It’s the 112th day since our cruise started May 29th.
The Full Moon Rises Behind Dauntless
Dauntless now sits easily in the Puerto Deportivo de Rota. Her new grey paint scheme fits in well being only a mile SE of the big naval base in Rota, Spain.
Rota Lighthouse
We’ll be in this area, between Rota and Gibraltar for the next month, so this is a good opportunity to get my data updated and I’d thought I’d share with you our cruising costs so far this season.
So far, compared to last year, I’m spending about $20 less per day. Overall costs have been about $107 per day, that’s $27 less than last year and almost all of that savings are due to the lower fuel costs. I was able to fill Dauntless with fuel in Ireland at $2.30 per gallon. Upon my return from Scotland in June, I was able to top up the tanks again.
I should be able to get reasonably priced fuel in Gibraltar, but when I top up the tanks in the Canaries, it will be $5 per gallon fuel. I should only need a few hundred gallons; however, the Caribbean won’t be cheap either.
Total guest contributions to expenses have been about 11%; that’s less than last year.
Overall, I am pleased that expenses are staying just below my planned budget. I need to get more proactive about Sponsorships; but that’s another story.
Dauntless will be pretty much stationary until the end of October, as I am going to NY during the first two weeks. Since it will be my last opportunity until spring to visit some friends in Europe, I will go to Italy during the last two weeks of October before returning to D.
Portugal has been a mixed bag so far. Wonderful, warm people, always trying to help, who sound like they are speaking Russian to my English ear.
The Market
But the two largest cities, Lisbon and Porto, coupled with the location of the marinas in those cities has been a disappointment. I know I should know better. My mantra over the years to anyone who will listen is to always avoid the large cities of Europe if your goal is to really see the culture and people of any given country.
Doesn’t matter if you are in Ireland or Italy,
The Market
Dublin and Rome are more about the tourists and their expectations than the locals. This became even more evident last year in the Baltic. I saw the same tourists in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Tallinn. Between Ryan Air and the high speed ferries, they transport the same group from city to city. And the effect is that the food and expectations in those places start to look more and more the same.
Much like the street fairs of NYC. They used to be a celebration of the neighborhood in which they were located: Italian in Little Italy, Greek in Astoria, Polish in Greenpoint, etc. But about 20 years ago, the City in a move to further commercialize, tax and regulate, increased the number.
Looked good on paper to the politician’s, probably even looked good to the clueless who just arrived in the City from the hinterland, but to New Yorker’s, the damage was done. We now have the exact same vendors every week in different parts of the City. New York, known as a city of neighborhoods, is becoming a city of Blahness. Every place you look looks the same.
OK, moving on.
The Park next to Dauntless
The above is why I have not written a blog post in the last week. Oh, I’ve written plenty of drafts, I’ve started at least four. But they have all digressed to a point in which even I don’t see the point.
So, ignoring my own advice, since getting to Portugal, Dauntless and I have spent 90% of our time in Porto and Lisbon. And both marinas have been relatively expensive ($45 per day) and a half dozen miles from the
The train station of Vila Franca de Xira
town’s center. People have been wonderful, especially in Porto, where the marina people made me really feel at home and we managed to make a number of new friends.
Now Porto does have different feel than Lisbon, but still.
So, when I found out about a little marina about 20 miles upriver from Lisbon, I jumped at the chance. The home of my new found friend Diogo (the star of another blog that’s yet to be published), Vila Franca de Xira, has been a wonderful little spot.
On the river, attached to a little park and only minutes away from town, it’s like being home; and I just got here.
The parkNext to D
Numerous cafes, European bars, simple restaurants and an indoor market, full of fish, meat, poultry, vegetables and fruit stalls, it’s the kind of place that makes Europe, Europe.
