It was more than two years ago that Madrone left Spain for northern Europe, and it feels absolutely great to be able to sail back. After a good night of sleep to recover from the short passage, we awoke to a glassy calm conditions off the small city of Viveiro. A small breakwater built to protect the commercial harbor does an effective job of knocking down the swell from the Bay of Biscay just outside the ria, and the result is an excellent anchorage in the sand off the crescent beach that fronts the town.
The first order of business – a long, leisurely Spanish-style lunch at a local restaurant. Plates of local shellfish and cured ham are perfect when washed down with a glass of albarino from a nearby winery, and we feasted along with Spanish families.
The town of Viveiro is probably a spot that locals from Galicia might come for a day trip to the beach, but it’s a bit off the well-beaten tourist track. And that’s just how we like it – visiting places that we’d otherwise never come to.
