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We headed out of the Moana anchorage on another calm day that saw us motoring past mussell bateas and with a great view of Vigo.
The 5 nm trip to the marina at Santradan passed quickly and we were tied up with engine off 1 hour 25 minutes after turning the engine on to retrieve the anchor.
We radioed in but unusually Jolanda didn’t hear us. She soon came out to greet us when we moored alongside the waiting pontoon (remembering to stay well out as the pontoon sits in shallow water near to the office).
We booked in for a week for the princely sum of 90 euros (to 12m length). This is not a particularly popular place among cruising sailors because it doesn’t sit in a town and nearby facilities are limited (a couple of restaurants, a bar and a small supermarket a 10 minute walk away).
We did notice that many of the empty berths that were apparent at our last visit had been taken by sailors of a variety of nationalities. The facilities here are fine and the prices reflect the location.
However we really like the marina, the very helpful staff and the immediate locality. It is very convenient for catching the bus into Pontevedra (and Moana) and there are a few walks that are enjoyable if the main road sections are ignored!
Walking North and around the bay took us to a large expanse of muddy sand, ideal clam territory. The small fleet of clamming boats is housed here, with a small receiving facility. From here clams will be sold and sent to one of the numerous grit purging facilities in the area.
On the way home we walked around the bay as far as we could until reaching a river. This is not a pretty, sandy beach for swimming off (although one swimmer did emerge from the muddy water) but we had another interesting walk from the marina.
On Sunday Jolanda drove us to her home town of Domaio (towards Moana) having booked a table for us at her favourite restaurant – “Divina Comida O Caranguexo”. We had a drink with Jolanda, her husband and son before they headed off, and we had an excellent lunch.
We couldn’t be too leisurely over lunch as Jolanda had also kindly booked tickets for us on the tripper boat that (infrequently) takes visitors across to the twin islands of San Simón and San Antonio. Landing on the island is not permitted except from an organised visit. The island has been used as a monastery, a leper colony, a prison and an orphanage. In 1589 it was sacked by pirates – including Francis Drake. Most recently the numerous buildings on the island have been used for educational purposes.
This very peaceful island (no students were here on this Sunday visit) has apparently been designated as an “Island of Thought”. A partially submerged monument off the east shore commemorates San Simón’s appearance in Jules Verne’s 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Whilst here we took the opportunity to visit Pontevedra, catching the bus from the stop on the main road above the port. We had been here twice before, but it is a lovely historic city and we still found new places to explore.
And before we leave Santadran (we think this is the name of the village and the marina is named San Adrian de Cobres) we will show an image of the fantastic beef that we enjoyed at A Casa de Rosa de Mazaroca (25 minute walk) to show that Galicia is not all about its famous seafood!