Very few people speak English, I get by with my few words of Portuguese, a little more Spanish and when desperate some Italian. The other day, for my main meal, which is early afternoon, when the waiter asked my desire, I just pointed to a nearby table and made the international sign for “everything he is eating and drinking”. That sign by the way is waving one hand in a big circle, while smiling foolishly and saying, “Si” (yes).
It worked and ended up with my normal 375 ml white wine, a mixed salad (tomatoes, onion and some lettuce, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar) and a half dozen little flat fishes.
31 hours into our passage to France, our second night out. it’s now 01:00 on the 15th of July 2016. I’ve just relieved the “boys”, who had their first watch without me for the last 4 hours. I had planned on sleeping another two hours, but I awoke and knowing the English Channel transit lanes were only an hour away, I figured I may as well get up.
Sunrise over the English Channel
Besides, nothing untoward had yet happened, and like the experienced manager taking the young prospect out of the game on a positive note, not letting mistakes happen as they fatigue.
Last night I had been alone, the boys sick as dogs. No, probably sicker.
Dauntless in Camaret, France. Our first stop on the continent for 2016
I like the night, slicing through the water, the white mustache at the bow. There is a coziness the envelops the boat making us even more with nature.
We ran yesterday for 24 hours with the paravanes deployed. We needed them. The weather has been exactly as forecast, with strong NW winds 18 to 25 gusts to 32 for the first 12 hours after leaving Ireland. That caused for some rough seas, 6 to 12 feet.
The next 12 hours were a bit better, with winds decreasing to 15 to 18, gusting to 25 and they were more northwesterly. Then finally, yesterday evening they had died to 5 to 9 knots, so the seas quieted to just a few feet.
Now, as forecast the winds are westerly at about 8 knots. Not bad, not bad at all.
Paravanes worked well. I had changed the rigging a bit more since Scotland last month. They now run 17 feet below the water line and they are considerably more effective than last year.
The hardest part has been saying goodbye to so many dear friends and nice people in Waterford and New Ross. I think I’ll be back though, at least after we put a few miles on as we circle the globe. But I’m sure after a number of years and many miles, I’ll be ready for northern Europe yet again.
Maretron Data for the Trip The first 24 hours were rough
Just south of Waterford, we passed an old friend, Fastnet Sound. They dredge the channel just south of the Barrow Bridge, which has a tendency to silt up in the spot where the rivers Suir and Barrow meet. They then dock for the night across the river in Waterford.
Well, it’s now Sunday, 48 hours after our arrival in Camaret France.
It’s taken me this long to recover. I must be getting old. I slept Friday night for 12 hours, having only slept for about three the two days previously.
Dauntless as ever performed flawlessly and this time, this passage, so did the captain. No incidents, accidents, or other shenanigans, yours truly has been known for.
Coming up France. French boaters may be a mess, but the food is divine!
Here are two videos of the crossing. Sorry nothing spectacular.
The Caldonian MacBrayne Ferry. This was the first ferry we took in Scotland 8 years ago. Life Happens.
Light winds, flat seas and we even saw a whale. The first whale I’ve seen since the Atlantic crossing two years ago. Sorry no picture.
The beautiful conditons make the miwery I went through to get up to Scotland in those ferocious winds and wnaves worth while.
Scotland is one of the most beautiful cruising areas in Europe. Green hills, many isolated islands, and a lot of sheep; what more can one ask for?
Brian, another Kadey Krogen owner, and I have spent the last week getting Dauntless ready for action. This was made harder by the fact that we were underway as often as we could be to get to Scotland sooner rather than later.
Sheep and Lambs
And while I have not eaten haggis yet, I have drunk more scotch whiskey than usual and am even drinking the ouyde jenever that Henk and Ivonne brought me last year. Honestly, I like it as much as most whiskeys.
Tonight we are on the hook for the first time in 2016 in a quiet cove on the island of Coll called Arinagour. Yes, the home of the first men, or close to it!
I wanted to get to Arklow on time, so I had a bit of rough weather and seas, but nothing terrible.
