La Coruna and Beyond

We spent about  10 days in La Coruna, the last 5 waiting for the strong winds to abate. One of the not so delightful aspects of the town marina at La Coruna is the effect of the swell. The boats roll around and strain at their ropes like nowhere we have moored before - so much so that mooring ropes get chewed up and a snubber is an essential piece of kit if you are to have any hope of a night's sleep. We bought new mooring ropes.That said, the town has  some delightful historic areas and an interesting fort within minutes of the marina.

There is also a museum which is the house where Picasso spent some of his formative years, while his father taught at the local art school - not brilliant as a museum but a good opportunity to see the inside of a Spanish apartment of the period. There is an excellent art gallery and we were lucky enough to catch a temporary exhibition of Goya sketches. The town is also full of excellent modern art.

A short journey away by train is Santiago de Compostela, the end of the long walk for all those pilgrims. It is an attractive old town and I am glad we saw it - though the queues were too long and our interest too limited to kiss whatever it was one kisses in the cathedral.

Back to La Coruna and we went to look at the Tower of Hercules, reputed to be the oldest lighthouse in Europe

And then, finally the wind died down and we were ready for the next installment.