Day 39: Ferrol

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We woke up in Leon, got dressed, packed and out of the hotel by 10.30am, with Felix buzzing helpfully around with bags and tickling Billy. Our priority was the go and buy Kimmy her sandals spotted in a shop late last evening, and also find a café and the other cathedrals…hopefully all in the same 15 meters. We discovered the elderly quarter of Leon with lots of churches, elderly people who smile quietly, and shops with solid hats, undergarments and sturdy shoes for the mature population. Cafes are great for a small coffee to kick start your day, Will’s Capac chino had a thick layer of whipped cream and Billy discovered that the “chirrs”/Spanish donuts are warm and yummy. Importantly both Will and Kim got shoes, half price and not espadrilles….but we do have quite a few more towns to visit before heading home, although the Peugeot is growing with the back seat filling up with shopping bags. Billy also got a new pair of sandals as he has nearly skidded out his, which ironically were new for the trip. It is fair to assume this Aussie sandals weren’t meant to scale up rocky dirty tracks, walk every town and theme park in 39 days, and skid across any slippery surface only to fall over and do it again!!.

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We arrived on the autopista into A’ Coruna; not sure what the o means but this city was huge! Both Will and I went ohh ohh and went to through this port town and did a u-turn towards the much smaller coastal towns in search of a swim able beach and a hotel. The beach at A’ Coruna had sandy beaches but the proximity of the large port means the water is crappy.

A Ferrol festival on Friday the 4th….this has got to be a good omen.

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Ferrol, further south was a mid-sized town with a port so we optioned for a hotel and a bit of walking. Central city we found a pension above a restaurant, very clean for a bargain price. Two stars and the temp. has dropped so we don’t need air-conditioning to survive the night. Another festival was scheduled for tonight, and we could only be 100metres from the fun. A Ferrol festival on Friday the 4^th….this has got to be a good omen. It had a medieval theme with the craft and food stalled manned by wenches in low-cut dresses and dudes in silly hats, pinafores and tights with swords and guns, most with ‘medieval piercing”. Even some little kids skirted around in costume, and quite merrily peed wherever they felt necessary. There were roving jesters and Spanish music we thought very Irish jiggy stuff broadcast through the evening.

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The main procession had brass bands, some serious military guys, horses, coaches and medieval costumes with ladies in huge dresses. They assembled in the quadrangle, yelled a lot in Spanish, the Mayor yelled even more and the soldiers let off these blunderbuss guns that sounded like bombs. People, kids and pigeons all took off….and scarred Billy. Worst still, throughout the evening these guns would randomly go off, so Billy cringed the whole time and wanted to get the heck out of here!!

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Once we spied the soldiers with their weapons heading for the grog tent to settle in the evening we new the shooting would have finished. Now for a medieval feast of Falafels, pasties called espandaras filled with spicy fish, veggies, meats and cheese, chocolate crepes and our take home snack of huge custard filled donuts and a slice of sponge cake with chocolate, berries, custard and walnuts. And fries for Billy. Will and I ended up with a lot of cake for tomorrow’s breakfast. The restaurant partied below us into the early morning and we felt like we were the last to leave!!