In Vigo - waiting!
Discovery Magic's Blog
John & Caroline Charnley
Wed 5 May 2010 16:58
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42:13.898N 008:44.565W
Today finds us in Vigo waiting to get our
radar fixed. It is not so vital here, but by the time we close the foggy coasts
of New England - it definitely is. The weather patterns affecting the
Azores for the next week or so look rather stormy, but we can't delay too much
as Ben, who has now joined us, is due to fly out of the Azores on the 13th, and
our new crew member from the Azores to Bermuda, Desiree, is joining on the
14th.
Although only six miles apart, Bayona and
Vigo are very different. Bayona is still strongly influence by its past,
the castle (now a Parador hotel) dominating the approach, perched up
high with gloriously sandy beaches on three sides and entirely surrounded by a
castellated wall. It has a replica of the Pinta, which
landed here in 1493 bringing the first news of the New World reaching southern
Europe. Vigo, by contrast is a modern, dynamic city. Its large
granite buildings and wide streets show a civic pride, in the detailing of
the stonework, the many statues and elaborate street furniture. You
could certainly buy some very smart clothes here, as I am sure those
visiting from the cruise ships do,
Today has been a 'useful'. John and I
went in to the city centre to stock up with provisions; cooking; sorting out
where things are stored and making sure with have lots of snacks and 'easy' food
for the trip. Ben has not only had to go up the mast three times, but has been
busy talking to a host of people - the local rep for Raymarine, our office,
Marine Electronic Systems. It seems that the problem is in the moulding of
the radar casing, which has allowed water ingress, but it is unlikely that
we will be able to get a replacement until the Azores or perhaps Bermuda.
Oh well, we'll have to resort to our manual foghorn - the question is, will
anyone on a large ship hear it?
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