The Delightful Rias Altas Of North West Spain, Ribadeo To La Coruna.

     It was the bright and breezy morning of Guy's Birthday that we departed Ribedeo having spent 4 days sheltering from the wind and swell in Porcillian Marina just under the bridge. We had a wonderful ever changing view across the ria to Figueras and up river to Gastropol. Even the ferry stopped running to Gastropol because of the winds so we could only view from across the ria and not explore.   

Departing Ribadeo 

     We sailed along the coast with clear conditions for a change and had beautiful views of the coastline, beaches and towns en route. All the mountains were on show without their capes of cloud. Around lunchtime we saw a few small crabs swimming just under and on the surface. The numbers of crabs grew until we seemed to be in Crab Soup as the crab armada swam by! They came to the surface near the boat and Guy managed to scoop one up in the fishing net. They were smaller than an outstretched hand so not worth harvesting in numbers for eating!

One Of The Crabs

Ginny Enjoying The Wind

     We sailed past several small harbours and coves which would have been great to anchor in were it not for the swell and the weather we knew was bringing stronger winds. We then past the industrial ports of Burela and Puerto Alumina Espanola - the name being self explanatory.

Sailing Into Ria de Viveiro

     Kisti Two sailed into the first real Ria where two tankers were at anchor in more sheltered waters. We looked into the anchorages off the town beach but carried on up to the marina of Viveiro past the fishing port.  A lovely sheltered marina close to the centre of town. We went shopping in a large new Gadis supermarket and bought Guy a toaster and iron for his birthday. He was quick to get the toaster in action but the iron was placed in storage. The first toast and marmalade for 3 months was an absolute delight.

Guy Enjoying First Toast And Marmalade
For 3 Months!

   Having restocked and noted that the wind had died down, we went out into the Ria Viveiro to explore the beaches. We found a stunning private anchorage with our own small beach were we spent two glorious days swimming, BBQing and generally relaxing. Pure bliss. We moved onto another beach for the third night before reluctantly returning to the marina in Viveiro to resupply, the beer had run out, no meat for the BBQ and tapas was calling.

Anchored In Our Own Bay

Our Private Beach And Anchorage In Ria Viveiro

Ginny Learning The Art Of Anchor Bearings
Anchored Off  Playa De Cabello,  Looks Very Tropical

Sunrise In Ria Viveiro

   We took the opportunity to explore the old town of Viveiro and came across some wonderful churches, old narrow streets, town gates and Roman bridges. It was a surprising find of wonderful old buildings full of character and charm. We finished the exploration with some wonderful tapas, calamari and raxos plus excellent beer.

Guy Exiting Old Town Gate

Narrow Streets Of

The Old Church In Viveiro

Tapas And Beer Time

Main Town Gate Of Viveiro

Old Roman Bridge Opposite Town Gate

    We returned in the evening to watch a most wonderful, colourful and energetic show of local Galician dancing and music. It did not begin until 2200hrs and we sat at a cafe table drinking wine and watching this excellent free show with a large stage in the main town square with all the locals. It finished at mid-night whereupon we returned to our earlier bar for more tapas. Its amazing, but the Spanish evening only starts at 2200hrs and you can still order a meal after midnight. Viveiro has certainly proved to be great fun and a wonderful find.

Great Night Of Galician Traditional Dancing

Galician Dancing And Music

    Kisti Two decided that it was time to move on, so we headed round to the next Ria 2 hours away called Ria Del Barquero which we sailed around before anchoring again in our private beach off Playa Castro Vilela. A maritime police boat stormed up to us but decided not to board. We were prepared this time!! The next day, 5 Aug we motored round to the next bay of Ensenada De Santa Marta and  anchored off Carino fishing port. Another poor but very friendly town with cheap beer and tasty tapas. The food could only be ordered after 2100hrs!! All this anchoring gave us the spare budget money to enjoy ourselves out.

Sailing On Towards  Ria Del Barquero

Guy Reading Up On The Pilot Book

Anchored In Ria Barquero

Ginny Enjoying A Relaxing Dip 

Not Another Day In Paradise
Ginny On Anchor Watch

The Town Of Carino In Ensenada De Santa Marta

      On 6 Aug, the weather turned and so we motored round in wet and misty weather round to the Ria of  Cedeira which was a beautiful bay looking like a Scottish loch. It was the first rain we had for ages so a good reminder of home. We even had to put on foul weather gear!! The coastline resembled Scotland and the Ria was quite stunning.

