We started Day 2 with an unexpected delivery of awesome marina provided fresh bread laying on our deck.  This is the best hospitality from any marina we have stayed in so far.  The bread was great.

Daytime view of the marina buildings.  Very contemporary in style.

After breakfast it’s off to our first Port House, Churchill’s!

We finally found someone to take a picture of the both of us.

There’s always one tourist who can’t follow instructions. Don’t Touch anything!

Churchill Port aging away in the large kegs.

A happy customer.  I’m glad the tour is over and we can start the fun stuff.

Rachael, Kathie, Teresa & Larry in search of the next Port House.

A view of the old town from across the Rio Douro.  The old town is on the north side and all the Port Houses are on the south side.  Of course, we’re on the south side.

The world’s oldest working lighthouse  “Torre de Hercules” still shining bright as we leave La Caruna, Spain for Porto, Potugal

Flipper & Co. stopped by to visit us in route to Porto

Ah, Cape Finisterre, otherwise known as “Costa de la Muerte” or Cost of Death due to all the shipwrecks that have occurred here over the centuries.

In Portuguese waters now and a large wind power generator way off shore.  I’m glad we sailed by it in the daylight.

One of our avid Blog followers spotted Sea Rose entering the Porto harbor from the jetty and took these pictures and forwarded them to us. There’s a fine line between “followers” and “stalkers”.

We tied up, washed the boat and were rewarded with this great view of one of the many bridges crossing the Douro River.  The Port gape vineyards are some 123 kilometers up this river.

After a few sundowners we decided to walk into town along the river.  The old town is well lit up at night.

As you can see from the tracker we just traveled from La Rochelle, France to La Coruna, Spain.  You can follow Sea Rose anytime on the tracker at; http://my.yb.tl/beerows/

We arrived Friday evening and after tying up we quickly hit the town.

You can’t miss Plaza de Maria Pita

Teresa’s more interested in food and drink, so down the small streets we go.

The Spanish love their Serrano.  It’s hanging every where.  Just don’t let the fat drip on your head.

The next morning the forecasted weather blew in.  It’s not always “Fun n’ Sun” on Sea Rose.

We did eventually get a clearing patch that allowed us to get off of Sea Rose for the afternoon, so we headed back into town.

Hmm…is that possible?

Spanish Big Guns?

La Coruna architecture.

Teresa with the La Coruna main harbor behind her.

Me chilling with the locals in Plaza de Humor.

We’re in Europe so there must be an old church around.  This one was pretty cool inside.  Teresa was kind enough to light a candle for Sea Rose.

We saw “Torre de Hercules” while arriving, so we made a pilgrimage to see it up close.

Teresa was feeling left out and wanted to get in the picture. (Selfie)

Looking out over the entrance to La Coruna rias.

The old Fort which use to protect the town.

Easter Island in Spain?  I wonder if these stones will tip over.

Stonehenge in Spain?  It’s a Stonehenge wannabe.

Selfie of the town of La Coruna in the background.

The local beer was cold and plentiful.  When in Galicia you must drink the local brew.

After 4 wonderful days in La Coruna and with the weather clearing, we are off to Porto, Portugal tomorrow.  Calm seas and gentle winds!

We spent 3 days and 2 nights sailing across the feared Bay of Biscay in October. We had good winds the first half of the trip and then the wind died on us. Sometimes you have to motor when sailing, but then it’s not really sailing is it?

The Code 0 was out.

The Code 0 was still out at sunset.  Great sailing day.

It was time to hoist the ARC rally flag.  There are discounts to be had at various marinas if you fly it on your way to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

Hard to believe the weather is this good in the Bay of Biscay in October.  The winds have died down, the sails are in and you can hear the engines running now.

Teresa and I pulled the 6:00 AM shift and got to enjoy the morning sunrise on the Bay of Biscay.

The Spanish cost is finally in site after 3 days at sea.

Due to a weather system moving in from the direction we are heading, we decided to pull into port at La Coruna, Spain for a few days and let the system pass.  The Spanish courtesy flag is hoisted along with the Q flag (until customs is cleared).

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As we enter La Coruna marina the “Torres de Hercules” can be seen in the distance.  It is the oldest still operating lighthouse in the world.  It was built by the Romans in the 2nd century.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hercules

Entering Marina Coruna.  The weather is already beginning to darken.

After being home for the month of September we returned to La Rochelle, France and to Sea Rose. We’re anxious to learn whether or not the scheduled work was completed so we can “officially” start our adventurous trip to the Caribbean.  The main project was installing the new “hard top” bimini and as promised, Yacht Concepts delivered on time.

Sea Rose without the bimini. 

That’s Capt. Glenn in the rain in Santander, Spain. He’s not smiling.

Sea Rose with the bimini.

Capt. Glenn is much happier now, let it rain!

We have now repositioned Sea Rose for the early morning bridge opening.

The sun is setting on our last night in La Rochelle.

Our last night in La Rochelle.  Hard to believe we have spent a total of 6 weeks here.

