Hi All,

  “Two countries separated by a common language” is what we’ve heard several times.  But so far we can understand everything everyone has said.  Even when they speed talk like the guys in the phone shop because phone shops always have waiting lines.  But he was really helpful so we have phones and wifi dongles.  Hurrah!  We also gained an hour coming here from France. 

    The folks here at the marina are really nice and helpful.  We were to call them on channel 80 as we were arriving to see if they had a berth for us.  We’d emailed ahead but they said to check as we were arriving as this is Bank Holiday weekend so very busy.  Our passage was 75 miles from Cherbourg with the tides against us too much of the way but not particularly rolly.  We  left Cherbourg 5:15 am and arrived in Portsmouth 8pm Cherbourg time but 7 pm Portsmouth time.  As for calling the marina on channel 80; we could calEnglandl them but because we have an American radio our channel 80 won’t receive in England so we couldn’t hear them.  We could hear other boats having conversations with the marina, though we couldn’t hear the marina’s responses.  So we just got here and tied ourselves up.  When I walked to the office to tell them we were here, they said they’d heard us calling the past 90 minutes!  Actually they heard us maybe a total of 3 minutes but spread out over 90 minutes so that’s not so bad.  We did have to move from where we’d tied up but that was fine.  We got all settled in and had a great sleep.  That was Friday.

  Next morning, Saturday,  Jennifer, one of the marina staff, kindly called British Customs for us and I had a fairly long but very friendly conversation with the guy on the phone.  The fact that we’d not checked in our out of Spain or France was a bit odd for them, but England isn’t part of Schengen either so that really didn’t matter.  Anyway at the end of the conversation I was told we could take down our yellow flag which you are required to fly until you have dealt with customs.  Then Jennifer called Immigration for us.  That is a funny story as it has a satisfactory ending.  It has always been fairly easy to enter a country though some require a visa prior to entry and some, like Israel, require paperwork prior to entry and then a radio interview prior to entry and then an inspection when you enter.  Going into Singapore we were met at sea to deal with paperwork before we could enter.  And some countries required bottles of booze or $50 for the officials.  As I said earlier, Spain and France really didn’t care to check us in at all though we were boarded by French Customs leaving Brest.  But there weren’t any trick questions.  Here there were trick questions and I didn’t give the correct answers during the phone conversation so we had to go visit Immigration at the International Ferry Terminal in Portsmouth across the harbour from Gosport.  I was asked what was expected of us coming to England and I had no clue so said “to be a good citizen and try not to do anything wrong.”  X  He told me in a stern voice that I was to be taking this more seriously but never told me the correct answer.  Then he asked how long we planned to stay which was another trick question.  I answered that as Americans we knew we could stay 6 months.  He asked a bunch of questions and it got confused because we’ll go home for at least a month so when we’re leaving England with DoraMac changes depending on how long we’re home because of the 6 month limit.  Then he asked how long we’d like to stay and I said well maybe a year if we could.  X ! He said we needed to come see him as this phone interview wasn’t going so great.  I said whatever he needed us to do we would do.  I then handed the phone to Jennifer to get the address and such and her tone indicated she wasn’t so pleased that he was giving us such a hard time.  (Before saying we needed to visit Immigration he said something about a fax machine which sent the marina staff into a tizzy as they never used it but would be willing to try.  Then the decision was made for us to visit Immigration so that ended the fax problem.)  We were also asked if we had a place in England reserved and if we had enough money to afford to stay.

  Randal and I and all of our boat papers and passports visited an ATM and then caught the Gosport ferry just around the corner at High Street and then took a taxi to Immigration at the International Ferry Terminal. We asked the folks at the Info desk to call Immigration for us and they did.    The official  came and was officious but pleasant and helpful and that was that.  You get a paper rather than a passport stamp.  Then we called a taxi to come to the terminal to get us.  (We’d not gotten our mobile phones yet as you’re really not supposed to get off the boat until you are checked into a country and the marina staff had told us that was pretty well enforced though we were allowed to go over to Immigration.)   British pay phones are much easier to use than the last time I was here mid-80s.  Then you had to dial the number and quick put in enough money and it all seemed so complicated but the red phone boxes were fun.  This pay phone, just on a wall,  worked the normal way and the taxi was there in 5 minutes.  Turns out our driver visits Marmaris, Turkey once each year with his partner who has been going there the past 20 years.  I commented that she has seen lots of changes as the marinas weren’t there 20 years ago.  It was a fun ride and we got back to the Gosport terminal just in time to catch the ferry just leaving. 

   It was after noon Cherbourg time and we were hungry!  On High Street we had a fish/chips/mushy peas lunch but it wasn’t as good as the fish/chips/mushy peas at DEKS in North Cyprus.  Then we walked along High Street to a phone shop and got our phones and wifi dongles, one for each and then wandered the outdoor Saturday booths.  We are quite taken with Gosport but must move along so will leave Monday as early as we can for the 60 mile passage to East Bourne.  This afternoon, Sunday, Steve and Valerie are coming to meet us.  We met Steve in Terengannu, Malaysia and then both he and his wife Valerie in Kota Kinabalu later.  Valerie and I went off exploring together and managed to cram several adventures into two days. 

Yesterday we watched an American Naval Sub come up into Portsmouth with part of it submerged in the water.  That was cool.

   I’m still working on the photos from Cherbourg and now the ones from Falmouth.  Until then, just this story.

