We had found that the usual pattern for the weather was that it began a little cloudy in the mornings, the cloud would burn off by 11, the sun would come out and it would be getting very hot by the afternoon. This pattern dictated our day, painting could be done early morning or late evening. This left afternoons free for exploration or siesta.
The anti fouling went fairly well after the epoxy filler had been sanded back, there were a few patches where blisters had gone right through to bare steel but these were mainly on the bottom plates and the keel which are 6mm and 10 mm thick respectively, so I wasn't too worried. We will need to think about sand blasting the hull back to bare metal in the next couple of years.
Lynne had also made a start on the small amount of varnish work on the boat, this meant dismantling the tiller and sanding back the companionway door.
Of course after lunch we had decided it was simply too hot to work and took ourselves off into town.
It is just a short walk from the boatyard and marina to the seafront of Sada, this consists of a rather pleasant park with shady trees and palms running back from the beaches. There is a footpath and cycle way runs around the full length of the bay. It is surprisingly shallow so swimming is at high tide only.
We discovered a marvellous building, it's called " The Terrace "
It used to be a tram station in A Coruña but was now in Sada as a feature on the beachfront. It's a wonderful example of Galician Art Nouveau. It is a little faded and peeling but to my mind that just adds to its charm. It's a cafe and jazz venue. So obviously we had to try a coffee on the shady balcony.
A perfect place to escape from boat maintenance and heat.
By a strange coincidence the ground floor has the same pattern of floor tiles as our kitchen at home.
After a couple of days work the boat was coming together and we had managed most of the jobs we had avoided by gallivanting around the Caribean for the winter
That evening we wandered along towards the fish dock and enjoyed a few beers in a fabulous bar that is a kind of Ripleys " believe it or not" or a cabinet of curiosities.
wherever you look there are odd collections or objects, mainly with a nautical theme. Like the beer pump for example that appears to have been made from an outboard engine leg.
Of course the staff are great too, the photo above shows one " photo bombing" me.
It certainly the only bar we have ever been in that has a fishing boats wheelhouse as a feature. They play good music too so if you are ever in the area it's called El Canalla. Recommended.
We also dined out and had cuttlefish for the first time, a sort of small squid, Lynne was disconcerted to discover they fried them with the little tentacles on. However after trying one of mine the nice waitress brought her a plate so she could help me finish the very generous portions. Lovely with chips.
We decided that we would take it easy and arrange to be launched again, " splashed " on Monday, which would leave us free to enjoy the weekend. As it happened there was a festival on starting Friday evening it was the Feira Modernista, which roughly translates as modern fair. What it actually is is a celebration of history and particularly art nouveau, and the 1920s. Many people take the opportunity
To dress up in period costume, even the children get into the spirit of the event. The carrousel was very popular, even in collar and bow tie! Some of the girls dressed in fringed flapper dresses and feather boas looked great.
We have an itinerary of events in Galician which is close enough to Spanish for us to get a reasonable idea of what's scheduled.
We walked over to the seafront where a funfair had set up but was some way from the main events further down the extensive seafront.
In the photo below the marina is above and to the right of Lynnes head.
There was a large marquee which was scheduled to feature music and stage acts over the weekend and many stalls selling memorabilia and items reflecting the 20s.
It was all very sophisticated and genteel. It was constantly surprising to me that so many people were in period costume, Lynne pointed out that it was an annual event, it was obvious the locals enjoyed it immensely and worked on their costumes, lots of feather boas and pearls! Gentlemen seemed to go for the Robert Redford in " the Sting" look.
As the band set up in the large marquee we decided that the best place to listen to them would be the Terrace next door, my favourite building in Sada.
We watched a couple of numbers then walked the very short distance to " the Terrrace "
We managed to get a table on the balcony overlooking the marquee and carrousel, perfect to watch everything occurring in the park, and of course listen to the music.
As it was nightime the building was ablaze with light and showed the wooden window frames and stained glass much better than during the day when your eye was distracted by the peeling paintwork!
I noticed that the upstairs was open so went up to have a look. Surprisingly there was no-one at all there, apart from the staff behind the bar.
I just think it's brilliant!
The 20s theme continued and many ladies were doing the posing by the automobile thing.
The band were very acceptable doing a kind of barber shop quartet come skiffle vibe and we thoroughly enjoyed the first evening of the festival. I got the distinct impression this was not a tourist event it was set up for and by locals. With the jobs on the boat largely finished we were looking forward to a lot of swimming and enjoying the odd time travel to 1925. Lynne mentioned that we had done medieval, Viking and roaring twenties in one week! Sada was proving to be not just a good place to get work done on the boat but a very interesting place in its own right. One of the unexpected consequences of travel that constantly surprise us.
If only we had a dressing up box on board..... ................
No comments:
Post a Comment