surprises in the post

We had set the alarm for an early start (for us ) of 9.30, as the post office in Cangas shut at 2 oclock and we were by now getting very worried about our lost transducer. Lynne rang Bea and discovered our old berth was free so after a coffee we raised the anchor and headed out towards the bateas .

There was a fabulous ship making its way out of the Ria.

It didn't take long before our dolphins came to welcome us.

we re-occupied our old berth in Cangas marina, just like being home again, we walked to the post office to enquire as to the location of our parcel. it turned out that it had arrived in the UK on the 6th of July. A mere two days after posting, I logged on to the Royal Mail website when back aboard Dark Tarn armed with the current tracking number courtesy of the post office (Correos). I could not track the parcel beyond the point it was scanned in at Heathrow three weeks previously.. I had an online chat with a representative of Royal Mail who was less than helpful if apologetic. It seemed that there was nothing they could do to find my parcel and I would have to file a complaint with the Spanish postal service. I thought this was unfair as it was blindingly apparent that the parcel had been lost in the UK. Lynne and I elected for a walk around town while I cogitated ( that's shorthand for calming down )

Luckily there were distraction aplenty, it seemed that the street statue performers were in town, this was a particularly good chocolate (milk) lady.

And this was a cornucopia variant.

This fellow was a knife sharpener, as we wandered back towards the marina we came across a wedding being held at the small chapel by the harbour.

There was a traditional band and dancing, just the thing to lighten my mood. I decided that the transducer was lost. it seemed inconceivable that it could take three weeks to go from Heathrow to Southampton, even if the postman walked the whole way. I considered importing a replacement from the USA but was unsure of the import tax situation (getting thoroughly hacked off at this point)
Luckily John from Cactus Navigation in the UK (our original suppliers ) agreed to post us a replacement transducer at a reasonable cost, by which I mean £100 cheaper than Garmin.
It had been an expensive month thanks to Royal Mail. We had been delayed and let down, not to mention the loss and replacement of a £400 part. To add insult to injury my knee was not getting any better, I had put it off long enough I needed to see a doctor. I tried to put these troubles aside meanwhile I was enjoying the Galician celebrations of a new beginning. I cant think of a better start, or a better way to put life in perspective.

We visited the same doctor Lynne had consulted earlier in the year, my Spanish comprehension is improving if not my conversation and after manipulating my leg and producing a medical book with full colour illustrations it became apparent he was 90 % certain I had torn the meniscus membrane in my left knee. This could be confirmed with an MRI scan and fixed with a arthroscopy, but as it wasn't life threatening, this would be easier to do in the U.K. After a forceful chat from Lynne and a phone call home to Keith the physio, I booked a flight home and made an appointment at the doctors in Horwich. I made a mental note that a non stop sail to the Canaries would take about two weeks, this was of course a worst case scenario, hopefully we still had loads of time......meanwhile.....
It was time to hit the beach.......

In a few days I would be back in the U.K. and Lynne would be alone on Dark Tarn .