Ru

Bonjour

   It has been a long two days.  We left at daylight from Brest Tuesday and arrived about 11 AM this morning in Cherbourg.  I had to jump off the boat and tie us up but that’s much less scary than the first time I had to do it back in Malaysia.  We are on a visitor dock as far from the marina office as you can get and twice as far from town.  But it’s just fine with us.  It’s calm and quiet out here.  I’ll do photos next email.  These photos are from our passage where we were boarded at sea by French Customs Officials and we have the photos to prove it!  Along the way we attained speeds we’d never gotten close to before.  That was lots of fun.  The weather was bright and sunny and the moon was so full that it never really got dark.

It was a good passage.

Ru

  Randal picked the absolutely most perfect day to move from Brest to Cherbourg.  We had almost no wind.  The 2 meter swells were spaced so that you gently went up and then gently went down.  Much of the time the strong currents were with us and our speeds were faster than we’d ever gone.

We thought hitting 10 knots was amazing

Then it was eleven knots!!! 12.7 knots was the highest we recorded.  We tend to average 6!   Of course at one point we were down to about 3 knots when the tide changed but that was just fine as it all works out.

One funny thing happened.  Spain seemed really unconcerned whether we checked in or not.  We tried in La Liῆea but no one would do it.  In La Coruῆa the marina just shrugged it off.  In Brest we had to remind the marina staff that the US wasn’t part of Schengen and we might need to check in.  But it was Sunday morning and the office of marine officials was closed.  It made no sense to check in Monday morning and then check out Monday afternoon as we were leaving sunrise Tuesday, so we skipped it there.  But here’s the thing, we took down our tattered American flag for me to sew and left Brest with no flag.  That, the French officials cared about.  As we were merrily cruising away from Brest we noticed a speedy pontoon type boat aiming for us.  They aimed right at us and grabbed a hold of our back rail and politely explained they were French customs and were coming aboard.  They had guns on their belts but it was broad daylight in the middle of a busy channel, so no problem.  (Like maybe they were really the bad guys rather than the good guys.  After the Somalia issue, you think of those things.)   These guys were very professional and polite and searched the boat over.     Certainly made me wish I’d dusted and vacuumed.  Randal went round the boat with them per their request.   After about 40 minutes they left.  They did tell us our ‘no flag” was a red flag to them and they strongly encouraged us to put it back up.  In Asia no one cared and because of “real or imagined” threats many Americans didn’t fly their flag.  As a guest you always fly the one of the country you are visiting.  These guys didn’t care that we weren’t flying a French flag.  We have one but customarily you wait to raise it until you are officially checked into the country and since we hadn’t been officially checked into anywhere since we checked out of Tunisia, our foreign flags are still in the drawer. We planned to check in here in Cherbourg, but again the marina said there was no need.  So maybe we’ll put up the French flag along with our tattered American flag.  The flags just can’t stand up to ocean travel.  Randal and his new pals.  They had just enough English; just enough and it took me a bit to realize that they were asking if we had a safe.  They kept asking about the bo???.  I thought they were asking about some kind of book but finally guessed that they were asking about a box.  They meant safe but didn’t have the word in English.  So it was kinda funny.  They also were interested in our huge fuel tanks which maybe could be used to smuggle.  They were discussing it in French but Randal guessed their concern so offered to take out the gage and show them it was fuel.  They took a pass on that.  At one point early on, the man just next to Randal tried to point out to me a French military boat near the shore but I just couldn’t see what he meant.  I finally said yes, I saw so he wouldn’t wonder how someone who couldn’t see the big ship he was pointing at could drive a boat.

Departing from DoraMac There they go. Our friends Ed and Sue had their boat searched near Belle Isle and Ed was even wearing his Federal Atty shirt.  Today in the grocery store a British couple told me that we should ask for a certificate of inspection as you can get stopped all along the coast.  They were right about that…..

Sunrise came earlier as we were heading east our second day out.

As for being stopped more than one time by French officials… We were coming up the coast about a hour short of Cherbourg when a French Coast Guard boat started to circle us.  They came on the radio and identified themselves and asked us to slow down.  They asked about us and the boat and then said they would board for an inspection.  Randal said that was fine but we had just been inspected coming out of Brest and had the photos with the men.  They “put us on hold” and then came back on, I guess having checked out our story, and said, “thanks, have a good jouney.”  And they left.  Next time we’ll ask for a certificate after the first inspection.

Looking at the map of the marina area and Cherbourg.  We’re sort of below the numbers 17.  The Carrrefour  where we walked this afternoon for groceries felt like a million miles away.  The city of Cherbourg  seems quite charming so I hope to walk back tomorrow for some photos because  if weather cooperates we plan to leave Friday for Pourtsmouth, England

Filling out the relatively short registration form.  Some countries go on for pages.  The staff was very helpful and gave us two passes for the wifi so we didn’t have to share.

Bonjour

  Arrived in Cherbourg this morning about 11 am.  Randal had picked a spectacular weather window so it was smooth cruising.  And we even hit 12.7 knots our fastest speed ever thanks to currents going our way.  Of course later we were down to about 3.4 knots but picked up again in the morning.  Funny thing when we were leaving Brest a customs boat came along, pulled up next to us, said they were coming aboard and did.  Four very pleasant, professional, and friendly men who looked under, over and through everything except for our packed up tight pantry.  It took about 40 minutes and then they left.  When we were approaching Cherbourg this morning a coast guard boat circled us and then called on the radio to ask questions.  They asked us to slow down while they checked our info and then told us they were going to come aboard.  Randal said that would be fine but we were boarded coming out of Brest.  They told us to wait and then came back and said we could continue our journey, have a nice day.  We expected that kind of thing in Israel, but not in France.  Funny.  Sais la vie!

