I really don’t know where to start. The dice brought me to a place in the Rio de Vigo called the Cies Archipelago. More specifically, the Praia das Rodas on the unfathomably beautiful and rather snappily titled Galicia’s Atlantic Islands Land-Maritime National Park.

Would I have thought to come here if the dice hadn’t chosen it? Probably not. I’ve sailed into river at Vigo twice before and both times, I’ve sailed into the marina at Bayona (not to be confused with Bayonne in the Basque Country!) which is certainly beautiful in it’s own way but this is in a different league. Ok, that’s unfair as there are no shops here, only a couple of bars and they’ve been shut. There aren’t even any rubbish bins on the island – not one. There doesn’t appear to be any cars other than those used for forestry and from what I can tell, there are maybe three or four houses. So, not just a different league – that would be like comparing… oh, I don’t know… Kiera Knightly and a full English breakfast. Hmmm bad example maybe?

If there are words to describe just how stunning this island is, I’m hoping they’ll come to me soon as I’m supposed to be writing a book about it! No really, I arrived early on Sunday morning on a quiet anchorage and wondered when the peacefulness would be shattered by the weekend tourists. Later that morning, on cue, there were boat-loads of tourists from the mainland coming and going in noisy tour groups so after a brief walk along the coast path, I went back to the boat to appreciate it from afar. Yesterday, I spent the day on board doing a few odd jobs that didn’t really seem such a chore in the midday sunshine and then today, having been completely alone on the anchorage, I went ashore knowing I’d have the island virtually to myself. Well, maybe not entirely to myself as I needed to pick on someone to throw the dice for tomorrow’s departure!

This archipelago is a National Park as the name suggests and what a magnificent job the Spanish authorities have done of maintaining its natural beauty. There are four way-marked paths to walk and each one carefully threads its way through dense pine and eucolyptus forest and along precipitous rocky outcrops overlooking immaculately clean sandy beaches and impossibly rugged cliffs. The Alto do Principe route reaches a point precariously high on the rocks from where the entire island stretches out into the distant misty sunshine. It was there on the top of that particular walk that I met my new friends Jorge and Rafael – the only people I met all day. They had arrived earlier this afternoon on their locally built Betil 34 called JABA. Rafael, a Human Resources Manager for Bio Diesel Company Infinita Renovable and his wife Montse live in Vigo and visit the island regularly never tiring of its beauty. Today, their son Jorge was visiting from Madrid and having exchanged a few civilities on the hilltop and taken the obligatory photographs, I invited Jorge, who speaks excellent English, to throw the dice for the next destination. He accepted the responsibility without hesitation and invited me to join them on JABA after lunch when I’d finished my walk. Evidence of a typically Spanish tapas lunch was still on deck when I arrived and as I was invited to help myself and offered a glass of wine, I regretted having had an early lunch. I relaxed instantly in their cordial company and enjoyed watching the unhurried indulgence of it all. Rafael lazily puffing on the fattest cigar you can imagine and recalling his limited knowledge of English learnt twenty years ago in Bath with increasing confidence. Montse too was keen to practice speaking English as she shared a roll-up cigarette with Jorge. Talk turned to the roll of the dice – there was work to be done. I’d picked six destinations…

1          Ria de Aveiro                96Nm

2          Nazare                          158Nm

3          Cascais                        220Nm

4          Setubal                         272Nm

5          Madeira                        682Nm

6          Gran Canaria                 890Nm

I explained that if Jorge rolled a five or a six, I would have to head first for Vigo where I would top up on provisions and water. After a few brief thoughtful looks and some chat in Spanish, my new friends were offering lifts to the chandlery, advice on where I should moor up and suggested that their friend, the manager of the marina in Cangas might be able to help me – they’d call her.

I hadn’t taken a dice ashore and the three of them were keen to come and have a look at Canasta. So, for the dice roll, we all headed across the bay to Canasta where, with an obvious realisation of the responsibility he’d accepted, Jorge ceremoniously rolled the dice across the cockpit table…

A Three – Cascais

Ok, perfect. The wind has generally been light these past few days so I’m looking forward to a couple of days sailing down the coast. Cascais is just inside the mouth of the Rio Tejo which, as far as I can tell, leads into the heart of Lisbon. There is an anchorage to the north of the marina and transport links to the city so I’ll probably stay for a few days. In fact, I’m sure one of the low-cost airlines flies to Lisbon so if anyone fancies popping down for the weekend, email me!

So, one more evening in this little corner of heaven and I’ll be on the move again. Not that far but hey, it’s all progress!

Bee