For 6 months, I had planned all the work that needed to be done on Dauntless this winter and spring.
Dunloagharie harbor, just south of Dublin
Almost none of it was done.
Why, you wonder? simply put, with the boat out of the water, with all the salon hatches open to the engine room and with the general disorder that comes with such work, I found it virtually impossible to do the projects that I had planned on doing. In hindsight, I did not anticipate the amount of turmoil the boat yard work would produce.
My First Sunrise this Year at Sea
So, by the time I left the boat yard of New Ross, we were seaworthy, but a f…ing mess. A salon full of stuff and parts that needed to be organized and put away. A pilot house full of tools that had not been organized as I had planned.
Leaving Kilmore Quay, I was not on a northerly track for the next few weeks. Out 2016 was underway for better or for worse.
Alone, more than I liked or had planned, friends were coming from the USA for the month of June and I felt an obligation to push as best I could to get to the ports we had planned to meet.
Day 2 Kilmore Quay to Arklow to meet Brian from USA.
In leaving New Ross so quickly, it meant even the paravanes, my stabilizers, were not set up. So I ended up rolling my way to Arklow. With winds on the NE bow, we were going into a bit of a head seas, not nice and we rolled a bit, not great, but livable.
Dauntless
Arriving in Arklow, the town has two places to dock on opposite sides of the river. Thus poor Brian went to the north side as I went to the south side. Finally, we talked and he told me he could see me, therefore, I went to him on the north wall.
Remember the new paint job, well, it sustained its firs blemish. Even after setting all the fenders (buoys) that we could, as the tide left and returned, the bow cap rail sustained it’s first scrape.
Another Crappy day. The graph on the left shows the pitching of the boat (that’s how much the bow bounces up and down) this is one of the worst days ever. The graph on the right depicts the rolling. While the rolling was not fun, this was without the stabilizers deployed.
Oh well, you can’t live forever and for millions species of things, they would be quite happy to live two days. My new paint job should feel itself lucky.
Day 3 Arklow to Dunloagharie (just south of Dublin)
A relatively easy, short day, but I had to see the customs guy from Waterford. He was scheduled to be on the Custaim boat for the next 8 days leaving from this port, Dunloagharie (just south of Dublin) so I had decided to make his job and therefore my paperwork as easy as possible. We had arranged to meet him the afternoon after we had arrived. Peter (seems like half the people in Ireland are named after my brother, so it makes it easier to remember their names), on time and meticulous as ever, I had the forms I needed checked, signed and embossed. No European bureaucracy can resist the raised imprint of the embossed seal. Does matter what it says, it’s only important that you have it. Just watch Game of Thrones and it all becomes clear. (though with a bit less killing, maiming and torture that is depicted in the GOT).
Day 4 & 5 Ireland to Northern Ireland
Where did this guy come from? Blackie, whose name suddenly changed after two years to Gigi. We never discovered who Gigi was named after.
Last year I vowed to never go out into head seas or contrary winds.
That determination lasted until Day 4 this year. Am I proud of it? No, I was as sick as a dog. A really sick dog.
I took my medicine. I felt good enough to function. Winds were right on our nose, up and down, first you are looking at the sky, then the bottom of the sea. We even got some spray on the pilot house windows. With a strong 4 knot current running with us to the northeast, but with strong winds from the northeast at 18 gusting to 25, it produced high, 8 feet, steep waves. The steepness of the waves produced all the spray on Dauntless.
Brian volunteered to take the 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. watch and I relieved him at 2. Having a few hours’ sleep helped, but up and down every 7 seconds was miserable.
Brian was back before 6 a.m. and at that time, I had decided to head due west to a cove that may provide us some protection from the wind and seas. About 7 a.m., I left him, but added that if conditions changed, we could continue to head north to Northern Ireland.
