Leche Frita at Noray cafe, La Coruna
I’ve had a walk around town, found the Gadis supermarket for stocking up on provisions, and visited the only two premises opposite the marina offering Wi-Fi (one a gelato bar where the owner only grudgingly let me have the password, and the other, a cafeteria called Noray.
The later is the friendlier by far.
Oh, and if you happen to be in the neighborhood, be sure to try their ‘leche frita’ with your coffee!
The market above Gadis turned out to be an especially fortunate find, because I was finally able to identify my latest haul of free seafood with an expert, i.e. the local fishmonger.
Bonito!
Market, La Coruna
The literal translation of ‘pretty’ or ‘nice’ wasn’t much help, but after a little investigation, I was able to arrive at ‘striped tunny’ which, not surprisingly, is just a small type of tuna.
After handing out more fresh fish pate to the other cruisers at port and gorging myself on new provisions of fruit and vegetables (ah, things that go crunch when you eat them, such a luxury), I wandered off again to explore my new stomping ground.
What follows are a few photos taken while rambling in La Coruna (click on them for a larger version):
La Voz de Galicia
The quaint little news stand pictured here briefly caught my attention. I wonder why? 😉
Galician fisherwoman
I had a brief conversation (mostly about the weather, though boat engines also featured prominently), with a female fisherman (fisherwoman?), as she mended the nets of her family’s thirty year old wooden boat.
Fishermans pots, La Coruna
Here is a boatload of trouble, and why I can’t easily do night passages.
Roman Lighthouse, La Coruna
The compulsory snapshot of the Roman lighthouse minus the throngs of tourists which normally congregate about its base.
HMS Kent leaving La Coruna
Approximately every second day a new cruise ship would berth against the outer wall of the marina and disgorge a swarm of German tourists. This morning I woke to find a war ship instead. The HMS Kent to be precise. For those wanting to know more about this vessel, I’ve dug up the following link:
http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/surface-fleet/type-23-frigates/hms-kent/
Later that evening I bumped into some of her crew at a local “watering hole” (synonym for Irish Pub), and was able to establish that the ships last port of call was Gibraltar and that (with a cruising speed of 30kts) it had taken just two days to reach La Coruna. Apparently it was quite a rough ride, deck hatches were closed and my informant confessed to having been violently seasick on route. At least my month of indolent travel to cover the same distance was vomitus free. 😛
Lupin stealing my corona in La Coruna
This demonic fur-less feline belongs to the English crew (or perhaps it is the other way around?) of Riviera Magic A.K.A “the fat yellow boat”. They spent the week berthed opposite Eileen wallowing in counterpoint as wash and surge rolled our vessels.
On occasion I had the opportunity to borrow their fridge (and heater for that matter, but that’s another story…) to cool my beer, so that our frequent commiserating over weather had suitable alcoholic accompaniment.
The "Fat Yellow Boat" leaves port
Nine days after arriving we took advantage of a small improvement in the weather to go our separate ways.
I wish them good winds, flat seas and lots of Bonito!