The Rain in Spain Does NOT Fall Mainly on the Plain!

We can assure you – whoever wrote those famous lyrics had never been to Spain in April or at least to the Northern Coast! It’s been a little over a week since our last update and there is a good reason why the Northern Coast of Spain is lush and green – rain.

On Sunday, April 26th we departed from San Sebastian in route to Zumaya. Zumaya is a small fishing village that is about a half mile up the Rio Urola and we were told it had an excellent marina for visiting boats. You would think a two hour journey would be a piece of cake. Well, in this case it was windy, on the nose, and rough with confused waves up to two meters. We decided to motor the distance and felt like we were on a trawler. Lone Star was rocking back and forth and on reflection we would probably have been a lot more stable if we had rolled out the main. That would have been so tough. We would have had to push two buttons, but what can we say. We’re Aggies.

Anyway after two rough hours and an exciting entry into the river channel we were once again in calm water and found Marina Urola to be quite nice.
That was fortunate and on Sunday afternoon the skies cleared and we enjoyed a Basque open boat rowing regatta. There were five or six teams from different towns rowing these open boats in races that were about a mile long. It was quite a festive occasion with carnival rides, vendors, and all the locals dressed in traditional Basque outfits.


As happens frequently our stay changed from two days to four because of weather. Sunday’s sun was the last we saw for four days. As the rains fell and gale force winds howled off shore we hunkered down safe and sound in the marina and enjoyed the local life of a small Basque fishing village. Our original plans were to bounce down the northern coast stopping a various inlets and marinas along the way. However, it was quickly becoming obvious that Mother Nature had other ideas. Since plans were to meet our daughter Jennifer in Lisbon on May 21st we had a limited amount of time and with the weather not cooperating we changed tacks.

The new plan was to make as much distance as possible when we got a decent weather window and then when we are stuck in a location to tour via train what we missed and wanted to see. So with the new plan in action on our 3rd day in Zumaya we used the new time to sample the Spanish train system for a trip to Bilbao and it was a fun experience. We were told that the Spanish train system is less than reliable, but we found it to be on time and quite pleasant. The trains here in Basque land are also narrow gauge, but are not at all like the one that runs in Colorado. They are modern and smooth.

The train to Bilbao (what would have been our next port of call) to visit the Guggenheim Museum was two hours followed by a 15 minute tram ride to the Guggenheim.
What an amazing museum. While the art inside is interesting, the real attraction is the building itself. The museum reminds you of sails billowing in the wind. Inside there are no straight walls – everything is on a curve.
Our favorite exhibit was outside in front of the museum and appropriately titled “Puppy”. Originally commissioned to be a temporary exhibit, it proved so popular it is now permanent – a 40 foot high topiary of a West Highland Terrier. Our favorite dog breed in all his/her/its glory. How kewl!

When the weather finally cooperated we departed Zumaya at 8:41 am on April 30th once again going out the Rio Urola. Our departure was considerably smoother than our arrival. Our destination was Santander a port 50 miles down the coast. Our plans were to drop the hook in a small bay just inside the harbor entrance so we could make a quick departure in the morning. The skies opened up the last hour of our journey and in moderate rain showers we successfully set the hook and were in the process of having our traditional celebratory beer when we heard the Santander Port Authorities hailing an American Sailing vessel anchored in the harbor. Uh-Oh! Correctly assuming the call was for us we responded and were told, even though the anchorage is clearly marked on the charts, that it was illegal to anchor in the harbor and we had to proceed a mile up the channel and take a slip at the marina. Back went the beers into the refrigerator and in what was now a driving downpour we raised anchor and did as requested. The marina it turns out was barely half full and we figured there was a definite scam going on to send business its way. Oh well, as it turns it was nice to be in a marina because the skies really opened up and the night turned quite nasty.

The next morning, Friday May 1, we departed at 7:05 bound for Gijon, a 76 nautical mile trip. The conditions for being offshore were great, but we started to wonder if we would ever be warm again. Of course if you consider we were at the same latitude as Boston, we should be cold!

We continued to be happy we had the diesel heater installed and it got a workout keeping the cabins warm. It was a beautiful day for sailing with minimal waves and light winds. After we got our morning weather reports we started discussing the possibility of skipping Gijon and sailing over night to A Coruña and around 1700 decided to go for it and settled in for what looked like a nice overnight sail. In this case it was a wonderful overnight sail and we were tied up safely in a slip at the Real Club Nautico A Coruña at 1240 on May 2. A Courña was to have been our final destination and where we had planned to winter the boat last year so after 7 months we finally made it!