  Wifi here not great so not sure what I’ll send out.  But just to let you know we’re safe in Cherbourg, France.

Ru

Bonjour,

  So one final email from Brest.  A food story as I’d not done one yet.  Anyone notice?  We had two really good meals, one Sunday night and one Monday afternoon.  Lots of flavor and what was supposed to be hot, was.  Our friend Sharman (owner of Sophie and walking pal in North Cyprus) says Cherbourg has lots of good restaurants.  Yum! 

One last thing: the people at Marina du Moulin Blanc are as friendly and helpful as could be.  This is a great place to stop if you’re travelling this way!

Ru

Dinner at the Ὰ l’aise Breizh Cafẻ….

  Sunday lunch at Le Tour du Monde we’d seen mostly everyone else eating mussels so Randal decided to give it a go for dinner.  I was craving salad, which I’d not noticed on the Tour’s menu so we tried the place next door.   We both had exactly what we wanted.  I must say the mussels were great: I tried one.  The mussels were cooked with bits of sausage in a very light cream broth that was really very flavorful.  Mussels are traditionally served with  “pommes frites”  which our waiter called French Fries.   But then he knew we were Americans.  My salad was wonderful with great greens and avocado and enough chicken and cheese that I was stuffed at the end.   Monday we returned and each had the fish soup that was so flavorful, we both licked the bowls clean.

Mussels and fries and some lovely white wine!

Before..

Pommes frites

During….

Removing broth from beard….

Ate the whole thing!  Finis!!!

Well maybe that last drop of broth with some bread!

Big bowl of empty shells……

Dinner view DoraMac is on the dock just beyond these boats in the north marina section.  It’s quite a trek to get there from  the restaurant, a good thing after a big meal.

Just near the marina office which is just a 5 minute walk from restaurant row. Off in the distance is the gate to the secure dock area which is locked between 7 PM to 7 AM…

But we do have the code and it worked just fine so no locked out or in problems here ! Most marinas have security where the boats are located…at least from the land side.

Low Tide Through the gate and then down the walkway that changes considerably with the tide.

High tide…the same walkway is almost level which it was Monday afternoon.

Over the final bridge and then onto the floating dock at the end of which is our berth. Everything is constructed to rise and fall with the tides.

Bonjour,

   Today was provisioning day as we leave tomorrow for Cherbourg, our final stop before crossing the English Channel.  Randal and I walked the 30 minutes to the grocery store and then walked back.  This afternoon I walked over to the beach.  This is a very active community, not just watersports, but biking and walking too. 

Ru

A Walk along the Waterfront

Yesterday (Sunday afternoon) I joined the dozens of other people walking along the sea side path. I’m not sure where it actually starts; I joined it at our marina and walked to where the path ended a brisk 30 minute walk away.  After our 3 day passage I needed an hour’s walk, at least!   This morning Randal and I walked to the Inter Marche for groceries.  There were sidewalks and cross walks, and one row of charming houses with blooming flowers to admire.  Walkable cities are great!  If we’d spent 50 Euros the market would have provided transport back.  And the Carrefour will drive you both ways for free.  We didn’t need much, and did need exercise, so chose to walk back and forth to the Inter Marche.  This afternoon I walked over to the high tide beach.  At low tide clams are gathered and dogs are walked which seems to be prohibited at high tide when it turns into a swimming beach.

The Greenway along the Sea

This reminds me of my Outward Bound boat (the mast is lowered.)

Small sculpture garden from natural stones

Almost back at the marina. Lots and lots of people:  Young, Older, Families, Dog-walkers, and rarely someone on a bike.  Most were strolling but I was walking fast so at times had the trail to myself.

Young women paddle-boarding. I’d started my walking with my heavy hoody sweatshirt.  Lots of folks had scarves and jackets.  I must admit when I started walking back towards the marina after reaching the end of the greenway, I had to take off the sweatshirt.  Maybe these girls were working hard enough to keep warm.

This is also the view from our berth where something is always going on.

This morning lots of activity and what looked like classes in all kinds of water sports.

Learning to balance in a boat…I guess.

They look like a combination of Tinkerbelle and The Fly…

And for bikers there are lots of great bike trails that are only for bikes.  Walkers have their own trail.

Bike Trails

This great jungle gym on the beach.  DoraMac is just behind the point of the right side pyramid.  This is where people clam at low tide.

Beach graffiti

Ingenious At high tide boat comes forward onto the concrete ramp (which is underwater at high tide) and ties up.  When the tide goes out the boat is on the dry concrete ramp and ready for bottom work to be done so no travel lift is needed to get it out of the water.   As the tide goes out you adjust the lines so the keel actually rests on the bottom.

Low tide

Here they are in high tide!

