Logbook – Luarca to Viveiro 15 Aug 19

The festival ran on until early morning. So as sleep became available, the clock and tide demanded we press on. So we sliped anchor at 0600 with a much reduced swell in the bay. Picking our way through the rocky entrance we headed NW to the northern Spanish coast. As the sun broke over the hills, we turned West. The NW coast of Spain is beautiful. Much like the rugged Cornish coast but warmer and greener. The NW corner of also marks the first of many Rias. These are wide fjords that offer access to the inner coast,and great anchorages.

Our destination was Viviero, a well protected marina in the South, hidden in a river.. With a Northerly wind, some large swell from Biscay can concentrate in the Ria. A solid break water hides the river entrance making the marina very safe. It is a picturesque sail into the Ria although it can be busy in the entrance. The marina is small but very well managed. We called early and the response, in English, gave confidence that a marinaro would be waiting.With Andy on the helm we ran without sail downwind towards a hammerhead pontoon. But with a tail wind and short finger to tie up to it became a challenging docking very quickly. We missed the first shot but a quick recover had us alongside and tied up with the help of some French sailors who had arrived early. We missed the first attempt quite dramatically, and the marina management felt they had given us too challenging a berth. So we were pleasantly surprised when they arrived with a bottle of wine!A great beginning to a great port visit. We planned to stay in Viviero several days to rest and to allow a storm to blow past. It is a fantastic little town. And yet another festival!A farmer’s market on the Saturday offered tasty farm cider and pork wraps. The evening entertainment was a swing band with a selection of Spanish crooners. Its impressive how much the councils support the community and these free acts.