True Northern Spain Weather
Sailing Round To     Ria

Scotland? No Northern Spain

Wet Weather Gear!! Still Smiling.

    The town of Cedeira was quite enchanting with a lot of Spanish tourists. We enjoyed a good walk around the old town, fort and lighthouse which provided for some spectacular views. We met a lovable Dutch rogue called Peter who was to provide us with plenty of useful information. We experienced some of the best tapas yet and were able to have a good face time chat with Zoe from another bar on the riverside. All in all, a useful stop. We enjoyed a BBQ with Peter on the last night anchored in this lovely Ria.

Every Town Has Its Own Fancy Band Stand

View Of Entrance To Ria Cedeira

Kisti Two Anchored In  Ria Cedeira.
Could Be Scotland But Much Warmer

Guy The Rock Lizard Taking A Siesta

Entrance To Ria Cedeira

Peter The Dutchman Joins Us For A BBQ

        On 8 Aug, we sailed round to Golfo Artabro which has 4 rias, Ria De El Ferrol which is a main base for the Spanish Navy, Ria De Ares with anchoring and marina, Ria de Betanzos with marinas and the Ria De La Coruna which has a large marina. We sailed mostly with the cruising chute until the wind died down as we entered El Ferrol. The entrance to El Ferrol was very historical with the two forts guarding the narrow entrance but the harbour resembled Portsmouth so we turned around and headed out to Ares where we anchored in windy conditions off the beach. We awoke early the next day and had a most exhilarating sail around the Ria which took us 5 hours putting in our first tacks and avoiding other yachts for the first time since leaving France. We anchored in the same spot again just outside the Marina. Finally, on 11 Aug, we had to give up anchoring and come into La Coruna marina to escape increasing winds and a spot of admin.

Too Many Tapas, BBQ's And Beer Me Thinks!
Sailing On To Coruna With Cruising Chute

The Old For St Felipe Guarding The Entrance To El Ferrol Ria

The Fort Of De La Parma At El Ferrol Entrance

Fort Of San Felipe

Ginny Enjoying Sunset At Ares

English Yacht Anchored In Redes

The Town Of Ares

The Beach Of Ares

Windy Day Anchored Off Ares

Approaching La Coruna Marina

   The northern rias of Spain have proved to be a wonderful and surprising experience. The marinas have been half full and cheaper than France, anchorage opportunities abound, gorgeous beaches a plenty, very friendly and helpful local Spanish, delicious cheap tapas and tasty ice cold beer. We often felt we were the only foreign tourists.

    The slide below shows our route from Viveiri (white cross) to La Coruna, the red boat symbols. you can see all the rias we have explored and thoroughly enjoyed.

Ribadeo To La Coruna

Castro Urdiales To Ribadeo, A Reminder Of The Jurassic Coastline.

     It was with some reluctance that we left Castro Urdiales to head west along the northern Spanish coastline. The first leg was a short 3 hour hop to Santona where we encountered another blessing of the fishing boat festival outside the harbour. We went in for a quick look before going into a wonderful new marina at Laredo on the opposite bank. The Marina can take over a 1000 boats but probably only had a maximum of 250 so we had a choice of many berths which made berthing very easy.

The Knights Templar Castle & Roman Bridge
Leaving Castro Urdiales

The Castle & Church Of Castro Urdiales
Quite Stunning.

Blessing Of The Laredo Fishing Fleet

Santona

Fort Santona

    Laredo looked very dull from the marina but we went in to investigate and stumbled into a fantastic Swinging Sixties Party attended by the whole town. They really do know how to party in Spain, the whole village, including stall holders, bar and restaurant staff, kids and grandparents were all dressed up for the occasion and having a most wonderful time, all without an excess of alcohol. Well, we had to join in, less the dress code, and enjoyed ourselves enormously.

Guy Building Up An Appetite

The Swinging Sixties Band!

All Dressed Up & Having Fun

     The following morning, we walked along the 5 km beach from Laredo to Santona. It is a wonderful beach with very Russian like hotels or flats set back from the beach. The Spanish (there are no foreigners here) also looked Russian so we assumed that this was the poor Spanish resort of the north. We caught a ferry across the river and had a wander around Santona but there was not much of interest. We returned and enjoyed a good snooze on the beach close to the marina. The beach walk having stiffened up our ankles.

The 5Km Russian Beach!!

