Delights of Vigo and Baiona

The adventures of Chili III
Peter & Belinda Vernon
Thu 21 Oct 2021 19:46

42:07.47N 008:50.55W

 

Cruising in Europe is now so much more complicated with both Brexit and Covid to content with. Because of Brexit, we now have to get ourselves to a port where our passports can be stamped – you can no longer just rock up and drop your anchor wherever you fancy. On this occasion it wasn’t a problem for us as Vigo is one of the few ‘ports of entry’ with passport control, but it will create considerable restrictions on UK sailors in the future.

 

As for Covid regulations- we had spent ages trying to establish what yachties should do. The bottom line seems to be nothing – we were not asked for any forms or evidence of being fully vaccinated. We suspect we are in the ‘too difficult’ box. Lets see what happens in Portugal....

 

We have now been in the Ria de Vigo for nearly a week enjoying (again) the delights of Vigo and Baiona. Although we have spent quite a bit of time here on previous cruises, with the benefit of our wonderful Brompton bikes we have been able to explore further a field. But Vigo is a VERY hilly city and our cycle ride through the city and to a (magnificent) beach 5Km out of town was quite a work out which took me (Belinda) a day to recover from -  there is a good reason we didn’t see any other bikes! Baiona is a different story – a fabulous (flat) cycle route all the way round the bay alongside a beach was fantastic. The well-established marina of Baiona is a real mecca for sailing yachts and being located under the ramparts of the fort (now a parador) is a perfect place to hang out – a leisurely lunch on the terrace of the clubhouse is almost compulsory!

 

The wind has finally come round to the north, so we are saying goodbye to Spain tomorrow and heading south to Cascais (just outside Lisbon). The waves will be big but they will be with us and the sun will be shining – which always makes sailing a little easier! We are looking forward to the major next leg of our trip.

 

 

 

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