Wednesday, 1st July: Our reunion!!
On Wednesday 1st July, the boarders finally opened between Portugal and Spain! Rob left A Coruna at 7am to drive to myself and Jack in Porto. He reported that it was a very nice 3 hour journey, with very good, sunny weather. It was not mountainous but it was quite hilly! At one time, he was the only person on the motorway, which felt weird. Rob stopped off once for a coffee and reached the Spanish/Portuguese border at approx 10am. There was no-one there and he drived straight through. He did say that the barriers were moved to the side of the road. He arrived at our apartment at 11am, when we then loaded up the car with our luggage! This was followed by a lovely lunch in Porto!
We were all so happy to see us all back together as a family once again 
after 5 months apart!!
after 5 months apart!!The return journey went very smoothly and we were all back on board Hoopla in no time!
2nd to 12th July
On board Hoopla, I unpacked the suitcases, holdall and rucksacks. A wash load was put on while I found home for the million and one items. Rob was very pleased with his supplies from the UK!
Over the next few days, I put all our winter clothes in storage and dug out our summer clothes! Yay!
Next on the agenda was returning Hoopla from the static caravan that she had become, back to the sailing vessel that she is! I decided to start at the stern and make my way to the bows. Every locker was emptied, cleaned and sorted before moving on to the next locker. Rob visibly paled when it was the turn of his lockers 
I was so glad to be back hahaha!
I was so glad to be back hahaha!Another wash load was put on so we could leave with an empty laundry bag!
Rob finalised the boat maintenance in the meantime, with our boat neighbours often stopping by for a chat. As the days went on, more and more yachts started to arrive in the marina. It was lovely to see and hear it getting busy and seeing others heading south 
Finally, it was nearly our turn!
Finally, it was nearly our turn!13th to July: Our last day in A Coruna!
We woke up to a lovely sunny day for our last day in A Coruna! After breakfast and showers, Rob refilled our gas bottles and got some petrol. I put the last of our storage away under our bunk (for the 3rd time!) and that mattress is HEAVY! We met Charlie and his lovely family for a Burger King lunch in the park. Back on board, Rob swapped our winter lines for the mooring ones and he also managed to put the dinghy on the davitts without any problems. Charlie popped by with 3 gas cylinders for us that he no longer needs. How generous! Rob found storage for these and then we left to do our final shop in Gadis!
I put away the shopping while Rob cleared the cockpit area when Ana from the marina office popped by, to wish us a safe onward journey. She left us a lovely bottle of white wine! We will miss her and the rest of the marineos here! After a lovely kebab meal (thanks Rob) we all turned in at around midnight 
14th July: A Coruna to Muxia
Our alarm went off at 8am and we all had breakfast, got washed and dressed. We completed our final last round of checks of the lines (so exciting!) and making sure all was ship shape! (making sure nothing to fall down/over while under-way). We returned our key to the marina office (sad), slipped our lines at 9.15am and left A Coruna for the last time.
We saw our 1st pod of dolphins at 10.30 but they were feeding and not interested in coming over to play 
With the wind coming over the side, it made a chilly journey, so I put on a fleece and digged out a blanket!
But there was not much of it, so it was more of a motor sail for most of the passage. Tilly (our autohelm) did the majority of steering with Rob taking over for the last couple of hours. We saw two more pods of dolphins but, again, they didn’t want to come over and play. Maybe next time
The wind picked up quite strongly as we arrived (typical!), which made our mooring interesting – but we made it! A nine hour journey! Phew! It was a very long passage after not doing anything for the last 6 months plus! I think that we all did very well.
Rob made us a tasty spag bol for dinner, during which we opened a bottle of wine and toasted our safe arrival – and the start of our second season!
Strong winds are forecast for the next few days and so we will probably stay here for about a week.
15th to 22nd July: Muxia
Muxia is a small town with just two supermarkets(!) and a tiny petrol station in the marina! But it is SO pretty! The list of things to do, according to Google Maps, are: beaches, parks and one old church at top of a hill. That’s it lol!
The marina facilities were surprisingly little, considering the number of yachts it can take. They were clean but there was only one toilet and two showers in each of the men & ladies areas. I wouldn’t want to be here when the marina is full!
We all slept so well here, even though it got quite windy. Thankfully, it was not rolly in the marina at all! We did struggle with the wifi, though. It lagged quite considerably, which meant I haven’t been able to catch up on Corrie!
We met up with our neighbours (Irish family of 4) a few times and who also, very kindly, lent us their kayaks, which Rob & Jack made use off. Even the CI Bears had a turn when we weren’t looking!
We managed to spend some time on the lovely sandy beach. The sea was quite warm on the out going tide – but a different story on the incoming one! Sunday the 19th was a pyjama day! It was a cloudy, drizzly day but warm and cosy onboard! Rob had Jack editing a video for him while I caught up on my kindle as wifi was still laggy .