Bonjour,

  My mostly forgotten school French has little chance here unless people speak very very slowly.  Then I might catch a few words.  Thankfully the kind young woman in the marina office speaks English as did the wait staff at the Le Tour du Monde restaurant where we ate lunch.  Probably we’ll have dinner out too as we’ve no veggies or fruit and the grocery store closed at noon, too early for us to get there as we had other stuff to do this morning.  Tomorrow we’ll stock up again and be off on Tuesday for Cherbourg, Normandy; our final stop in France before we cross the English Channel to Portsmouth.  It will be an overnight passage to Cherbourg, but thank goodness only a long day trip to Portsmouth.  I’m saving my worry about each of those passages until we actually start each one.

  We had a minor GPS issue with the course over ground reading but could deal with it; and brilliant Randal has now figured out how to correct it. 

I’m still a little tired but totally relieved that the Bay of Biscay is behind us. 

Ru

“Introduction – Why is Biscay so feared?”

    “Yachts going to (or returning from) the Mediterranean have the choice of using the French river and canal system, water and air draft permitting, or crossing Biscay – feared by many yachtsmen due to its legendary reputation. To a large extent this is a result of ships, in the days of square riggers, being unable to make way to windward having been driven into the Bay by the prevailing westerlies. In addition, the Atlantic swell can build up rapidly near the coast and a number of ports can become dangerous to enter or even inaccessible.

     Modern yachts, with their much more efficient rigs and their engines, should not have the same problems – particularly if they use weather forecasts carefully. Nevertheless, there have been several occasions in recent years of yachts getting into difficulties, sometimes with fatal consequences. From the accounts that I have read, I believe that most of these problems were avoidable and that few were entirely a result of bad luck or even poor forecasts.

      While we were waiting to cross Biscay in May 2000, two yachts arrived at Audierne having been caught in winds up to at least Force 9. One had left Finisterre with no forecast "it was a nice day with a southerly wind, so we left." The other left La Coruña with only the BBC 24 hour shipping forecast and no longer term outlook. Both were disasters that nearly happened.

     In bad weather, Biscay can be as unpleasant as any stretch of sea anywhere. But, if you want to get to warmer climes, as we did, and having a draft of 2 metres, then crossing it becomes a must. Having had several years sailing in and around Biscay, having talked to others and being a (now long retired) weatherman, I will try to give some help to those wishing to follow in our wake but who may have been put off by its reputation. “

http://weather.mailasail.com/Franks-Weather/Crossing-Biscay-Meteorologists-Advice

Ithaca

Do not fear the Lestrygonians

and the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.

You will never meet such as these on your path,

if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine

emotion touches your body and your spirit.

You will never meet the Lestrygonians,

the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,

if you do not carry them within your soul,

if your soul does not raise them up before you.

C P Cavafy

Those words are from one of my favorite poems ever, fittingly a poem I first heard at Outward Bound right before we set off on our “final expedition.”   Reverend Ken read at our wedding.  Our friends Becky and Mike had it written in lovely calligraphy for us.  It is framed and hanging in our tiny apartment at home.  Maybe I need to hang it here in DoraMac to remind me as my soul did raise every possible kind of monster/disaster  you could imagine.   But we had prepared the boat and Randal had checked, double checked, and triple checked the weather.  We’d survived the Indian Ocean crossing as well as Passage from Hell 2 from La Liῆea to La Coruῆa.  So I should have set out with some peace of mind rather than all those horrible thoughts that mostly comes from stupidly watching The Perfect Storm. 

  I used to be braver.  I used to like day passages and even night passages only scared me because I had too few boat driving skills.  Now I can drive much better.  Now I’m afraid of the weather, the boat having issues, both of us being seasick at the same time….and any number of other things.  We are no longer cruising “the lands below the winds.”  But maybe being scared is good as “there are old sailors and there are bold sailors, but there are no old bold sailors.”  No one will ever accuse me of being a bold sailor!

Checking out, paying the bill, saying good-bye in La Coruña where the staff was so great and the city enchanting!

Sunset our first night We’d managed to get through the day without needing our stabilizers which says something about how bad it wasn’t but that didn’t relieve my fears one bit.

Night with a half moon and stars and our mast light to make us visible. Spain and France are UTC + 2, but Spain is further west so it gets light after 7 AM but stays light until past 10 PM.  With few clouds the first night it was rarely totally pitch-black dark.

Sunrise day 2 : red sky in morning…but not until almost 7:30 AM….sailors take warning. Sort of true as we had to put out the stabilizing fish our second day to counteract the roll from the 2 meter swells hitting us on our beam.

Thankfully winds were calm: you can see the pattern on our wind indicator bandana.

Only 5.8 knots from the west/north Our passage from La Linea to La Coruna had 25 knot winds, yuck!

My two Randals Two hours on and two hours off for most of the first day since the rolling really puts you to sleep and it’s more comfortable lying down with your eyes closed.  We sleep in the pilot house when we’re off watch.  When I’m off watch and lying down I don’t worry so it’s ridiculous to worry when I’m sitting up with my eyes open.   But that’s the way it is.  I hold on to Rhino Randal during my night watches.  From my passage journal…     Looking out over a vast ocean and seeing nothing except a six foot high swell of water coming at you.  From the front, will it pound the boat to pieces?  From the side, will it roll the boat over a la Perfect Storm?    How to deal with fear while sitting watch:  Eat crackers or chips!  Or read to keep my mind busy.  (I actually could read this passage so how bad could it be, really?  Hold Rhino Randal. Off watch: Lay down with your eyes closed.  If you can’t see it, it can’t hurt you.  Hold Rhino Randal.

