The flight from to Santiago de Compostela from Basel on Sunday midday started easy as usual. Quite a mix of nationalities in the plane, some spanisch, other french, swiss, german and next to me an elderly couple. They speak a fast spanisch and say after we are in the air „Tengo que … baño“ pointing to the back, happening three times during the two and a half hour flight.
In the landing approach the countryside was quite wild, the weather mostly clouded and very windy. In Santiago de Compostela there’s a bus ready heading to the city center and afterward to catch the train to La Coruña. The bus is quite full and I heave my large rucksack between my thighs to save space. On the way there are many pilgrims walking in direction town city. The cathedral can be seen from driving down the hillside.
Arrived at the railway station there is a storage locker close by to place my heavy rucksack and go for a stroll. Quite a challenge to get in, after downloading the app, registering all information and paying, I get the code for the front door. A locker door opens up and my luggage bag suits just in. Off to go!
After a 10 minute walk uphill I can see the pieces of the cathedral towers.
Being at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela feels like stepping back in time a few hundred years ago. Surrounded by the massive architecture and religious impact at this historical site. Imagining how it could have been living here in those past days.
The time passes, also my train to La Coruña. The ride takes 30 minutes and to ocean front where the marina is a short walk. When entering the pier to sailing yacht Thomas is walking towards me. We had a video call a week before, where I could hop on for the sailing trip heading north. His destiny is the Baltic Sea after he bought the Amel Santorin in St. Tropez.
Next morning I moor the lines off and we head northwards:
A good shelter was not easy to find on the rugged coastline. In Luarca a small village we checked out if possible to drop the anchor or moor behind the wave breaker.
Behind the wave breaker are three mooring buoys and two of them were already occupied. After a long debate the only available place was on a mooring buoy next to a small fishing boat and to protect us with all fenders, tying up the fishing boat next to us. During the night the rubbing against the fenders was so loud that I had to put in my earbuds. Shortly after 5 am there was a noise against the hull and I jumped up to prevent a further damage. Thomas was already on deck and had untied all, trying another construction. There was no option we had to leave sooner or later.
The next day we had good sailing weather and headed for Gijon, the main harbour city in North west of Spain an autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay.
After a windy and rainy end we arrive at 7 pm in the picturesque fisher village Llanes. The small marina offers one guest berth, just after the tight port entrance.
From Llanes the winds where forecasted to be good for the Biscaya passage to La Rochelle. We departed on Friday at 8 am to arrive in La Rochelle the next evening.
On our way we soon pass several suspicious objects. A few of them we can photograph and find out that they are quite common in this area.
About one third of the passage we could sail. The rest was motor sailing as the wind rarely went over 15 knots of wind to reach the 5 knots speed over ground against the 1 knot current.
For breakfast I made scrambled eggs with bacon for breakfast, having quite a challenge pouring in the egg mass to the rolling frying pan. We noticed on hauling in the main sail closer into the wind, that there was so much tension on the main sheet line. When it starts to give cracking noises then there is some wrong and Thomas said stopp. Somehow the main boom traveller shackle loosened itself during the night and fell off. The boom was held only with one sheet, all the rollers where up at the boom tangled.
Arriving shortly after 9 pm in La Rochelle, the harbour master opened up the bridge for us to enter the marina. With drizzling weather in the dark we managed to get a nice berth for our 3 nights stay. Since the 12th century La Rochelle tradition is seafaring with a most impressing old city and maritime culture.
Lantern tower, former lighthouse, prison. Visible from afar: the tower became a landmark for ships
At midday we depart just before high tide to reach our next destination Les Sables d‘Olonne.
Many round the world sailing races start from Le Sables: Vendee Globe, La Golden Globe Race. Also Les Sables-Horta and return 5080 seamiles.
On our way northward we motor sail to the island Ile d‘Yeu. The tide in Port-Joinville is still high enough for the Amel with 2 meters of draught to enter.
In the evening we stroll into town and find a magnificent french restaurant, jazz music band at the marina playing loud groovy sounds with a perfectly mixed cuba libre.
At 7.57 my train leaves to Nantes, then to Paris Montparnasse where there is a one hour time for the train station change. In Paris I’m searching in the underground hectic for a metro ticket machine that is free. The queuing lines are up to 50 meters long, luckily I find one behind a wall, where just one person is standing. At 12.22 the TGV Lyria departs that takes me with 32O km/h speed in 3 hours to Basel. After 50 minutes of tubing, first line 6 and then 14, I’m at Gare de Lyon. 12.11 shows the huge train station clock heading to my wagon at the trains end for me. After a few minutes on my place the train moves!
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