Ria de Pontavedra
Sanxenxo
02/06/07 18:19
Returning from Pontavedra I found a lovely red steel yacht moored astern. It was "Sandaig" skippered by Ian, a retired orthopedic surgeon, who has been sailing her round the world for over 25 years.
Later he invited me on board for a chat. What a character. He is 72 years old and had "Sandaig" built around 1980 doing much of the work himself. The attention to detail on this boat is truly impressive as is Ian himself. He is still sailing single handed and plans to continue as long as he can. I felt quite humbled by his achievements.
I have been set quite an example.
Later he invited me on board for a chat. What a character. He is 72 years old and had "Sandaig" built around 1980 doing much of the work himself. The attention to detail on this boat is truly impressive as is Ian himself. He is still sailing single handed and plans to continue as long as he can. I felt quite humbled by his achievements.
I have been set quite an example.
Pontavedra
01/06/07 18:14
I had heard that Pontevedra was worth a visit. It is also the home of Colin Davies who writes a very entertaining blog on life in Spain.
It is about an 30 minutes away on the bus and the road overlooks the Ria for most of the way allowing me to view my waterborne trip from a different perspective.
I found Pontevedra, or at least the old central area, to be a very attractive town where the car has been held at bay or banished and much of the built environment has remained intact and been restored. Large attractive public buildings contrasted with little houses tucked away on cobbled hilly side streets.
And the palms just keep getting bigger....
There were lots of bars and restaurants and as the evening wore on there was quite a buzz. The absence of cars was very noticeable and welcome. A folk dancing competition between schools in the area was underway with quite stunning costumes.
I stayed in the Hotel Rúas on the edge of the old quarter. Not bad at €30 on a friday night and not too noisy.
It is about an 30 minutes away on the bus and the road overlooks the Ria for most of the way allowing me to view my waterborne trip from a different perspective.
I found Pontevedra, or at least the old central area, to be a very attractive town where the car has been held at bay or banished and much of the built environment has remained intact and been restored. Large attractive public buildings contrasted with little houses tucked away on cobbled hilly side streets.
And the palms just keep getting bigger....
There were lots of bars and restaurants and as the evening wore on there was quite a buzz. The absence of cars was very noticeable and welcome. A folk dancing competition between schools in the area was underway with quite stunning costumes.
I stayed in the Hotel Rúas on the edge of the old quarter. Not bad at €30 on a friday night and not too noisy.