Camarinas
Chiscos - Atlantic Cruise
John Simpson
Fri 5 Aug 2011 15:59
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43:07.59n 09:10.93w
Our final tourist expedition in La Coruna was to
hire a tandem and cycle along the coastal cycle route which took us around the
whole peninsula. We reckon the last time we rode a tandem was about 1982
so we didn't do badly - I did find it best to close my eyes at certain points as
John was in charge of the brakes!
 On Thursday it became apparent that the
weather window we had been waiting for on Friday wasn't going to materialise, so
we took a decision to leave straightaway. After a quick dash to the
supermercado, water tanks filled and everything stowed, we set off along the
Costa da Morte. Apparently it's very beautiful, but the weather was so
poor (visibility about 1/2 mile) that we didn't actually see anything until we
got close to our destination and needed to get close enough to the rocks to find
our way. The sight of waves crashing on the rocks through the
fog was quite disconcerting! It rained most of the day, the sea was rough
and the wind blew strongly from the direction we wanted to go, so it was with
some relief that we arrived in Camarinas just as it was getting dark.
 This is the visitors' pontoon at Club Nautico
Camarinas where we were pleased to find a space last night. The yachting
community in this part of Spain is truly international. In La Coruna we
met 3 Norwegian girls on their way from Bergen to Sydney, Australia, a British
couple from the North East who were on their way to Turkey and a Swedish couple
who just wandering and didn't know when or where they would go next. In
Camarinas we have Norwegian boats either side of us and there are also yachts
from Germany, France and Holland. We have met a few skippers who will
also do the ARC rally this year, one in La Coruna and two here in
Camarinas. We haven't yet met anyone else doing 11 months on the boat like
John, most seem to be moving their boats down to Gran Canaria in stages ready
for the rally's start in November.
Camarinas is a small, quiet town after La
Coruna's bustle. The town is tucked around the corner in an inlet
surrounded by wooded hills (see distant view in photo above). We get the
impression that this corner of Spain is quite poor but is trying hard to build
its economy. The town is not particularly attractive, but has had a deck
promenade built all around the harbour area that looks quite out of place it is
so modern! We plan to stay here a few days as there is some bad weather
coming in for the weekend. We should have better weather by Monday to
continue our meander in a southerly direction.
Susan
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