Friday 8/26/22
Woke to gray skies, light rain and calm. The skies cleared
and it was a beautiful day. Enjoyed the morning reading and watching the boats
go by. At 1200 we saddled up the dinghy and bikes and headed to town. One more
trip to the hardware store and a stroll through the shopping district. Stopped
at the scuba place and picked up my little 5 L tank. There was a street fair
going on down by the water so we had to check it out. Mostly food vendors; we
bought more cheese and some incredible bread. The loaves must have been 18” in
diameter with fruit and nuts in them. We bought a wedge.
As we made our way back to the boat, we could see that a beautiful schooner had anchored next to us. We were going to leave today for Zumaia, but it was a gorgeous day, so we stayed. A perfect day to swim, read and nap in the sunshine. I enjoyed planning our route and destinations for the next couple weeks, that will bring us to Gijon, not that we were going way off shore or had lots of obstacles to dodge. It is more about what anchorages can we fit into and will they be favorable in the predicted weather.
We are looking forward to Gijon where we will be joined by our friends Don and Diane, our first guests! We will save the ongoing route planning for their arrival so they can participate.
Saturday 8/27/22
The day started with gray skies and a light breeze. It
seemed a bit cooler than the past few days, perhaps just wishful thinking. A
leisurely prep of the boat for a departure about 1100. When I tried to start
the motor, I got nothing. Fortunately, I did read the instructions and quickly
realized I must have bumped the emergency kill switch when I was changing the
oil. Engine on and anchor up, not quite. Bringing up the anchor we brought up
an old mooring ball, don’t need one of those! We dropped the anchor back down,
did some maneuvering and shook it off.
No wind and a gentle swell so we motored about 10 miles west
to San Sabastian. This is a very popular resort in the summer. They will not
allow dinghies to land; you have to use the water taxi. In order to use the
water taxi, you have to rent a mooring for the night. We found a great spot to
anchor off the beach and enjoyed our lunch on the boat. The bay was packed with
swimmers, SUPs, sail boats, you name it.
From San Sabastion we motored west another 10 miles to Zumaia. We timed our arrival for the flood tide as the entrance is a bit shallow and the harbor master is at lunch until 1500. A very grand entrance and an easy end tie. This was our first marina in a while so it was a good opportunity to get rid of trash and recyclables. The harbor master met us at the dock with a key to get out and into the dock. We wasted no time squaring away the ship and going into the old town to see what they could offer.
Another
shipping port dating back to roman times. First find was a 5 and dime that had
so many little things that we needed and they were cheap. We walked the old
town and found ourselves on a road that took us to a crest in the hill where we
could look out at the Atlantic. Amazing how you can spend all day on a boat
looking at a body of water and still get excited by a new view of the same body
of water.
Next was a search for Tapas and Spanish wine. We found a
great spot on the water front and tried one of everything. All bread based and
delicious. We made some desert and an aperitif back at the boat. Admittedly it
was comforting to go to bed tied to a dock and have an uninterrupted night’s
sleep.
Sunday 8/28/2022
Woke to a sunny day that was destined to get hot so we packed some fruit and water and went for a dinghy ride up the river. The tide was low so the various boats along the river were sitting high and dry. We did not get very far as the river ran dry.
Suzette wanted to hit the grocery store so we dinghied
across the river in town and tied up to the ancient wall. It was about a 12’
ladder climb to get to the street level. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and the
grocery store was not open. There were some shops open and Suzette found a
bathing suit to buy, she had somehow not packed a bathing suit. Later in the
day she came out of the stateroom and said “I have a confession…I found the
bathing suits I thought I had packed.”
We departed at about 1500 on the rising tide and headed west
to Lequeitio, or in Basque, lekeitio. Here in Basque country many signs, etc.
are written in Basque and Spanish. There was a stand on the street with signs
and leaflets advocating for Basque to become a sovereign state.
When we pulled into the harbor in Lequeitio Suzette
exclaimed that “this was the most beautiful port so far.” It was a very
picturesque harbor, but shallow. We motored around to the east side of the
island in the harbor looking for some protection from the swell. There were
several boats anchored so we anchored in. The swell was pretty pervasive, but
on the nose so not uncomfortable. At the end of the day all the boats had left.
We reanchored closer to the island as the last boat was leaving. He came over to
us and questioned why would stay at anchor here when there was room in the marina.
He also pointed out that at low tide the swell would be worse. We thanked him
and waved him off. Guess what, he was right. The wind went west and we were
sideways to the swell and rolled all night rearranging everything in every
compartment in the boat. If that was not enough, we had some pretty good
lightning storms move through. I was up in the middle of the night plotting a
course to Bilbao, but the admiral said we are not moving in the dark.
8/29/2022
At first light we pulled anchor and headed to the Marina. Fortunately,
the tide was high enough and there was a space for us. Since we were docked and
planning to be at anchor for the next few days, we did a major grocery run and
stocked up the wine cellar. Upon checking in with the port captain it turns out
that they were getting ready for a festival and we could only stay one night.
Slip is a little small
Since we did not sleep much the night before we decide to go
to the beach, swim and nap in the sunshine. The beach was a stone’s through
from the marina. After a good nap it was getting to be time to clean up, enjoy
a cocktail and make my Sunday night pizza. Behind us in the marina was a
carnival with lights and load music, not even that could keep me awake.
Not to crowded on the beach
Kids lovin' the high dive
8/30/2022
Up early for an 0800 departure. Rigged the code zero as we
expected light wind. Motored west toward Bermeo, the last port before we round
the point heading to Bilboa. Coming out of Lequeitio we passed Cobo Santa
Catalina, reminds me of our near and dear island in Socal. We brought up the
main and did some tweaking trying to get a better sail shape. We raised the
code zero for a beautiful broad reach to Bilboa. The sun was blazing, but we
could see the clouds building over the land. We passed through the gate and
made our way deep into the port to find a very protected anchorage. As we were circling
to find our spot a Frenchman on another boat was waving his arms and shouting
something to us. We finally understood that we had a sheet dragging in the
water. Very embarrassing, almost as bad trying anchor in tight quarters with
your main sail still up, but who would do that?!
We no sooner got settled and here comes the Spanish customs guys. They were pretty quick to get through the paperwork and never asked anything about drugs, guns or money…sounds like a lyric for a song. They confirmed that the beautiful homes behind us were single family and wealthy. They said that we would be singled out because they never see US flagged boats. Time for a sundowner.
In the river we could see an interesting bridge structure.
When we researched it, we discovered that it was one of only 8 remaining
transporter bridges in the world. It is unique in that it was designed and
built in the late 1800’s using steel and suspension cables. Roebling’s Brooklyn
bridge was built in 1880 something and was at the forefront of suspension
bridge engineering. A transporter bridge is unique in that the bridge truss
structure is up high, 45 m, so ships can pass under. This structure supports a
gondola at street level that carries people and cars. The gondola is suspended
from the bridge structure. This particular example is lauded for its
architectural beauty and austerity as well as its engineering innovation. The
steel work reminds me of the Eifel tower, also built in the era of the Brooklyn
Bridge. I have always wanted to build a bridge, but that ship has sailed.
A very quiet night on the hook.
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