Beach Life At Low Tide

     As explained the Marina was new and very smart except it appears they forgot to build an ablution block. We eventually found the showers and toilets in a large empty hanger within ships containers. This was a real reminder for Guy of his Army experience and showers in Kosovo and Afghanistan. They were however very good. The price of the marina was a bit of a shock at £36 per night! Ow.

The Fantastic New, But Empty And Expensive Marina Of  Laredo

    Kisti Two left her most comfortable mooring on 22 July and we headed off with the intention of  visiting Santander and finding an anchorage along the coast. The northern Spanish coast is well known for its misty and foggy weather and it obviously decided we had been having too good a time so fog, mist, rain and a confused sea decided to attack us along what looked very much like the Jurassic coastline of Dorset.

Back To Needing A Brew Sailing And Top Layer

Approaching Santander In Mist

Stunning Architecture Of Santander

Santander Hotel

     We went in and had a look at Santander quite quickly as the pilot indicated there was no place to be had in the town marina. Quite surprisingly Santander only has a marina well up river  for visitors, but some anchorages.We decided as the weather was not suitable for the anchorage in town to press on. We hurried along the Spainsh Jurassic coastline looking for an anchorage but the weather became foggy, windy and we soon experienced the awful swell of Biscay. A bit like the English Channel in a strong easterly blow. The wind also died so it was a long motor including overnight to reach Gijon, the next port some 100 nm further west.

Planet Of The Apes Rock
Double Click The Pictures To Get Full Screen Picture

Fantastic Buildings At  Comillas
Tom, What Are They?

Good English Sailing Along Spanish North Coast

   We arrived at Gijon Marina at 0800, filled up with fuel, tied up at our dedicated berth and collapsed asleep. We were shattered after the nights bashing and both needed a good rest. Gijon is a large city and the marina is in the heart of the night life. It is a popular first port of call for Brits crossing the Bay of Biscay to refuel in all respects and this we did. We enjoyed a delicious meal out on the first night and then had an English couple round for a BBQ. They were the first English boat and English speakers we had seen for over a week so it was great to get away from our awful Spanish for a bit. As usual we toured the city and marvelled at some of the architecture both on bicycle and on foot,

Gijon Beach

Gijon

Gijon Cafes & Bars

Gijon Marina With Bars In Background

    The weather improved so we departed Gijon on 26 July heading for our first Spanish Ria, Ribadeo. It was a misty start but we had an enjoyable motor for 80 nm to Ribadeo and were able to see some of the coastline. We have concluded that Spanish fishing trawlers have a yacht magnet on them. Our Radar was excellent at picking them up early so as to avoid clashes. It was an easy entrance at high tide and we were welcomed by the 'marinero' and put on a comfortable end jetty.

Spanish Fishing Magnet For Yachts!

Ginny Preparing For Ribadeo Marina

Castrapol Opposite Ribadeo
The Merchants Town

     Ribadeo has clearly seen better days but we had great fun exploring the back streets and finding many old buildings, some still smart and others in a terrible state of decay, but they gave us an idea of its past. The central square was stunning with some lovely old buildings. Kisti Two was stocked up again with beer, wine, port and food all at a reasonable price compared with France. Guy the mule supporting Ginny in this task as the supermarket was at the top of the hill.

Ribadeo Square

Ribadeo Customs House

Old Ribadeo Streets

     Another long walk ensured we covered every aspect of the town and its surroundings finishing off with a couple of good beers overlooking the harbour. Still the only Brits!

Ribadeo Marina From Town Lookout

Bridge Across The Ria With Marina Beyond

Kisti Two In Ribadeo Marina

The Local Sail Boat With A Latine Rig, Of Which There Are About 25.
Something Similar To Small Egyptian Dhows!

    A strong wind has been blowing through so we have stayed here for 4 nights as it is a reasonable price and lovely safe spot. We also managed a BBQ in the rain much to the astonishment of the locals. We spoiled ourseleves today with a Zorza, spiced pork dish. Delicious,

Searching For Spanish Gold!

Guy On The BBQ.

    The slide below shows our coastal hugging route from Castro Urdiales to Ribadeo. A very English coastline with the weather to match and not many places to stay so some long legs. We depart tomorrow for the start of our Spanish Rias crusade heading west still, starting with Viveiro along to Corunna before we turn south again along the Atlantic Coast of Spain. Our Spanish is improving but it will be lovely to see some Red Ensigns again.

Along Northern Spain. Kisti Two Is At Yellow (wind)  Arrow