.Sarah and Anton (a French couple we first met in A Coruna) arrived here Sunday afternoon and it was so lovely to see them! And their dog of course!
On our last evening, we decided to eat out at really lovely place called As Baleas. Jack & Rob had pizzas and I had a GF burger n chips. Not very Spanish so Rob & I had sangrias to drink hahhaha! It was a lovely end to our lovely stay in Muxia!
23rd July: Muxia to Muros
The alarm went off at 8.15, after a very good nights sleep by all. We woke up to a grey and cloudy sky, so we hoped that this would brighten up as day went on Rob quickly popped into town for some milk and fresh bread (two of life’s necessities!) before slipping our lines at 10.15, to continue ‘sailing south’ We saw that our French friends (Sarah and Anton) had already left, so we hoped to meet them in Muros later. We had a terrific sail all the way! The wind was behind us (my favourite point of sail!) and so we belted along! Happy days! We kept up an average speed of 6 knots, each taking the helm for an hour at a time.
Rob quickly popped into town for some milk and fresh bread (two of life’s necessities!) before slipping our lines at 10.15, to continue ‘sailing south’ We saw that our French friends (Sarah and Anton) had already left, so we hoped to meet them in Muros later. We had a terrific sail all the way! The wind was behind us (my favourite point of sail!) and so we belted along! Happy days! We kept up an average speed of 6 knots, each taking the helm for an hour at a time.We approached Fisterra (or Finisterre) with bated breath – but all was well! We sailed past the well known surfers point when the wind picked up. The swells were only about 1 metre but there were lots of them! It felt like we had entered a fast tidal race. Rob jybed the main sail across and Hoopla peaked at 7.5 knots! We left the ‘race’ and we continued on sailing with a calm sea. Rob put the kettle on and made bacon sarnies all round, which was lovely hahhaha!
We eventually turned into the ria and immediately felt the heat and smelt the pine fir trees that were along the shore! Amazing! We saw Sarah and Anton (they had arrived a few hours before us) and so we put out our anchor nearby. They told us, though, that they had decided to take advantage of the good winds and continue on to Vigo. We wished them bon voyage and waved them off. We lifted out our anchor and continued onto our planned anchorage, further in. A pod of 6 dolphins came over and surfed our bow wave 
and they must have stayed with us for 10 minutes. They were beautiful!
and they must have stayed with us for 10 minutes. They were beautiful!We approached the anchorage, dropped our anchor and settled in for the night. There was a motor boat nearer the beach but we knew it would probably leave in due course (which it did). The men on board were as naked as they day they were born…. 
We plan to stay here a week to explore the ria and the island.
24th to 28th July: Muros
We have anchored in such a pretty and sheltered bay. It could be likened to the Lake District (but a good deal warmer and drier!) and waking up to blue sky and sunshine every morning! We are now living off grid! Yay! This means we have to boil the kettle for any hot water and use the hand pumps for any fresh water. We have two sinks in the galley, one with normal taps (for use in marinas) and the other with the hand pump (see pic). We now have to swap sinks, which is quite amusing! We also have a hand pump in the loo (or heads) if you were wandering…. On our first night here, we had three young chaps swim out to us from the shore, asking if we have any beer! Cheek hahahha! During our few days here, Rob & Jack have been jumping and dive bombing from the top of Hoopla into the sea, taken out the little dinghy and went snorkeling around Hoopla. The sea is so clear! But still a little too cold for me. Brrr! hahhaha! One afternoon, we took the dinghy (and Jack swam from Hoopla) to the beach. We paddled, explored the woods and did some rock climbing. It was such a peaceful anchorage that we didn’t want to leave! We had a nice relaxed morning (27th) watching Rob opening his cards and presents and then we had a short motor back up the Ria, to the marina. As we had ran out of food, our first job was a trip to the supermarket! But when we had moored up, we discovered that everywhere closes in the afternoon, even the marina and supermarkets! We managed a lunch of sorts and had just enough milk for tea, thank goodness! At about 8pm, we walked into town and found a nice restaurant to celebrate Robs birthday. We booked in the marina for two nights (€36 per night) and filled up our larder, fridge and water tanks! We also applied for, and received, permits to anchor at the Islas de Galcias (a number of nearby uninhabited, national park islands). We also met up again with Charlie and his family as they arrived earlier in the day (28th). At 7pm they came aboard Hoopla, as did another welsh couple for drinks. Jack and the two boys played nicely in the main cabin while we all sat in the cockpit. It was a lovely evening and a wonderful way to end our time in Muros. Tomorrow we plan to leave here for Illa de Savora.
29th July: Muros to Illa de Salvora
No need for an alarm for this passage (yay!) so after a bit of a disturbed night (boo!) we were up at 9am. Rob popped to the local for bread and wine, the necessities of life. We had to be leaving the marina by 12pm but we actually got away at 1.15. We were quite excited as we are heading for our first uninhabited island; Illa de Salvora.
