To Euskadi!
Moonbeam
David and Lynn Wilkie
Sat 26 Jun 2010 20:29
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43.17.877N 002.15.188W
Zumaya
Thursday
Up early again and out at 06.00. Headed around the
west of the lovely Ile d'Yea and headed South. Wind was lighter than the
forecasted N.E 4 so kept the engine on at low revs and motor sailed at 6 knots.
About 9.am a few small dolphins came for a quick visit, The wind did not last
though and gradually went north which made it less effective. We could not
really complain at motoring across a very smooth Bay of Biscay! Lunch was a
fresh prawn salad- no not from our own creel but from the superb fish shop on
Ile d'Yeu where you could also buy Scottish Salmon!
The afternoon was seriously hot! The cabin was
cooler and that was 31 degrees and having the engine on did not help. Mid
afternoon a pod of about 10 dolphins played around the bow for about 15 mins; an
experience that always fills one with joy. The dolphins are smaller than the
ones we see on the West Coast of Scotland.
 At 10 o'clock ( French time-UTC+2) we clocked up
the first 1000 miles of the trip!
We watched the sun set apparently into the sea to
the West- you expected to see the water bubbling and steaming!
 The distance from Ile d'Yeu to the Basque
County is just over 200 miles and we hoped to do this with just one night at
sea-hence the motor sailing to keep up speed. A full moon made for a beautiful
warm night and at midnight the wind picked up a bit and with a minor course
change put 12 knots true on the port quarter so the engine was stopped and we
sailed down the path of the moon. Shining from a cloudless starry sky......just
magical.
 The wind died about 6.30 so it was back
on with the engine again! What wind there was was soon on the nose and Biscay
was glassy calm. We feel a bit cheated at not getting a good sail and having to
burn diesel but it could be a lot worse!!
Another (!) boiling hot day and the decks are too
hot for bare feet or kneeling down. With half an hour to go to enter Zumaia the
coastline is high and rugged and initially reminiscent of returning to Scottish
Mainland north of Skye except there are towns right on the coast.
  The sea is still glassy calm- Biscay has been
benign.
Moored at the marina in Zumaia at 17.00hrs, 35
hours from Ile d'Yeu. Lovely surroundings to the marina on one side and the town
on the other.
  Total miles on the trip 1111!
However it was a bit of a blow to my navigational
pride to discover that we had not landed in Spain after all! In fact we had
entered EUSKADI which is what the Basque's call their country. We do try to make
the blog educational!
Had a walk into the "old town" in the evening which
was quite vibrant with all age groups out strolling and lots of children
who had been swimming in the river. Several bars with " tapas" and not many
restaurants.
  Back to the boat for a cool salad and some wine
before a good night's sleep!
Saturday
Moonbeam's berth looks over the residential part of
the town which is very smart and mainly apartment blocks which do not give the
appearance of being very old although there are some very old buildings around
the church. Everywhere is smart and well maintained and there are some superb
stylish residences on the hill around the town.
    We decided on a walk in the hills before it got too
hot so set out up a nearby track visible from the marina. We had hoped to do a
circular walk but after 2 1/2 hours the track showed no signs of heading back so
we retraced our steps. Part of the track was on the "Pilgrims Trail" to Santiago
de Compostella and we chatted to a young Frenchman who had walked from Paris and
still had about 700km to go- he was wearing flip-flops but we did not enquire
how many pairs he had used so far!
    The Pilgrims'
Way  Village
House  The Basque language is used locally and appears to
bear no relation to Spanish so Spanglish is useless! The sign posts and notices
all use lots of X and K and does not look western European. When we arrived the
"Mariniero" at the diesel berth spoke good English- he had family in Greenock!-
as did the girl in the office who had been to Edinburgh! In the town there are
banners up calling for Independence and in the evening there was a small rally
calling for independence.
From up in the hills we could see the big factories
in the hinterland that with the shipyard presumably provide the local
employment. Zumaya is not a tourist destination even for the Spaniards but it
has the feeling of a very " genuine" hard working town where the locals enjoy
their leisure time. Our Marina berth is a bit short for Moonbeam and would not
be suitable in bad weather but the marina is pleasant and set next to the nature
reserve and just along from the beach. The " promenade" and the Marina is the
focus for the town- when will the Council realise that is what Oban needs?
Incidentally Oban is distinctly grubby, untidy and down at heel compared with
everywhere we have been so far!
One of the strange signs seems to suggest that no
more than 3 naked people are allowed on the promenade at any one
time.
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