In Camarinas - and a taste of on-board cookery

We left La Coruna yesterday morning, having explored it pretty well.

Plaza de Maria Pita

Dawn from the breakwater

An evening promenade - the tower is the Coastguard centre

We had a great 37 mile sail westwards along the north coast to a little fishing village called Laxe where we anchored in drizzle (the first rain since Falmouth); it was quite a challenging passage, with the wind accelerating off the land at every headland and a long final beat to the anchorage, though we had another gang of dolphins for company. Today, by contrast, there's been no wind so we motored 18 miles to a little marina in Camarinas and have spent the last couple of hours eating tapas and drinking Galician beer with Peter & Heidi.

Torre de Hercules - originally a Roman lighthouse

Dianne in her element

This is the perfect jumping-off location to get round Cape Finisterre which we plan to do tomorrow. The wind has begun to swing from south-west to northerly so we should get favourable breeze but it tends to accelerate around the Cape so we'll triple-check the wind and waves forecast before committing ourselves.

Our friend Carlos Rojas, another Vancouver 38 owner (La Farandole is moored in Brixham) has written a brilliant pilot book on Galicia so we're finding it invaluable as we navigate this unspoilt corner of Spain. Thanks Carlos!

Finally, we thought we should give you some insights of the life below decks on Maunie. Just as the kitchen is the heart of any home, Maunie's galley is a pretty important place and this photo shows the breadmaker in action but you can see the 3-burner cooker, microwave and sink in a compact but very usable space. The dishwasher and washing machine are hidden from view behind the locker doors! 

We're meeting more and more boats heading for the ARC, including a British boat called Rafiki with two children aboard, aged 8 and 9. They are getting used to concept of boat school! On that note, we hope that Jasper Hitt (who joined sister and brother, Martha & Henry for his first week at school) enjoyed it and has already gone to the top of the class in geography as he's following us on the World map!