We woke today to a heavily overcast sky trying desperately to rain. The forecast for the area confirmed our misery and advised it was expected to last the entire day and evening. The eclipse viewing does not look good for 8.30 tonight.

To make matters worse, this morning we ran out of gas for the stove and hot water. Fortunately tea and coffee had already been made but we were short of breakfast. Now, I am not at fault here. I have been trying to buy gas for 3 days but without success. You see, the European campers often have a built in gas bottle system that is only filled at selected service stations who sell AutoGas. And there are not that many who have been selected.

Just to complicate matters, we were presented with a box containing 4 different adaptors to fit the filling systems in different countries, or parts of countries. We had no idea which one to use in northern Spain, nor could we find an English speaker who could explain it. Yesterday we did find a gas station and an attendant who threw her hands in the air and let us know that nothing fit and to go away. So, with no Spanish, it is not as easy as it should be.

However today we employed Google and Chat GPT and the Travel Gods Help Line and got it sorted. Back to the original service station and a girl who knew what she was doing and we are cooking with gas. Easy when you know how.

After all that got sorted and finding a hardware store to pick up a few gadgets, we felt a walk uphill in a cute town was in order. So we made our way to Puerto de Vega, a small fishing village about 20 km away.

This Casino Theatre is more a community centre. It was built in 1930 and funded by thankful emigrants to the Spanish speaking South American countries who returned funds for the project.

It’s a fishing town and everything around the harbour reflects that. All the restaurants offer 99% seafood and 1% ham. Everything is fishing orientated.

The fish lady guarding the inevitable steps.

I know, it’s a recurring theme.

Original construction dates back to 1586 as a fortification against the English privateer Sir Francis Drake.

This is a really cute town, very fishy, and very pretty.

An imature Castor Bean plant. The seeds contain ricin, a highly potent toxin, which are processed via cold pressing to yield castor oil.

Well, the eclipse just happened behind very heavy cloud. Not even worth getting the camera out. It was light, then it went dark, then it went light again. Greatest non event in recent memory but that’s astronomy for you. Apparently it was a very clear sky in 39C heat in Madrid, 540 km away.

While it would have been nice to see the eclipse I am not upset at spending the time in this region. Having an opportunity to explore some lovely towns not on the tourist map was fabulous. This is the real Spain and this is what we enjoy.

Tomorrow we head to Santiago de Compostela with a stop at A Coruna for a look. Back to battling public transport but Santiago has a lot to offer and we have secured a camp site booking.

David & Collette