Bayona 3

Magnetic Attraction
Roger and Margaret Pratt
Fri 10 Jul 2009 08:50
This morning we went cycling, before the wind got up, over to the other side of the bay.  Apart from a couple of hills (particularly at the end) it was all on the flat; cool and really pleasant.  Roger was moved to take a photo of me looking like a tropical brown Wasp, comprehensively shaded by my hat. 
 
 
 
Tomorrow we plan to move on to Cangas, at anchor, and to meet Dave and Suzanne on Suzie Too.  We paid a major visit to Eroski to top up on food - and they had fresh milk! (Little things become very important, let me tell you!  I clearly haven't enough to worry about!)
 
Have been reflecting on Bayona.  It's a holiday town, of course, and still in low season.  There are obvious programmes designed to provide employment and improve the environment - the visible ones are for men.  Laying payments, improving the streetscape etc.  Lots of very young babies, as well - suspect that there isn't much employment now for women either.  The other reflection is cultural, and about risk management.  Adherence to the same health and safety directives that the whole EU is signed up to is very different here - for example we walked round the Monte Real ramparts there were no railings to stop you dropping off the back - and precious few warning notices.  It's refreshing really to be allowed to apply commomn sense.  But it may also be about levels of investment and affordability - it's noticeable that there are nothing like the numbers of buoys and aids to navigation that we would expect further north, including in France.  Preliminary observations at this stage - further research is ongoing!