Fogged in

The Jolie Brise in the fog

Friday 27^th July. We are still in Bayona. We’ve had thick fog every morning, clearing to warm sunshine by the afternoon, but with fog persisting out at sea. We tried leaving after lunch on Wednesday as it looked as though it was clearing, but by the time we had gone two or three miles the fog was back!

Yesterday a beautiful, gaff rigged cutter called the Jolie Brise sailed into the marina. We discovered she is owned by Dauntsey’s, a private co-ed school in Wiltshire and sailed by staff and pupils. She was built in in 1913 and was the last boat to carry the Royal Mail under sail. She won the Fastnet Race three times between 1925 and 1930 and more recently has been overall winner in the Tall Ships Race. She is now on her way from Lisbon to La Coruna to take part in the Tall Ships Race to Dublin. I hope those schoolchildren realise how lucky they are!

We’ve just got back from an excellent seafood dinner at Casa Rita, a seafood restaurant where there’s no menu, just a choice of the fresh fish and seafood of the day. Our waiter recommended we try the Galician delicacy of Goose neck barnacles for starters, we did, and once we got over the  strange look of them, they were very tasty.

The fog is due to clear in the morning, so we’re hoping leave for Portugal tomorrow.