Santa Cruz & A Coruna

Decide to try out coffee and cousants at the site shop and take a look around the site.

Extremely well laid out with areas for vans, tents and cabins. The cabins are purpose build standalone spacious units, nicely located and not crammed together. Sculptures too.

Having not done a lot I take the bike into Santa Cruz. A pleasant spot with a small island in the bay with its own castle. The island is reached by a pedestrian bridge so I take a brief walk around. Beautifully maintained but the central area is closed, have to come back tomorrow. Time for a beer.

I'm back at the castle and into the inner space. A lovely art gallery, beatifully laid out, with some great illustrations, impressionist and modern. Cases of artifacts which would interesting but everything is labelled in Spanish, I'm the only person here.

It is now Thursday 25th and I must think about Santiago. Well I've thought about it and I'm off to A Coruna. It's around 20km so I'll take the bike. The ride is a mixture of single and duel carriageway with a dedicated bike lane most of the way. Well all the way except where it just disappears when the road is narrow putting you in with the traffic without warning. One thing or the other would be nice.

Along the way we have Che, in the middle of the round-a-bout. A great sculpture in steel with the features cut out so the effect is the same from both directions. Very affective.

A Coruna is a port and rail terminal. The road is lined by large blocks of flats facing the port. The port side is open with wide walkways and the ships are just there. I thought the cruse ship was another block of flats, certainly as big.

The road goes on and on and I'm diverted into the town. Why is this? Seems Google

thought I had asked for a restuarant, I'm sure I didn't, the phone has been in my pocket.

I'm looking for Torre de Hercules, a lighthouse. Not just any lighthouse, the oldest anywhere in the world that has been in continual use. And how long is that? Well its Roman! It was rebuild in the 18th century when the current structure, based on the plans of the lighthouse at Alexandria, was created. It's built around the old Roman lighthouse. That's about 2000yrs then!

After coffee and pastries I start to make my way back. It is now 6:00pm, the traffic is mad, the sun is out and the residents have emerged and throng the streets, just like turning a switch.

The ride back is difficult when the road turns into a flyover with no bike lane. I find myself doubling back, annoying when going back up the hill you've just come down. Also a windy day and I discovered that the front brake was partially on, I was feeling the strain, no wonder. Took 2hrs for a 50min ride. Decided to take a beer at the campsite and cook while it was still light.