That is the bridge in the background through which we will be exiting in the morning.

It’s morning, the bridge is open and we are on our way.

As the sun rises, we say good-bye to La Rochelle.  Only 4,000 miles to go before we reach our destination, St Lucia.

We departed San Sebastian a day earlier than expected due to the weather changing for the worse.

On our departure Teresa caught our second fish, another Spanish mackerel.

The return trip to La Rochelle was another over night sail which provided us one more great sunset at sea.

The next day the winds were perfect for us to deploy the Code O for the first time.

Sea Rose back in La Rochelle.  We put up the sun shades just to make sure we had all the pieces and also for a little privacy at the dock.

Sea trials are over.  We will return September 26, 2015 for our big trip to the Caribbean.

Here’s a track of where we traveled the month of August. We began in France sailing from Les Sables d’Olonne, to La Rochelle, then onto Spain, stopping at Santander, Castro Urdiales, Bilbao, San Sebastian and finally back to La Rochelle.

On our trip from Bilbao to San Sebastian we caught our first fish.   Capt. Glen holding our Spanish mackerel.

The northern coast of Spain was surprisingly picturesque.

San Sebastian does not have a marina so we initially tied up to a mooring ball before an official (marinero) came out to tell us the mooring balls were not strong enough to hold Sea Rose, so we untied and dropped anchor instead.

We lowered the tender and Capt. Glen kindly took Teresa and I ashore for some sight seeing and food.

Walking the streets of the old town with an old church at the end.

What do you know, another old church.

We stopped into a pincho restaurant for some quick bites.

More local architecture.

After a walk around town I took a cold refreshing swim.  Although it was August the water was still very cold.

The cold water does not seem to keep the locals away from the beach.

On day two we decided to hike to the top of the mountain and visit Jesus.

On the way up, we had great views of the town and beaches below.

Can you spot the big guns?

We made it to the top.

Great views below. Sea Rose at anchor.

Teresa resting before the walk back down.

Capt. Glen arriving to pick us up from town.  It was low tide, that’s why he is so low.

The Guggenheim museum gets its own subsection.  Maybe someone out there can explain this type of Art to me, because I just didn’t get it.

Approaching the museum from one of the main streets in Bilbao.  The highlight for me was the actual museum building itself. http://www.guggenheim.org/bilbao

A massively large dog by Jeff Koons that stands 12 meters in front of the museum made of flowers.  This was the scene of a foiled terrorist attack by E.T.A during the Grand Opening in 1997.

That’s me, not knowing what I am just about to be exposed to. Still happy.

OK, it starts here…  This is an inflatable lobster, something you may find at the beach, hanging by a chain from the ceiling. (a.k.a. art)

Next up, if you haven’t guessed it, this is an inflatable life preserver, similar to something a child would be playing with at a pool.  I got told off by the security guard after taking this picture. I’m not sure why, but maybe my flash could have damaged the “art”.

The following metal panels are replica’s models of the actual “art”.  The actual metal panels are about 10 feet tall and you walk through and around them.

After walking through and around the actual “art” I was still confused.  Fortunately for me, there was this explanation on the wall written by the artist Richard Serra himself, clearly explaining exactly what is happening.  After reading it, it only confused me more which lead to a headache, which led me to a bar and a drink.  You must read it yourself!

We arrived Sunday evening and the captainere was closed so we tied up to the visitors dock for the night.

We set out for a little sight seeing around Bilbao. Unfortunately, this church was not open.

We walked along the Nervion River which runs through Bilbao. There were many nice pedestrian bridges, like this one to cross over.

The following is the famous Vizcaya Bridge which was built in 1893.  People and cars are transported on the lower gondola.  You can also take an elevator to the top span.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizcaya_Bridge

Teresa on top of the Vizcaya Bridge.  It was a warm sunny day.

The Bay of Biscay off in the horizon

I do get in some pictures.

A refreshing cider after a lot of walking.

Two Lagoons passing in the night?. Our friends (Toomey family) from Les Sables d’Olonne arrived in Bilbao and tied up in front of us.  They are their way to the Mediterranean for the winter.

The locals love the beach on a hot sunny day.  Don’t let them fool you, the water is still cold.

There was a medieval festival in the old town with plenty of local food to eat.

Teresa is ready to go home.  We had to find our way through all of the narrow cobblestone streets.

This was the one time we wished we had our bimini installed.  We’re leaving Santander on our way to Bilbao in the rain.

On our way to Bilbao, the weather cleared and we decided to stop in Castro Urdiales for some sightseeing and lunch.

Church of Santa María de la Asunción 13th centuray

Anchored inside the harbor.

Sea Rose anchored off in the distance.

  Touring the grounds of the Church of Santa Maria de la  Asunción

Looking out over the harbor from the Church with Sea Rose anchored in the upper right side of the picture.

There was a festival going on when we were there.  Individuals had to run to the end of this greasy pole and grab the red flag.  No one was able to accomplish it while we were watching.

Local architecture along the harbor walk.