Aleria's Adventures

We decided to take a break on Saturday morning to visit the Museo de Mar where there was a special exhibition of the Camino Voyage. The Camino Voyage was the story of four men (and a fifth later on) who rowed a curragh from Dublin to Santiago de Compostela. It was a recreation of the Celtic Camino by sea route in a traditional Irish vessel made of wooden ribs covered in animal hides. They made a movie about the trip which was really excellent and I've written about that before. We loved the museum when we visited last year and we wanted to see the exhibit while it was on.

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.

Our boat was hauled out at Astilleros Lagos in Bouzas near Vigo, Spain yesterday. The boatyard is legendary and has been hauling and launching vessels using a complex system of custom built cradles on a rail for almost a century. We were not present when they hauled her but it looks like they had good weather and plenty of water.

View from the maritime museum toward Bouzas We are docked at the Liceo de Maritimo  in Bouzas, Vigo preparing Aleria for her winter at the Astilleros Lagos  boatyard. We've removed the sails and other sundry items from the deck, stowed the dinghy, cleaned out the fridge, swept up and done the laundry. Yesterday, Alberto Lagos stopped by and we reviewed all the work we'd like done over the winter. He is such a gentle and kind man. We are fortunate to consider him and all the Lagos family our friends. It is very warm and dry but not unpleasant. The climate here is much to be desired.

Pyrotechnics simulate boat fire at the fuel dock. Glad we were not downwind. When we were in Vigo, we were treated to entertainment one day. The RCNV staged a fire aboard a boat at the fuel dock using pyrotechnics. The guys had to escape the fire as the fire brigade arrived to put it out, all while what appeared to be very amateur crew filmed the event. They had to stage several takes.

Adios Punta Lagoa. We packed up, put the house in order, got a friend to house sit, voted in the referendum, got a train to a Dublin, spent the night in a hotel watching the results come in full view of hideous posters while waiting to get up at the crack of dawn to get a Ryanair flight to Vigo.

Baiona as seen from the Virgin of the Rock Our last stop with the Irish Cruising Club Rally was in the most impressive destination of Baiona (Bayona in Spanish). We were booked into the Monte Real Club de Yates in Bayona (MRCYB). The last time we tried to book in there years ago we were told it was not possible and were turned away rather gruffly. They begrudgingly let us leave our dinghy tied up on their property for a few hours. This time was a very different story. We had heard that after the economic downturn, most of the yacht clubs had declining membership numbers and revenue, while having sunk significant monies into infrastructure. To survive, they had been forced to open their clubs to visitors. I must say, they did so with great welcome. The staff were genuinely nice and accommodating. There were large signs welcoming us and informing members that the Irish were coming! Many of the local members stayed away while we were there. We returned several weeks later wi...