Eating in my bed in the forward cabin. I luxuriated in not having to do anything but hold on as we bounced up and down. My toes held the wall, while my arm under my head touched the opposite wall. I felt so good with every up and down. The Krogen handled it so well. And being in bed, half sleeping, I felt fine. No longer sea sick, by body enjoyed the roller coaster ride.
That’s the tings about our 42 foot Kadey Krogen. It always feels secure. No matter how bad the conditions, while it may feel like another ride on the “wild mouse it still feels secure, like we are on rails.
Soon after I went to bed, I could tell that the seas and winds had changed somewhat. In my sleepy state, I thought about getting up and telling Brian to just keep going north as originally planned. But I also knew that I had told Brian to “act accordingly” depending on conditions. After a few hours of sleep, as the conditions stayed moderate, I thought I should just stay in bed until Brian got us to Scotland. He was doing fine, or better yet, he didn’t mind the ride in the pilot house and I was happy in my bed. What’s to complain about?
I finally did get out of bed and that afternoon we headed into Glenarm, on the northern coast of Northern Ireland.
The next day would find us under the high pressure that gave us fair skies and light winds, finally, easing our way into Scotland.
After 8 months of waiting, repair and refit, Dauntless got underway to day a little after noon. The first three hours are going down the river Barrow and the Suir. Leaving just after high water, we got a little boost of about a knot (1.2mph).
But although we are only going 7 knots, I’m feeling nervous. As I slalom down the river, I actually slow a bit, just a hundred rpms, maybe half a knot, just so I can feel comfortable again.
Much like getting off the plane in Venice, Frankfurt or Amsterdam, picking up the rental car, leaving the airport and immediate being on the Autostrada, Autobahn or AutoRoute, I start off in the slow lane, maybe going 60 to 70 mph, until I get my senses up to speed. This means checking the rear view mirror very carefully, that car coming up may be going double my speed or more. The speck in the mirror can quickly become a problem if I get in the way.
With time, minutes, maybe a half hour, I’m up to speed. Now the issue is can I stand the buzzing this little economy car makes at 100 mph?
In my most recent trip to Spain, I had one of the worst cars ever. Maybe if I drove it off a cliff, it would hit 100 mph, but I have my doubts about that too. So I was bemused to hear this car being touted on the radio ads as having an “over-efficient” engine. You have to hand to those marketing people, they can even change the laws of the universe.
One last comment about cars, slow ones at that. While you may be thinking, good, it’s safer that way, the opposite is the reality. With a slow car, since it takes so long to get up to speed, whatever speed that is, the tendency is to simply not slow as much whenever possible, whether that be for the curve at the bottom of the hill or trying to get past a slow moving truck (in Europe they never go faster than 50 mph!) A wonderful idea you may also think, but then driving becomes an ordeal of passing moving roadblocks and the box of corn flakes now costs $8 since it took a week to go the distance from NNYC to Chicago.
So after going a bit slower for a bit, maybe an hour, I was back in the rhythm of Dauntless and pushed the speed up to 8 knots, what with the river current.
Ireland was having its second summer like day since August 1976, so it was wonderful cruising. Even the little one-foot chop that was on the south coast as I headed for Kilmore Quay was enjoyable.
But best of all was the deep blue water, and as you watch the little waves break, the water is so clear.
Coming into Kilmore Quay was quite tricky, and Michael at the boat yard even drew me a map to emphasize not to deviate from the plan. And when the water beneath my newly skinned and painted keel got down to only 2 and a half feet, I was thankful for the guidance.
There was one space left on the end of the dock, the hammerhead, and happily the people on the English sailboat in from of the spot were there to grab my lines. That takes much of the stress out of docking.
Well, I’ll have another chance tomorrow; that’s after I back out of here!
Today’s trip: 35 nm, 5 hours and 30 minutes, average speed, 6.5 knots.
Phase I was doing he stuff that had to be done before Dauntless got her feet wet. All done except for salt water pump. For a competent person, this is a few days work; for me about three weeks.
