Back to Galicia

Our boat overwintered in Galicia at Astilleros Lagos, where they did a bit of work on her. New batteries and charging system, fixed a few deck leaks, serviced our engines, had our sails repaired, etc. When we left her, we flew out of Vigo to Dublin. But in the meantime, Ryanair cancelled service to Vigo and so we had to fly to Santiago de Compostella, which of course extended our journey by many hours and complications. We don't understand Ryanair's decision as the flights to Vigo were always full. On the plane we ran into ICC members Peter and his wife from Zig-Zag who we may see out on the water in the next couple of weeks.



We left home at 6:30 am via taxi to catch a train to Dubin where we took a taxi to the airport. Aer Lingus got us off only 1.5 hours late so we arrived in Santiago at about 5:30. There were no taxis at the airport so we shared one with a young man going to the train station. We arrived at the train station at 6:20 and our train was scheduled for 7:50. I tried to trade to the 6:30 train which goes to a different train station in Vigo but they can't exchange an online ticket. So 14 hours after leaving home, three taxis, one plane and two trains later, we arrived at the Airbnb three blocks from the station.

Lovely Jenny met us at the door. The flat was on the top floor of an old building being modernized with great taste. Many stairs later, we arrived in the flat. Lovely. Tastefully decorated, modern but comfortable, with views overlooking the Ria. Jenny was a marvel with Google translate on a tablet. She explained everything very thoroughly and answered questions efficiently.

The street alongside was lined with lovely restaurants. It was a neighbourhood we knew fairly well having done several runs to the supermercados and lavanderia in the area. We had dinner at the popular Rias Baixas restaurant which was delicious. A big veal steak for me and seafood platter for Alex, washed down with a lovely Albarino, and we were happy. I couldn't sleep though, having many nightmares and cramps that woke me up repeatedly. Ugh, travel always does that to me.  Long trip but successful. It was good we didn't try to get to Bouzas that first night. We would have crashed.

In the morning, Jenny made us a breakfast to order with fresh toasted bread, buttered and with jam, an egg each and wonderful coffee and tea in the cafe she and her husband run downstairs. It's a lovely place and for €45 per night plus tax for B&B, we couldn't beat it. Jenny ordered a taxi for us, and we'd be in Bouzas by mid-day. Our first Airbnb experience was a high 5.