Spain
24 August 2023 – Ribadesella, Spain
We are now in Spain! It took us thirty two hours to sail from Île d’Yeux in France to the city of Santander in Spain, although for the second half we didn’t do much sailing because there was no wind. It was a calm passage, but the light wind from behind us meant that the engine exhaust was blowing directly into the cockpit and making everyone nauseous.
Sunset at sea – Atlantic Ocean
As soon as we got to Spain, the weather became thirty degrees and sunny every day, which has been great. There are mountains all along this coast, which are beautiful. When we were approaching land after sailing from France, we thought we were much closer than we actually were due to the size of them.
Santander is a large city, as it is the capital of that region of Spain. We walked along busy cobblestoned streets, went out for dinner, and explored several markets. My mom and I also visited an archaeology and prehistory museum, going from the stone age to Roman occupation in the area.
Going out for dinner on Spanish time (i.e. 9 pm) – Santander, Spain
Our next destination was San Vicente de la Barquera. It was difficult to find a place to anchor in the harbour, as at high tide it looked like a large shallow bay, but at low tide the centre was totally out of the water and there was only a narrow channel of water around the far edge. We ran aground multiple times trying to figure out where the deeper water was, but luckily the harbour floor was only soft mud. We managed to anchor off a beautiful beach where my mom and Jonas went snorkelling.
San Vicente de la Barquera, Spain
From there, we went on a short bus ride to visit El Capricho, a house designed by the architect Gaudi in 1883-85. It was a beautiful house; there were sunflower tiles all around the outside and a weird tower covered in them as well, while the inside was curved around a large conservatory.
El Capricho house – Comillas, Spain
El Capricho house – Comillas, Spain
All along the north coast of Spain, there has been a very light northeast wind, which is good because we are trying to go west but bad because it’s so light that it doesn’t really do anything. There is usually more wind in the afternoon because of the sea breeze that picks up every day, though it still hasn’t been very much.
Sirius enjoying the hot weather – off the coast of Spain
We motor-sailed from San Vicente to Llanes and managed to dock on a high wall in the fishing harbour, then were told to move to the marina which we thought Festina Lente was too large to fit in but we somehow managed it anyway. Dad and I walked around and I lugged a heavy bag of groceries back while he carried a large package of toilet paper that I couldn’t fit in the bag.
Llanes, Spain
We have just left Ribadesella, where we were in a little harbour nestled against some mountains. We walked up a hill to visit an old monastery and enjoy the view, then quickly sailed off because it was getting too hot.
Ribadesella, Spain
Ribadesella, Spain