Forward Bilge
Complete hookup of New Vetus holding tank, with new fittings and electrical
Install new bilge pump (old one becomes spare) with new check valve
Make additional fresh water hookup and run hose to forward compartment for Raritan Purisan
Check connections for salt water pump (new, hasn’t worked since installed)
We found a bare wall bulkhead in front of old holding tank. Gary sealed it and put Gelcoat on it.
Check all clamps for the multitude of thru hulls in this area
Anchor Locker
Pull all the chain and rode out for both anchors
Vacuum the bottom of chain locker
Replace two deck fittings for fresh & salt water connections
Re-mark and reverse anchor chain
Add 90 feet polypropylene to end of chain rode (this is because it floats, making it easier to find should I have to abandon anchor with no time for anything else)
Paint anchors
Find third anchor for stern
Make up a new, longer chain snubber
The Electrical list is untouched, but the first four items a-d, will be done in the next days. The rest in the next two months.
Run new VHF cable to the two radios
Replace plugs for Navigation lights
Add Name Board lights
Install new Driving lights
Add USB ports in salon and second cabin
Add new switch and breaker panel for fridge/freezer in pilot house
Add switch panel for solar panels
Once D is out of the shed we will be able to re-rig the Paravanes and the mast. Gary’s carpenter has made another bird that got broken in the North Sea and has repaired the doors. The Rocker Stoppers are a work in progress.
Restring birds to new line, 3/16” Amsteel, so that I can modify the depth of the birds.
Boat Yard is making rocker stoppers for me to use while at anchor
For the Wood Trim, I can’t oil anything until all the sanding is done. I will do this next week, before we head out of the shed into the hard, cruel world.
Teak “eyebrow” around pilot house has been scrapped and sanded thanks to Leonie & Martin. I will put Tung Oil on it and see how that works.
Oil all the benches that have been sanded
Fuel tank is in the final stages of being done. Sealant has been applied and new inspection ports are ready to be installed. Anti-Foul will be applied the last day, next Friday.
Most of the heavy lifting by Gary and the New Ross Boat Yard are done or will be in the next week:
Port fuel tank sealant and new inspection ports
New bottom job, with two coats of epoxy and one of a tie-coat
New anti-foul by International, a semi-hard coating that is made for slow boats like Dauntless and should last at least a few years.
Painting of the hull from the cap rails down, including the bow pulpit
Fixing on of the side doors that while latched open this past winter the winds ripped if off the hook and broke the entire frame. (winds this winter were higher than 100 knots or 110 mph.
New Bow thruster blades
Getting the forward cabin and compartments fixed, cleaned and put away was the big monkey on my back. It was critical to get done and as long as it was unfinished the boat was unlivable.
I’ll start sleeping on board Friday. It’s feeling like my home again.
My first glass of wine on Dauntless since October. And looking forward to forward cabin.
Gary is just finishing applying the second primer coat. That will get sanded tomorrow, then washed again with an Awlgrip wash (a solvent, like paint thinner) before the first finish coat goes on. At that point we will actually see the final color. I hope I like it!
I literally had my first glass of wine on board, the first since October (I’ve had wine, not just in a glass!). I do have rituals you know.
P.S. Here is a bonus video of Gary applying the second primer coat today. ( I don’t post many videos because it takes hours to upload one video sucessfullly.)
So I am sitting in my little B&B in New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, watching a Korean Drama called “Marriage, Not Dating”. An apt title for a cutesy drama.
Dauntless gets a new bottom coat. The beginning of the end.
Korean Dramas are my one reliable escape; giving my brain a rest from the planning of tomorrow and the reflection of yesterday.
There is still much to do on Dauntless, and while the bigger jobs are getting done, I do the small things that have been on the to do list for too long, such as:
the installation of a new set of “driving” lights,
adding USB and 12v receptacles in the pilot house and cabins, so I don’t have to lug the different chargers from place to place.
