The sail to Lisbon from Galicia

From The islands of Cies, we spent a night in the town of Bionas, eating tapas and drinking Estrella Galicias. In the morning we parted for the 2 day sail to Lisbon. This was a slightly tougher journey than we'd both anticipated. I got a little seasick for the first few hours and Sam had cabin fever for the entire time. We arrived in Lisbon at midday on 18th Sep, after two and a half long days at sea. A couple of pictures of the boat and Sam keeping careful watch on his night shift.

Islas Cies - West Coast of Galicia

After Muros we took a short sail to the Islas Cies archipelago, which consists of three beautiful islands just off the Western coast of Galicia. Its a nature reserve and we climbed to the top of the larger island to get a stunning view of the surrounding islands. At sunset we tried again in vain to catch some fish from the boat, but no success. Collectively, we've only managed to catch two small mackerel since Oslo! Something's got to be wrong with our fishing techniques.

Boat jumping in Muros, Galicia

We sailed around the Western coast of Galicia and anchored in a bay off the small town of Muros. Sam threw himself straight into the water from the mast the moment we anchored. My try was a little more pathetic - but the water's still only 16 degrees along this coast! The sail from La Coruna was smooth. We're finally into the calmer weather and the chance to island hop in the sun, so the woolly hats and thermal underwear are now packed away in the cupboard. We took the dingy out for a spin a few times to reach the quiet beaches around us. Life is definitely getting slower and I can now make a whole day out of preparing lunch and writing a postcard. Not sure how I'll ever get back to the 9-5..

La Coruna, Galicia - clear blue skies & surf

After a night spent anchored in a bay on the North coast of Galicia, we were very glad to reach the marina at La Coruna. It's been clear blue skies here for the last three days. Day one we spent sightseeing around the city. Ate lots of good cured ham, local cheese and wine. I still can't stomach the smell of seafood after the Bay of Biscay sea sickness episode. Shame really, as that's what the area is famous for! I just hope memories of that clam chowder will start to fade. The second day we hired a car and drove to Pantin beach two hours from Coruna. It happened to be a World Pro Surf Competition, with the top 100 surfers competing for the week. Sam was extremely pleased as he managed to catch a wave without looking like a newbie when the beach was packed with onlookers from the days events. We spent the evening in a town called Ferrol, a few bays away. It was a pretty town with crumbling buildings and decrepit looking backstreets. We were told by the local tourism office that there were some amazing restaurants near the marina for local cuisine. But after 4 hours of searching and finding nothing but dingy cafes, we opted for more tapas at a pub in the city centre. I have overdosed on ham and cheese now too - we are both piling on the pounds since leaving! and i thought sailing would be the healthy option

Sea sickness hell in the Bay of Biscay

Although we managed to sail across the Bay of Biscay in three days (which was super fast apparently) it was a much more stressful journey than the other two crossings. From the minute we left East Dunmore in Ireland, the waves were huge rollers that pulled you upwards and from side to side, like a never ending theme park ride. I was seasick for the first 24 hours, Sam was a little ill (although he claimed it was food poisoning) and even the captain said he felt a bit queasy from time to time. Sea sickness is all about losing your balance, so all you can do is lie down and wait for it to pass. Not fun at all - and especially grim when your cabin is soaked with sea water after the cupboards start leaking.

Anyway, there were good parts and they were the calm and sun we met in the middle of the journey, when everyone was able to get some rest and eat properly. Amazing how good hot bread or a cup of tea can be when you're cold and tired. Another highlight was the dolphins that followed our boat. Check out the video...

New York, New York

We had four amazing days in NY and coming from the confines of the boat, it was even more of a contrast. Night one was pre-wedding drinks on the roof top of the brides family house in central NY - what a view. Night two was the rehearsal dinner in central Manhattan at an Italian restaurant for 70. The wedding itself was upstate NY, at a private venue on a huge lake overlooking some mega pads. There was a small boat which took the guests for rides across the lake to check out the palaces surrounding us. Sam topped off the night by performing a terrible break dancing routine after a few too many on the dance floor.

We stayed out in Brooklyn , which was meant to be the 'up and coming district'. Not too sure who coined that one, but most of it looked pretty run down. However, we did find a brilliant greasy spoon cafe opposite us that served a good cwoffee, eggs over easy with friend ham, for the morning after. Next stop Cork!