I know we are not where we said we were going to be, but you have to be able to change plans to suit the weather and wind on a sail boat. We have really enjoyed sailing in the Ria. The winds have been much stronger then predicted, but in the Ria, little or no waves.

We tacked our way back up the Ria and around the Isla de Arosa, hoping to anchor off the town of Cambados. But it was not to be. The town is silted in and we would have had to anchor a ways off it. Not a problem. The problem was going to be the strong winds and wavelets it was licking up. It was going to be a long very very wet ride in the dingy to get into town. We had a good look and decided to seek a more sheltered anchorage near by.

Our guide book suggested the Eastern side of the Isla Toja (Illa da Toxa) but warned it was very very shallow. That was 10 years ago the book was written and our more recent charts did not suggest that there was a safe passage in. The tide was also going down. So we decided we liked the Western side of the Island instead to do some more ‘make your own anchorage’.

Why not, it worked great last night. A few yachts swung by us last night, to have a look, but they all carried onto the Marinas at the end of the Ria. We had a pleasant and isolated anchorage off the beach to our selves. Tonight we have anchored between the main land fishing port of San Martin del Grove and the Western side of the Isla Toja just before the bridge across and after the mussel platforms. The shallows and the bridge ahead cut down on the wind and we have the lovely view of the holiday homes of the rich and famous of Spain including the private golf course on the island.

The port here is full of fishing boats, but the pier is the biggest tourist trap we have seen yet. They take coach load after coach load out into the mussel beds in glass bottomed boats. ‘And here is were all the mussels you buy come from’. All very strange. But the town is full of restaurants and cafes to cater to the tourists. We had a great walk around with lots of running on the beaches.

I have to tell you about my ‘human’s’ climbing skills. They have had a lot of practice lately. It seems that it is not always easy to find out where to tie up your dingy safely. If there are other ‘English speaking’ yachts around you, you can ask them. Other wise you have to guess. Most port have a public ramp where everyone is free to put their boats in and out of the water. Unfortunately our dingy is very large and the 15hp engine is fun, but also very heavy. It takes both my humans to lift and slide the dingy forward and backward. You have to guess how long you will be gone and how much the tide will go up or down. You also want to tie it to ‘some thing’ just in case you are wrong. Plus you do not want to be in the way.

It is better if we can find a floating pontoon(one that goes up and down with the tide) to tie onto, especially if we want to be away for a couple of hours. When we find one, we are never sure if we are aloud to moor there. If some one is around we have learned how to ask in Spanish, but unless they say si or no anything else is beyond us. We have since learned that just because a door is open when you moor up, it may well be locked when you get back. The Spanish are so lovely, they help you climb fences or barriers to try and get at your locked up dingy.

The winds are meant to shift and grow very strong tomorrow. We are going to hop to the next Ria and get trapped there for a few days. It means missing Cambados, but the next Ria, Ria de Pontevedra and the town of Combarro sound like a nice place to anchor up and get trapped at for a few days. There is always something to fix on the boat and we never get sick of tapas.

Hopefully we can find some internet and add pictures and video soon.

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