Remarking the anchor chain and cleaning out the chain locker,
Replacing a float switch for the forward bilge pump as well as its check valve,
Finish the installation of the Wallas heater, yes, that heater I told you I finished years ago!
Getting the salt water pump, though new, has never worked. I think it’s not connected in the electrical panel in the engine room.
We should be back in the water mid-May, then I will mosey on down to Waterford before heading north to Scotland at the end of the month.
Then, returning to Waterford in mid-June for a couple of weeks, as I have a quick trip to NYC, before leaving Ireland for good in early July.
I’ll miss Ireland; for such a well-travelled person, I am still amazed that for all the years I have been coming to Europe, 30 plus years at that, I only found the gem that Ireland is just recently. A really shame, considering the amount of time I have spent wondering where I would live if I could live anyplace. Italy and the Netherlands were always near the top of that list, then Korea jumped up in the last 10 years and even Spain has interest. But for an English speaker, Ireland is just like Spain or Italy, except I’m fluent in the language. And maybe because it is such a small country, like Latvia, Ireland is full of wonderful, helpful, friendly people.
The fact that they talk like New Yorkers just makes me feel even more like home. Now I can also see why the Italians and Irish of NY did not always get along so well. They are virtually identical and we all know that similarity breeds contempt.
With Dauntless entering my life, I no longer have to decide where to live. Dauntless has given me the ability to live the life of a gypsy. Don’t like this town, go to the next one. Don’t like this country, go to the next one.
I’m not a negative person. In my life I have fought for those who cannot fight for themselves, kids, students, old folks in particular, but for myself, not much. I don’t like conflict. I’d rather move on. Just another aspect of living on a boat that at least for me makes life easier, not harder.
Seeing the world, being immersed in nature, whether you like it or not, are all benefits of being on a boat and crossing oceans.
Some of you may remember the long term plan was to do to Northeast Asia, Japan & Korea, after my time in Europe was up. That time is finally almost here. Earlier I had thought to spend another year in Europe, in Spain, but now realize it’s time to move on. Life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Corny, but true, much like many of the Korean dramas I watch.
Therefore, I’m excited that in just weeks’ time, we’ll be back in the water, looking a bit different and living up to the name Dauntless.
And with the end of summer will also signal the end of Europe for us for a long time. Oh, I’ll still fly here to see both new and old friends, but Dauntless is heading to places only dreamed about.
See some of the boats that kept Dauntless company for the windy, Ireland winter.
All boats were blocked AND STRAPPED DOWN for the winter winds, that were greater than 100 knots!!!
Cats are FatJust across the boat lift bay from Dauntless. I don’t think she is going anyplace this year either.Tie Downs are evident
It’s not called the “North Atlant
One of the Fastnet boats in the yard. They are based in Waterford.
ic” for nothing.
The Joanna Mary in dry dockA narrow canal barge
One of the Cats of the New Ross Boat Yard. The Travel lift was moving as he nonchalantly walked past.The Sea Hunter was a winner in the around Ireland race back in the ’70’sDauntless was just put in the shed for painting.
10 oil changes, 145 quarts, 140 liters or 36 gallons of oil,
I like making a plan, executing the plan; sometimes even changing the plan.
Dauntless will have a look befitting her name in just a few weeks.
Then, in the water, fueled up and ready to go.
Friends for the US of A join us for a little jaunt to Scotland mid-May returning to Waterford Ireland in mid-June.
Then around the 4th of July, I’ll say goodbye to all my wonderful Irish friends in Waterford and New Ross.
Dauntless will turn south, putting Ireland behind us heading to France, then northwest Spain and Galicia. I hope to be in San Sebastian in August, then heading west to A Coruna for September and October.
November will find us heading south, enjoying the fortified wines of Portugal and southern Spain.
Then it will be tackling the Straits of Gibraltar, yes, I have seen the film Das Boot, so I will be prepared.
After checking out the monkeys, we’ll fuel up and really begin an Odyssey.