We sailed out of the ria but then the wind died and so we had to motor the rest of the way but then we were joined by two dolphins! I was so pleased that I managed to video them. They were awesome!
but then we were joined by two dolphins! I was so pleased that I managed to video them. They were awesome!To get to the island, we had to go through a channel in between a serious amount of serious rocks! Not for the faint hearted!
It was so hot today that both Rob & I got a little burnt, even with applications of sun cream! We finally arrived at the island at 6pm and it seems like a lovely anchorage. We are looking forward to exploring the island in the morning.
We are here for two nights before moving on to Illa de Cortegada.
30th July: Illa de Salvora
This turned out to be a fairly rolly Anchorage. Fisherman arrived late yesterday evening and started laying lobster pots all around the area and collected them early this morning.
I will update the navily app with this info as we would not have picked this island/anchorage if we had known. But we did sleep well last night. Maybe we have been a little spoilt because of the Ria de Muros and its marina? Rob organised a treasure hunt for us on the island (which was great fun!) and which Jack won (€5) but then a fog bank rolled in and so we decided to head off for the next island; Illa de Cortegada.
31st July to 2nd August: Illa de Cortegada
For our passage to Cortegada, we had poor visibility because of the fog. Thank goodness for the radar and AIS! I actually slept through this journey as I was not feeling very well but Rob was fine. We arrived at the anchorage at 7.30pm and had dinner at 8.30, a chicken traybake which I had prepared earlier, which was very nice! Jack put up the anchor lamp and we all turned in at about midnight.
This was a nice anchorage and quite protected from the weather. Rob blew up the rubber duck to take us all into town (on the actual mainland, with cars!) but the engine was a bit spluttery but made it (phew!). Jack bought some new headphones and we had a nice lunch in the marina restaurant. Rob sweet-talked and coaxed the engine and it got us back to Hoopla – but jack and I got soaked! Rob decided to fix the spluttery outboard engine and then he gave Jack a couple of sailing lessons. Jack then sailed himself to the island, with us following in the rubber duck. Rob and Jack went swimming and snorkeling off the bay (the sea was so clear!). We also walked the track around the island and it was so pretty! Rob & I towed Jack back to Hoopla and I did us a lovely cream cheese pasta meal. The wind picked up during the evening but it had calmed down by the morning.
3rd to 4th August: Illa de Ons
We left Cortegada at 1pm and we had a lovely sail out of the ria. Unfortunately, we were over pressed with our sails when we approached Illa de Ons and quickly found ourselves heading for rocks at breakneck speed! Gulp! We (Rob!) quickly got her back under control, though, only to then discover that the anchorage we were expecting was now full of bouys! Ahh! So I motored up and down (very slowly) while Rob sorted out the hook and attached it to its rope. He then picked up a bouy no problem but, wow, what a rolly place! At first, we thought it was due to the ferries but the roll continued even when they had stopped!
We had booked to stay here for two nights.
Wow! What a rolly night!! But we all slept so well!! We had breakfast at 10.30 (so much for our early start hahahha!) and rowed ashore about midday. Compared to the previous two islands, this one was much busier and was also inhabited. Camping is available and I think holiday lets are also available. I did see one 12 room hotel too. We followed a trail to the lighthouse (about 1.5 hrs) then stopped for lunch in one of the few restaurants. Rob and Jack then went snorkeling in the bay, but not for long as it was damn cold!
Back on board a rolly Hoopla, we decided to make tracks early, and so slipped away from the bouy at 5.30pm. We had a lovely sail for 2 hours but then the wind died and so we motored the last hour to Baiona. We have anchored out for this evening and plan to head into the marina in the morning.
We plan to stay here for 3 nights (one at anchor and two in the marina). Our next stop will be Portugal!! How exciting!! A new country and a new flag!
4th to 6th August: Baiona
We motored around to the marina from our anchorage on the morning of the 4th and then we set to work! Rob scrubbed the decks, from bow to the stern (no mean feat!) while I cleaned and tidied up inside. Jack plugged us in and sorted out his cabin (again, no mean feat!).
Rob “needed” to check out the chandleries(!) so off we went! He bought himself a new back up anchor lamp and I bought a fab swinging fruit bowl! I love it!
We paid to stay for 2 nights, at €25 per night, and its very warm and sunny – but a little chilly at night. The water pressure here was amazing! The showers were lovely and so hot!
Rob dug out our spray dodgers and we put them on. We are very pleased with them and they do make Hoopla look lovely x
We all popped into town for an ice cream and then Rob & I stocked up on supplies from the supermarket!
On the 6th August, we left the marina at 10.30am and immediately saw a pod of dolphins. Unfortunately, we were soon experiencing 3 mtr waves and a nasty swell, so at 11.30 we decided it was best to turn back. We arrived at around 1pm and anchored out again (like our first night here). We then settled down to a lazy afternoon and had fun in the evening, playing cards. The wave height is forecasted to be smaller for tomorrow, so we will try again in the morning to get to Portugal.
Portugal, here we come!
