Tag Archives: market

Keeping busy in Gijon

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Service with a smile at Gijon marina

The weather is consistently atrocious all over northern Europe so there is absolutely no point in trying to sail anywhere.

Every morning (or afternoon depending on how well I sleep), I make my way with my laptop to the Hotel Esteban’s cafeteria and check the forecasts on passageweather.com over coffee, an enormous slice of tortilla de patatas with bread, and orange juice, for the frugal sum of 2.10 Euro (I think we have already established that I’m one of the last of the big spenders). 😉

Traditional music

According to the weather reports I’ll be visiting Gijon for at least a week. Fine with me, It will give me time to prepare for my Biscay crossing and allow me to fight the entropy threatening to spread gear and clothes homogeneously throughout the cabin.

After digesting the bad news (with regards to the weather), I usually make my way to the marina where the girls at reception cheerfully assist me to overcome my innate resistance to pay for another night (12 Euro, and all payments must be in advance).

Administrative duties complete, I’m free to play “stupid tourist” (happened to hear that phrase en passant)!

In the spirit of La Coruna’s photographic ramblings, here is my collection of gems from Gijon:

Dancing in the streets, Gijon Spain

It’s Sunday, there is music in the streets and a festival atmosphere. This young fellow is having a ball as he is too young to realize that the audience is laughing at him rather than with him. Not to worry, he is sure to have the rhythm conditioned out of him by the time he is a teenager. Evidenced by my brief visit to a nightclub yesterday. 😉

Cheese anyone?

I make my way to the markets and can’t resist stocking up on fresh bread and cheese.

What are those children up to now?

Old ladies shout at the children running amok in the streets,

Feline disdain

while feline onlookers (this time of the fur covered variety), glance disdainfully at all the noise and merry making.

Children in conversation

I stumbled across these two engrossed in some deep and meaningful conversation,

Pizza and Chinotto

and finished the day on a high with the best pizza I’ve eaten since leaving Italy (at Vesuvio). The icing on the cake is that they sold chinotto! In my inflated opinion, the ultimate beverage accompaniment for pizza.

Yes, a few extra days marooned in Gijon will not be too burdensome.

Sheltering in La Coruna

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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!