Tonight I turn the page; ending one long chapter and starting a new one.
Spring Comes to the Bronx as I Leave
Spring in Ireland, getting Dauntless ready and her first significant haul out in the last 3 years and 15,000 miles. In May, she’ll be back in the water, looking like she’s ready for business.
That business will start in Scotland, doing our last exploration in the “north”, before heading south for the rest of the summer. We’ll have a few weeks in France in time for Bastille Day.
The rest of the summer and they year will be in Spain, Galicia. Sometime in the new year, 2017, I’ll head further south along Portugal and the south coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. This will put D and me in the Mediterranean for the first time ever.
I’ll clearly have a lot of time on my hands. I will be doing far less cruising then in the past, but it will allow me to enjoy the life in Spain, sometime in Portugal and maybe even a few weeks in Morocco.
Spain is one of the most affordable countries in the E.U. and certainly in the Eurozone. If I am anyplace, it’s probably the ideal place to be for an extended time.
I hope to be in San Sebastian in August, then heading west during the fall to A Coruna for a couple months and Vigo for a few more.
I’m still planning on leaving Europe in October 2017, which will begin a busy extended cruise westward, not finishing until we cross the North Pacific to Japan and Korea.
Want to join me at any part? I can always use help, extra hands and advice, and most of all, the company. This year, summer 2016 through fall 2017, it’s less cruising and more just joining Dauntless and I while we stay in some wonderful town, eat some of the best food in Europe and wash it down with some wonderful wine; all at a cost that will make me never want to leaveJ
The best way to contact me is the email link under “contact”.
Just got back from a quick, one week, reconnoiter of Galicia in northwest Spain.
NW Spain and Northern Portugal Spent the first two nights in Leon; Then on to Oviedo and Aviles, just NW along the coast, though we stayed in a hotel inland. Then onto A Coruna for two nights and finally Vigo for two nights.
A great week, that just confirms that the Dauntless adventure on the Iberian Peninsula this year and 2017, will be fueled by fantastic food and wine at prices that even a New Yorker would love.
Everything good, nothing bad, don’t even need any of my usual qualifiers. And that includes two run-ins with the police that were so very helpful, not punitive; an example of what every inhabitant of this planet yearns for.
So much was good, people, wine, food, hotels, costs, etc. So here are just the highlights:
Leon – City of free tapas. We spent 4 hours going to 7 different places, drinking a total of 8 glasses of wine (each) and eating delicious tapas at each place. Total cost 30 Euros or $35. Try that in NYC and the bill will be 10 times more, PLUS 20% more for tips.
Our favorite place in Leon, Meson Jabugo.
Wines & Tapas – I loved:
Ribera del Duero, Rías Baixas aka Albariño; Ribeiro.
My favorite tapa, morcilla, simply because it was so good. In Leon, the cured beef, sliced like the Jamon, was also great.
Cathedral in Leon
My Leon Favorite
We went to check out these two towns in particular because they are large, good transportation access and most of all, the marina is within minutes of the town centre:
A Coruna – The heart of Galicia. Only slightly more expensive then Leon, but Dauntless can’t get to Leon. Galicia is Celtic and the similarity is evident in the people. We took in the military museum after checking out the marina ($300 per month in October). We had gotten to the museum about 5:15 p.m., 45 minutes before it’s closing. Virtually empty of visitors, a wonderful.
Morcilla, eaten with the bread and wine. All this cost $7
Vigo – The largest city in Galicia. Here the cost of the marina for a month for a Dauntless would be around $400, but it’s a year around cost and includes electricity.
Encounters with the police: EEK
The first time I pulled over
Went to get car upon leaving Leon. We had parked
Pizza as a tapa and free. Total cost here $3Going down the pass
just outside of the old center, but evidently, on the wrong street. My mistake, the hotel staff had told me exactly the area I could park in and this block was one block sooner, but I misinterpreted the parking sign. Yes, I know, cats speak better Spanish than I. So, I get to the spot and see no car. But I do see the spot it was in and as it had just rained, it was clear I had just missed the car disappearing by less than an hour. Two hours later, after having a great visit with the policemen of the traffic police, we were underway. Total cost was about $150. The police were so apologetic from beginning to end. I was relieved that the car had not been stolen nor damaged and it was clearly my mistake.
