42:36.29n 08:56.09w

 

An evening scene at anchor off Muros - the Spanish approach to horse exercising, or perhaps horse washing??

We had an enjoyable stay in the Marina at Portosin.  The yacht club bar had the most fantastic balcony, perfectly placed to watch the sun go down behind the hills.  We had to have several beers to watch the whole sunset!  Chiscos is moored on the farthest pontoon.

During the day we walked to the town of Noia, some 8 miles away from Portosin.  There were no marked walking trails this time but we decided to see how far we could get by walking along the beach and rocks rather than walking the whole way along a busy road.  We were amazed to find that it could be done with only about 1/2 mile of walking by the road side.  On the way there the tide was in so we scrambled over rocks into countless sandy coves - we could have been on a desert island there were so few people about.  On the way back the tide was out and the beaches were covered with people sunbathing and playing beach games.  The contrast was incredible!  It was a very hot walk (33 degrees according to the thermometer in Noia) and we were very glad to find that Noia had some shady places to sit.  Noia was originally the main port for the Ria but it is now heavily silted and only small boats can get there.  It was obvious from the buildings that it had been an important town and it was an attractive place. We stopped at a cafe in this square for welcome refreshments.

We came across an amazing museum which had a collection of tombstones from as early as the 10th century.  Unfortunately we couldn't understand much on the labels, but were fascinated by the graveyard where every surface was covered with graves - including the walls where remains were contained within boxes as if in cupboards!

On Friday we left Portosin all prepared for another rough sail through the Atlantic rollers.  What a contrast to our journey from Camarinas - the swell was very slight and we had perfect sailing conditions all the way to Ria de Arousa with the engine needed only to exit our berth at Portosin Marina.  We sailed all the way into Ria de Arousa, only putting the engine on as the wind died towards the end of the day a couple of miles from our destination.  We are now in A Pobra do Caraminal where there is a sizeable town and another beautiful sandy beach.  The weather continues to be unpredictable.  This morning (Saturday) we awoke to blue skies, bright sunshine and no wind at all.  By lunchtime we had a NE breeze.  By 3.00 pm the wind was strong and firmly from the West, and fog and drizzle began drifting down over the hillside.  Within a few minutes the fog and drizzle lifted and we're back to sunshine - still a West wind though, but for how long!?  We plan to stay in this Ria for a few more days, probably moving to Vilagarcia De Arousa tomorrow (Sunday).

 

Susan