Going into Brest I circled the Blue C in the diamond which indicates strong currents which can slow you down or bounce you around.  It slowed us down to less than 5 knots so the last 10 miles took forever!

Light house entering the channel up to Brest; somehow comforting as the waves weren’t breaking over the rocks which it can at times.

This huge sailboat was heading off to Spain : see how choppy! We had to fight against it and then anchor to pull up the stabilizing fish from the water.  Not easy at all.

Sad image of WW 2 history in Brest which we passed on our way to the Moulin Blanc Marina. U-boat Pens and I believe the former Naval College (L’ Ecole Navale) in Brest, from 1941 headquarters of the 1st Flotilla “The RAF (and from 1943 also the USAAF) attacked the base and the bunker from January 1941 over 80 times and lost more than 50 aircraft during the attacks.     But the first successes against the bunker finally came during August 1944, when the RAF (617th Squadron) attacked the bunker at Brest with Lancasters carrying 12,000 pound Tallboy bombs (6,4 meter length).     The attacks came on August 5, 12 and 13 and all in all 26 aircraft dropped one such bomb each at the bunker, scoring 9 direct hits and a few near-misses. Of those only 5 actually penetrated the massive roof and caused surprisingly little damage inside the bunker and none to the U-boats there.      The last U-boat to leave Brest was U-256 which had been repaired hastily and was commanded by the Flotilla Commander, Korvkpt. Lehmann-Willenbrock which took the boat out from Brest on 4 Sept and managed to bring the boat the Bergen, Norway on 17 October. Both Flotillas were disbanded in September and thus all U-boat activity ceased at the base.      Brest was captured by the allied forced on September 21, 1944 after a fierce month-long battle which caused US forces over 10,000 causalities and almost wiped out the entire town. “ http://uboat.net/flotillas/bases/brest.htm

DoraMac tied to the visitor berth. Water separates DoraMac from those buildings; just hard to tell from this perspective. The office had closed at 8 PM and we called the marina at 8:30 after wrestling with the paravane fish.  No one was there to help so Randal pulled up very close to the dock and I jumped off and boat hooked the lines and then tied us up.  Whew weee!

DoraMac on the visitor berth at the far FAR end of the marina.  But the wifi seems good so that’s all that matters and we don’t have to tie stern-to.  And we’re away from the restaurants/bars with any possible noise that can bring.  If there was any last night we never heard it for we were both out cold by 10 PM!

Walking back from lunch at Le Tour  du Monde.  After lunch I walked  along the greenway that follows the water.  There were hundreds of people out there which was nice to see.

Bonjour

  Before we left La Coruῆa, I’d written some emails but the wifi was down most of the day before we left.  So here they are now. 

Those of you who are boaters knew that passage night photo showed our stern light with the moon, not our mast light which is at the top of the mast.  Duh. 

Ru

   My favorite photos to take are of women, especially those of a certain age. You know they’d have stories if you could just ask.   But I take others too just to be fair.

Always people walking; always people sitting at outdoor cafes.

Choosing a treat from one of the many patisseries to have with coffee or hot chocolate.

Taking a photo of a guy taking a photo…

Just from the beauty shop…. Here again on the street with all of the cafés.

Stripes are in…at least here in La Coruña : I really like this dress.

Art project in the plaza

They just ignored me (in a nice way) as I walked around taking photos of them.  Everyone else I had to sort of sneak, but these young adults just thought it was okay for me to be snapping away.  They were doing something “photo worthy” so maybe that’s the difference where other people are doing more private things, like just walking along or wading in the shallows at the marina.

Spiderman has spent many days climbing this clock tower, but today I saw a truck pass by with lots of these plastic people so maybe Spiderman is finally getting a rest.  The Asterisk characters are back in Asterisk land too and no longer guarding the door of Town Hall.

These are the women from our tour who called out “Virginia” to me last Sunday.

Here is our Picasso tour guide leading the Sir John Moore and the Romantic Coruῆa tour.  We knew it was our guy because he had the same straight back, booming voice, and racing ahead walk.

So that’s what you use for bait?

Our “drag behind” cart filled with fizzy water, Fanta Orange Zero, and some paper towels.  Once upon a time I’d have felt silly, but no longer and you see lots of folks doing the same thing, only with real shopping carriers.  Ours is a small dolly with a plastic basket tied to it.  A very pink plastic basket!

How cool! While we were waiting for our lunch in the jamoneria  (second visit) the lady on the right came in and sat down alone at the table just next to us.   Randal commented that if she spoke English we could talk to her as she was an “elderly lady alone.”  But soon the waiter came and put down her glass of red wine and I thought, how cool!   This lady knows how to live.  Soon her pal came in and they had a chat while the first woman ate her mini-sandwich and drank her wine.  All ages seem to mix much more in Europe than they do in the US.  Too bad as everyone is missing out.

Trѐs chic and her older, more sensibly dressed friend.

One day you’re walking towards the marina in shorts and back packs;

And what seems like the next day you’re walking home in your “red hat.” The funny thing is that kids sometimes feel “so old” and older people feel “so young.”

Hola,

  Today’s our last day in La Coruῆa.  We have a weather window for crossing the Bay of Biscay so that’s what we must do.  Not that the weather will be great; it just won’t be awful.  Or so the forecasts tell us.  You truly never know until you go.  If it’s no worse than our passage here, that will be great.  It certainly will be shorter; only 2 nights and 3 long days.  That will take us to Brest, France and the Marina du Moulin Blanc. 