Downhill, the snow is letting up
Leaving Leon, we have headed north northwest, over the mountains to the coast of North coast of Spain and the city of Aviles, where I wanted to check out the marina. We took the smaller road N-630) and avoided the autopista. As we got north, we started climbing into the mountains, the clouds came lower and lower and the light rain turned quickly to snow and then very heavy snow (2-3” per hour). Our rental car had crappy summer tires, but I do know my snow. Going ever slower, we made the summit of the pass, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet (1800 m).
I was relieved, as going uphill in always more problematic, so my plan was to wait until a snow plow came by and follow him.
The north coast
OK then I discovered that traction was really bad, temperature too close to freezing, so the snow plow track was icy. It was better on an unplowed road. And in fact, I had to get on the shoulder to stop the car.
After waiting a bit, maybe 15 min, it was time to try again we did at a slow speed, but I was in second gear and this let the car get going too fast, maybe 20 mph.
Vigo
We come around a curve, and there is a car off the road, with a police car behind him, but a policemen was standing in the middle of the road.
Marina in Vigo
I go to slow and pull left, but any braking action, even with the anti-lock brakes, did not help and I realized that I was close to losing control in this curve.
So first I honked the horn, to warn the policeman standing in the road and then got totally off the brakes to stop the skid and knowing it was the only way to get around the turn.
After those seconds we went around the curve in the outside lane and on the next straightaway, pulled to the shoulder to stop, which we finally did in about 12” of snow.
We bought our food for the flight the next day here
We were stopped, but now stuck. I waited a bit to think about the ills of the world and the errors of my ways. About 10 minutes later the police came by and I did not know what to expect. In the US, at best they would give you a lecture, at worst, give you a ticket and tell you the road is closed, so you must stay there for the rest of your life.
Empanada Morcilla (Masa Gallega) It was different then Leon, but excellent and not too rich. We had hesitated at buying such a big piece ($5), but we gobbled it up and it was sooo good. A wonderful way to end our trip. Every Day was Perfect.
Being in Spain, we got neither. Instead, probalby grateful that I had not run him down, they were very helpful, he asked me what gear I had been in, I told him second and he said I needed to be in first gear, so the car doesn’t get going so fast (this was a 15 degree down grade).
We thanked him and he was gone. I tried getting the car out of the ditch and after a bit of thinking, (front wheel drive cars always have better traction in reverse) I got out and we were underway again.
In first gear for a few miles until we were down to about 3,000 feet and the road was not so steep, at which point, all was right with the world again.
I’m really looking forward to being in Spain and Portugal this coming year and into 2017. I wanted to share the details above because it is indicative of Europe in general and Spain in particular. In all my years in Europe, I have never been in such friendly countries as Ireland and Spain. I’m sure the Celtic connection is part of that reason. I am looking forward to meeting new friends and having new adventures.
The fact that Spain is the most affordable country I have been in Europe in the last 20 years just makes this choice even better.
Anyone who wants to see Europe, but has a limited budget, 2016-17, will be the time to take advantage of Dauntless’ hospitality. It won’t be until 2019 in South Korea before we experience such inexpensive places again.
The fact that Spain also has some of the absolute best wines and food, just make it ever sweeter.
And here is ashort, cute video of happy kids in A Coruna
probably even looked good to the clueless who just arrived in the City from the hinterland, but to New Yorker’s, the damage was done. We now have the exact same vendors every week in different parts of the City. New York, known as a city of neighborhoods, is becoming a city of Blahness. Every place you look looks the same.
Atlant
r nothing.
Dauntless at Sea 