Nightsong - 21st June
Nightsong
Sun 21 Jun 2009 08:21
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Our last day in Spain until we get to the Canaries
- we've had a glorious week ever since we rounded Cape Finistere. The weather is
magnificent 25C every day and NE to NW winds from Force 3 to 5. Galicia is
undoubtedly the best cruising area I have ever been to in Europe (better than
anywhere in the Med or Northern Europe- I only hope the Caribbean is as good).
These baixa Rias are all sheltered water sailing, the beaches are magnificent,
as my pictures I hope show, the food and wine cheap and excellent and it is
really uncrowded - though I guess that in July and August it will be more so.
Water is a bit cold still but I have started my prebreakfast skinny dip and in
one place it even got to 23C in the heat of the day
 Galicia is a strange place stuck out on the edge of
Spain like an excrescence. Above all the time is extraordinary - today, the
summer solstice, the sun rises at 7am and sets at 1015pm. Of course we are
at 8W and the time is 1 hr earlier than BST which is all very odd 'cos it is the
wrong way round. Only in Uist did we have the sun setting later and there it
rises before 4am - but that was 58N and we are at 42N, 1000 miles
south!
On today for Portugal, Viana di Castello - we are
going to miss out on Oporto whose port has a very bad reputation but will stop
at the only island off the west coast of Portugal,Ihlas Berlenga before getting
to Lisbon or rather Cascais next weekend.
For 2011, I certainly plan to return to Galicia -
what a fantastic place. AJB
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