   We have loved our time here in La Coruῆa, the city and the marina.  Everyone, marina staff, city workers, shop employees, and people on the street have been helpful, warm, and friendly.  I think we’ll remember La Coruῆa as one of our favorites!  Just wish all of our cruising pals had been here too.  Of course, then we might never have left at all.  

  Wifi has been down all day, the only imperfection of the marina…iffy wifi.  But here it is, so I’ll send one final email from La Coruña.  Next one will be from Brest, France if we can get wifi.

Ru

Around A Coruῆa 

Visit to a jamoneria….. In Tunisia your lunch was wandering around just outside by the grill.  Here,in a jamoneria, it hangs from the ceiling until retrieved, strapped into a contraption on the counter, and then sliced up.  We found La Leonesa too late for lunch on Sunday so returned Tuesday to try it out.  http://www.bestacorunabars.com/25-bars/la-leonesa/ “A fabulous jamoneria in the old city. A delicatessen for local clientele but also a fine bar to sample Spanish cured hams, cheeses and wines. A small restaurant is annexed next door. This friendly and popular bar may be a little overpowering for vegetarians, with a ceiling full of large hams! “

Calle de Principe Just near Rua Principe and the home of Rosalie de Castro, a famous Galician poetess which is on the walking tour map.

Not so different from all those shops that sell ham in Virginia, except they’re not hanging from the ceiling.  You can also buy these hams in most grocery stores and small shops in Spain.  The tiny paper cones are to catch any dripping fat.

Not much left to this one other than the bone! Retrieving a ham Is that Woody Allen?  No but the guy in the blue sweater reminds me of him!

We actually ate it all! Two kinds of ham, some cheese, some spicy chorizo, crusty wheat bread, beer and aqua con gas.   Randal bought some chorizo to bring back to the boat. **************************************************************

How fitting to see a Citroen Picasso in the onetime home of Picasso. http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/citroen-c4-picasso-first-drive-2013-6-6  is a review for those interested.

La Bella y la Bestia : El Musical You don’t have to know Spanish to know this advert is for Beauty and The Beast which is showing here in La Coruña. **********************************************************

Sad Asking for help to feed his two sons.  It’s sad if this is truly the only thing he can do.  We’ve seen others kneeling or sitting with signs asking for change.   The teenage son of the Madrid family told me things are not good for people who have needs at this time.  La Coruña seems so prosperous though we’ve not been far from the “cultural center” to see where or how most people live.  People here seem to work hard but sometimes that’s not enough. Three million in extreme poverty Leading charity Cáritas talks of a "lost decade," as family income falls back to levels of 2001 More than six percent of Spaniards at risk of social exclusion http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/03/24/inenglish/1364132011_984614.html

Municipal Library Photos weren’t allowed inside the library.  We did go in and up to the second floor to look and there were lots of people using it late morning.  This building didn’t start out as a library.  It says “…..Hacienda” over the door.  According to my dictionary, Hacienda with a capital H is Treasury which I’m guessing it was once upon a time.  We didn’t even know what it was until a man saw me taking a photo and told me it was a library.

Frozen vegetables by the kilo There are two small shops as you enter the building that houses our grocery store.  One side has frozen everything.  The other has deli type stuff and pet products.  Both of the smaller shops close during the afternoons but the big store seems to be open though we’ve never been there between 1- 4pm so I’m really not sure.

Randal to the rescue, ….  of Doramac! We heard noises as if people were walking on the boat which is rare but sometimes happens.  Would have been better if that would have been the case.  Instead  it was these kids clunking into Doramac with this rowboat they’d commendered from it’s place on the pier just off our bow.  They were rowing it around while still being tied to the dock.  Not sure why they didn’t untie it; perhaps because it wasn’t their boat.  I think it belongs to the marina.    Randal helped pull them back to where they were supposed to be but you can see scrapes on our hull.

View looking up while walking through the old town.

Not a mime or street performer…

I think she was directing someone moving a mannequin rather than pointing out dirt spots on the window.

Coffee and churros : fried donuts  and a Kindle…lovely combination I took a break and stopped into Bonilla a la Vista while out exploring last Saturday.  Most folks have their churros with hot chocolate but I wasn’t so brave to have all that sugar at one time. http://www.spain-recipes.com/churros.html In New Bedford I worked at Camp Kennedy two summers.  The kids would bring me malassadas, Portuguese donuts which are similar to churros.  Apparently malassadas are a big treat in Hawaii too where Portuguese also settled as they did drawn to the fishing industry in New Bedford. http://home.comcast.net/~osoono/ethnicdoughs/malasada/malasada.htm

10:14 pm La Coruῆa time

Hola,

   We’re off in the morning!

   Wifi has been down all day.  The only imperfection of this wonderful marina is the sometimes iffy wifi.  We experienced it also in La Liῆea.  But it’s on now though my email with photos won’t send.  I’ll have to forward it on from Brest, France, our next stop.  Marina du Moulin Blanc.  How’s that for a name?  Our passage will be three long days and two nights which is so much better than our last two which were 6 and 5 nights.  Actually the length isn’t as important as the weather and seas.  Everything is ship shape now so there shouldn’t be any boat issues.  One can at least hope. 

