After a slow recovery from our hectic day before we were still keen to explore A Coruña, of Course it should be La Coruña but the separatists and complicated politicking of northern Spain have dictated that there is no La ( feminine ) in Gallician, of course there are also those that say there is no Gallician. For the sake of simplicity I shall use the modern vernacular from now on. Thanks to our guided tour by Antón I was now aware that the dictator General Franco was born here. Not only that but allegedly the stone of scone, the Scottish stone that queen Elizabeth was crowned upon was actually from Gallicia via Ireland and Scotland. It is certainly true that my history, didn't dwell on Francis Drakes ignominious defeat by a Gallician native of A Coruña a year after the disastrous invasion attempt by Spain, the famous armada, nor did it include the fact it was a woman who defeated him. Maria Pita I salute you. Here she is. Definitely feminine and definitely Gallician.
However I get ahead of myself, the old town of A Coruña is very close to the marina where we are moored so it was our first stop so to speak. We were aware that there was a medieval market on at the weekend but we were unprepared for the extent of proceedings.
After walking along the front you are presented by this rather fabulous aspect of Gallician architecture, it's a kind of glass fronted balcony, it's really rather attractive. A short detour behind brings you to the old town and suddenly we were assaulted by the smells of cooking, leather, spices, soap and incense. We had basically slipped through a wormhole into the 14 th century. Well not really but it was great.
The streets were decorated with banners and coats of arms and lined with stalls selling all kinds of goods and produce. Of course they were dressed in medieval garb. After about five minutes I was ravenous and for no reason other than proximity a roasted pork sandwich seemed to be a good idea, or a Bocadillo de jamon ( with crackling ) Lynne also seemed to have developed an appetite as well.
The old town is a typical rabbit warren of narrow streets but thankfully we had left ridiculous steepness behind and all gradients were well within the capabilities of normal humans. The market very quickly became rather more extensive than we had imagined and wandering minstrels became a regular event, mostly armed with fearsome edged weapons.
Of course more artisan based activity was evident as well, I came across a man being taught to throw a pot, I have to admit he did a pretty good job of it too!
Of course being in the 14 th century vegetables were just for the poor and meat was the order of the day, huge racks of ribs, sausage, chicken, assaulted your senses at every turn.
The stalls just seemed to go on and on but it was a great way to get to know the old town, just follow the flags and noise!
We spent most of the day just wandering around, eventually we had grasped the geography of the old town and could navigate reasonably successfully.
The square had been turned into a children's entertainment, medieval style.
A few streets away however the entertainment was a little more scary as a street entertainer lifted rocks with hooks on his cheekbones,
and climbed a ladder of swords in his bare feet.
I think Lynnes favourite may have been the collection of raptors in the main square.
Eventually we tore ourselves away from these 14 th century delights and trudged across town to the railway station to enquire and book tickets to Santiago de la Compostella for Monday. After a meal out and a hunt for a Chinese pound shop to buy essential paint rollers gloves etc. for Dark Tarns refit we were fit to drop!
As entertaining as the attractions in the streets were the backdrop of fabulous buildings constantly intruded. This is a city that deserves to be savoured at length. As Antón says the rest of Spain swelters in 30 degrees and A Caruña has a cooling breeze that makes it a very pleasant place to be.
We had a last look around the markets but being mid evening it was very busy ( Spanish time ) so we wandered back to the boat for a sundowner. The sky was a vivid pink and the fort was lit up as usual.
Time for a nightcap and bed...........Antón is right, it's a very pleasant place to be. As cities go it has to be one of the best, maintaining a human scale and warmth, and the people, well what can I say, call them Spanish and you would be wrong, call them Gallician and you would be closer to being right. All I know is they obviously know how to enjoy life and they have a great place to do it.
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