Friday July 5th to Saturday July 13th. Moana, Ria de Vigo.

We spent eight days in Moana, our first two nights at anchor, as it was baking hot, and we wanted the breeze, followed by a week in the marina.  This is the farthest south we plan to go.  The Ria de Vigo is only 15 miles north of the Portuguese border.  From here we’ll slowly make our way northwards, hoping to reach our winter berth in Coruna, by the end of August.

Not every day was hot, however, and we used the damp time to catch up on a few boat maintenance tasks.

Highlights of our week were: cycling 30km round trip to the east, under the 1km long suspension bridge that connects the northern and southern banks of the ria at its narrowest point; visiting Vigo by ferry on two days; 

the restaurants and cake & coffee shops of Moana; and not forgetting sport: England footballers beating Switzerland and Netherlands to get into the European cup final, and England test cricketers blowing away the Windies in less than half the allotted five days.

Vigo, on the south bank of the ria, is an attractive city of 300,000 people with eye-catching 18th C architecture, commercial docks, a ferry port and the upmarket Real (royal) club nautico de Vigo.  

The geographical high point of the city, just 1 km inland, has signs of original settlements dating back to 3 centuries BC.  The “O Castro mountain”, however, is now dominated by the ruins of a medieval castle with views along the whole Ria.

  Despite this commanding position, Francis Drake sacked the city in 1589, and Lord Cobham captured Vigo again in 1719.  (Note to Gareth Southgate:  Spanish defences aren’t impregnable)  

Present day visitors can reach the summit via a series of covered outdoor escalators.

Moana, a town of 20k, is devoted to fishing and support industries such as shipbuilding and fish canning.  

The marina has 400 berths, and is mostly run by a single hard-working marinero.  The bay is surrounded by coniferous hills, affording attractive views and good protection from northerly winds.