  It has been wonderful here and we’ll think of Marina Real and La Coruῆa as a favorite.

Ru

Hola,

   Yesterday, Sunday, I was walking to the supermarket and heard, “Virginia!”  It was two women from our Picasso tour.  One of them was from Coruña and one from near Madrid.  Don’t know if they were sisters or friends.  Maybe I’ll see them again and ask more.  They spoke very fluent English.  As it was I could have stayed and chatted longer because the grocery store was closed just as they had been in La Liῆea.   I’ve no idea  why I thought this store would be open.  It certainly was crowded when we went early this afternoon.

   Looks like the weather will keep us here until Friday so there’s more time to wander around here. 

Ru

Maria Pita of La Coruῆa

  Saturday while Randal slaved on the boat, I went off touring more of A Coruña.  Hardly seems fair does it; but both of us were quite happy.  I took the walking tour map and set off for Maria Pita House and Museum to see the current art exhibit of Fina Maroῆa Castiῆeiras.  From the walking tour map I knew the museum was somewhere behind the A Coruῆa Information Office so set out in that direction.  Would I have found it without some help along the way….I think maybe, but it would have taken me longer.  The museum opened at 10:30 am but someone had forgotten a key so it was a bit later.  However that gave me time to talk with a lovely family from Madrid.  Lucky for me their teenage son was extremely fluent in English as his mom was the one who learned of the forgotten key and he could tell me.  The family had been to many of the national parks in the US as well as Delaware.  Not sure why Delaware, but the son had been with a family there I believe so maybe he’d been an exchange student.  He said the people in the United States were very nice and friendly!  Hurrah.  Very nice, helpful people.  I told them about the Francisco Xavier Balmis statue commemorating the 200^th anniversary of the expedition that left from A Coruῆa in 1803 to eradicate small pox in the Spanish colonies in the Americas and elsewhere in the world. 

Opening the door to the museum. The Madrid family had booked an afternoon tour  of the Pillars of Hercules so had little time to spare waiting for the museum to open.  My day was free, but I didn’t want to have to find the museum again, so I planned to wait quite a while to see what would happen.  As it was the doors opened maybe 10 minutes late, so no problem for anyone.

The lovely family from Madrid

While this family and several others went off to learn about Maria Pita and A Coruῆa history I went off to the small art exhibit.  The painting in the advert that had tempted me to the exhibit wasn’t there; but there were two I quite liked though they’re oil and I’ve become partial to watercolor, pen and ink, or just sketches.

My friend Heidi did a series of painting based on the story of a red chest of drawers.  Wonder where these shoes will show up next?   http://www.heiditrautmann.com/

Reminds me of Van Gogh’s Saintes-Maries scenes of boats on the beach

Maria Pita, Heroine of La Coruῆa “Maria Pita herself came to notoriety as a result of her role in Sir Francis Drake’s attack on A Coruna in 1589 and she is credited with playing a critical part in reducing the losses of the Corunans during this assault.”  http://www.galiciaguide.com/Maria-Pita-square.html “The invading force vastly outnumbered the defenders.  The failure of the English attempts to break into the city can only be explained by the local’s obstinated resistance and in particular, by the active rold of women.  Over time the figure of Maria Pita became a symbol of heriism.”  Maria Pita House Museum Brochure Images of Maria Pita The artist of the small painting is unknown; the larger one was by Isaac Diaz Pardo, 1946. I believe these are not the originial, but I’m not sure This painting was included with those of Maria Pita but with no explanatory plaque.  I might just have to return to the museum and ask.  The one museum staff person was busy with the Madrid family and I didn’t want to interupt…or wait…so I just don’t know.  My take would be contemporary women protesting right-wing or even far left wing dictatorships in the Americas.

I’ve no idea about these either as there was no plaque by the painting and the statue had a plaque in Spanish.   All information other than the small brochure was in Spanish.

“We conserve a considerable amount of details concerning Maria Pita’s life, thanks in part to her litigating character and her stubbornness in claining the compensation granted by the king in recognition of her role during the english siege.  She died in Sigras, in the parish or Cambre, in 1643, at over 80 years old.”  Maria Pita House Museum Brochure

In Room II, we come across a water painting of A Coruña by Pier María Baldi, showing the city’s morphology in the 17th century and how it was divided into two cities – the Old Medieval City and La Pescadería.

Finally, in Room III, which concerns the siege, we can highlight the copies of maps of A Coruña and Ferrol in 1589, whose originals are in the Library of Congress de Washington, and were previously unpublished in Spain.  Other documents in the section whose originals are also at the Library of Congress are the facsimile of the Narrative of the Expedition of Francis Drake and John Norris in 1589, in Latin, and an extract from the expedition accounts book. 

One of the María Pita House Museum’s main goals is to provide information about the heroine of A Coruña and explain the framework of her lifetime in the 16th and 17th centuries. This was a significant period in the history of the city, as this was when it acquired the administrative and military functions that would define its future evolution.

Both similar to utensils and furniture in colonial America The museum is a wonderful old stone building of a half-dozen floors.  The brochure says the building is the same site as the original home, but not the original building.

