mist. We ducted under the bridge and entered tranquillity - Empenada de San Simon. We had to pay a visit if only for the name, but what a treat it was. Not wanting to use the engine until the problem was located we inched slowly towards the anchorage under a reefed headsail and then swung into the wind to anchor. The G&Ts were on deck in record time.

   Through the binoculars we found pretty little chapels in the hills, watched cormorants drying their wings on rocks and noted how much more lush and green the surroundings were at this end of the ria. A perfect little island sat a stone’s throw away from us with an idyllic house amongst the wooded grounds. Just off to one side a small bronze statue, San Simon we assumed, sat on a rock watching over the village. The sun set in a blaze of colour under the suspension bridge, then coloured lights from the shore all around us reflected an artistic circle towards us. Si lit the oil lamp and I rustled up a Thai veggie curry for supper. We listened to an enthusiastic rowing team in the distance, working their way round the ria and with strained eyes could just follow their feint side light. Tonight the sea was calm.  J