The site the museum is built on is the same site where María Pita’s family owned a house in the 16th century. It was originally the property of the heroine’s first husband, Juan Alonso de Rois, who inherited it from his grandmother. When her husband died, the house came into the hands of their daughter, María Alonso de Rois, although her mother and guardian, María Pita, lived there in usufructure.  I don’t know if usufructure is a word but usufructuary is and it’s what you might have guessed from reading the sentence.   Usufructuary Rights : A Civil Law term referring to the right of one individual to use and enjoy the property of another, provided its substance is neither impaired nor altered. http://www.google.com/

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 to 14:00 and 17:30 to 20:00, Sundays and bank holidays from 10:30 to 14:00. It is closed on Mondays. http://www.coruna.es/

Drake and La Coruña, Spain  (Drake who is not the hero here as he is in England as you can well imagine.)

Michael Turner  http://www.indrakeswake.co.uk

  Drake was off the coast of Spain in 1589 leading an English Armada to vanquish the remaining Spanish ships that had made it home, after being battered by storms off the rocky coasts of Scotland and Ireland.

   Drake captured the lower town and was repulsed at the upper walled town. The queen had not supplied the siege gun and the mines had not been effective, against such solid walls. Even the casual visitor to La Coruña cannot avoid learning about María Pita.  Squares and streets bear her name, and signs direct the visitor to her house. In an era when it was more of a man’s world, she inspired the inhabitants to stand their ground during the peak of the battle. Perhaps Drake was never aware that one of his most formidable adversaries was a woman!

Hymn To María Pita

On the horizon

A fleet, enemy ships

Advances in iron formation.

Bugles are sounding

Bells are ringing

To the city walls!

To repulse the invasion!

The cannons spew shrapnel

The enemy attacks ferociously

Smashing down the defendants

Who lose their life and become worthless.

Within the city walls

In the blood and fire

Amongst the dead

You are searching for

The body of a beloved husband

The invader has just killed.

Tears of blood

The sword in your hand

You run towards the enemy shouting

"Women, children! We all must fight!

Oust the invader from our city!"

This exploit has passed into history

A woman and a city

María Pita and La Coruña

Already united forever, say freedom

Always united, they say freedom

María Pita and her city.

***************************************************************

Isabel Sendales y Gomez another A Coruña heroine.

I am reading Saving the World by Julia Alvarez which was recommended by our Lake Charbot friend Linda.  Half of the story revolves around the role Isabel Sendales y Gomez plays in the Balmis expedition to eradicate small pox in the Spanish colonies.  The expedition began here in La Coruña in 1803.  A statue was erected to celebrate the 200^th anniversary but the plaque makes no mention of Isabel. 

Doctor Balmis and two of the orphans who were live carriers of the small pox vaccine.

“ FRANCISCO XAVIER BALMIS (1753–1819). Born in Alicante, Spain, Balmis was a physician and army surgeon (physician to King Charles IV as of 1795) and a pioneer in international vaccination. In 1781, 1791, 1795, and 1798, Balmis travelled to America to collect plants; while there, he studied plant remedies for venereal diseases, having published the Tratado de las virtudes del agave y la begonia in 1794. Balmis first translated into Spanish the Traité historique et pratique de la vaccine (Tratado histórico y práctico de la vacuna) by French physician Jacques Louis Moreau de La Sarthe. The Spanish version included a foreword by Balmis himself that added and clarified information contained in the book. When it was decided that an expedition, the Real Expedición Filantrópica de la Vacuna (Royal Philanthropic Expedition of the Vaccine), would be set up to spread smallpox vaccination into all of the overseas Spanish territories, Balmis was appointed its commander. On November 30, 1803, the corvette Maria Pita left the Spanish harbor of La Coruña, with the expedition team: Balmis, Antonio Salvany (second in command), three surgeons, two first-aid practitioners, four male nurses, 22 children from the Casa de Expósitos (orphanage) of La Coruña, and Isabel Sendales y Gómez, the rectoress of the orphanage, who was charged with taking care of the children. These children were the initial carriers of the smallpox vaccine: sequentially vaccinated arm to arm every 9–10 days, they were a living chain of transmission. Other children in the countries where the expedition stopped became part of that chain. The journey around the world took almost four years and can be considered as the first global vaccination campaign. [See: García de los Ríos JE, Jiménez Gómez PA (2005) Bicentenario de la expedición Balmis de la vacuna (1803-06). Actualidad SEM”   http://www.im.microbios.org/00covers/37backcovermarch07.htm

Julia Alvarez, author of Saving the World has this to say on her website: “Lots of good books have been published in commemoration of the Royal Smallpox Expedition’s bicentennial, 1803-2003. The problem is that most of them are in Spanish! (Most of these Spanish studies of the expedition are listed in the Acknowledgments at the end of Saving the World.)

There are two excellent studies in English. One is a long article by Michael Smith, "The ‘Real Expedición Marítima de la Vacuna’ in New Spain and Guatemala," which appeared in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (Volume 64, Part I, 1974). I was able to obtain a copy through my college’s interlibrary loan department. (If everyone writes in to the APS, they might reprint that article.) The second study I recommend is Catherine Mark’s English translation of Gonzalo Díaz de Yraola’s The Spanish Royal Philanthropic Expedition: The Round-the-World Voyage of the Smallpox Vaccine, 1803-1810 (La vuelta al mundo de la expedición de la vacuna, 1803-1810), a facsimile of the 1948 edition (Madrid: Instituto de Historia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2003, ISBN 84-00-08172-2).”

http://saving-the-world.juliaalvarez.com/suggested-reading.php