Day 67, Sunday 20/5:

Today’s major activities were two tours of Ferrol’s shipbuilding and Naval facilities, both offering a rare insight into this side of Ferrol. For the first tour we were driven into and around the Navantia shipbuilding compound by coach with ~40 other people, with a security car following close behind. We were not allowed to take photographs. The tour led us through a museum, outlining Spain’s shipbuilding heritage, before heading out into the yards to check out some ships. We were able to see two Australian ships, one of which is to be named the Adelaide.  It is due to be officially launched on July 4 this year, although it was hard to envisage this as it was still covered in a layer of external scaffolding. Once we had returned to our starting point, a local newspaper interviewed us about our exploits. The next day we purchased this paper and the article can be seen here:

http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/ferrol/2012/05/21/viaje-tripas-navantia/0003_201205F21C2992.htm.

The second tour commenced quickly thereafter, this time taking in some of the historic naval buildings and defensive walls. Along the way we were given a rundown of the port’s history. All in all it was a most interesting outing.

We returned home for a late (well, not all that late for your average Spaniard) 3:30pm lunch. For the remainder of the afternoon, while Patsy and Philip set about booking accommodation, Mary Snow and I went out on a wee adventure. Firstly we went to check out some traditional style dwellings/shelters of the region, each of circular construction with either stone or stick walls and thatched rooves. We then attempted to find a favourite vantage point of Mary Snow’s. After some considerable off-road driving on forestry tracks, and a slight vehicular misadventure, the spot was located with the help of a passing local who kindly phoned her boyfriend to ask for directions. The vantage point did indeed provide some excellent views of the surrounding area and was well worth the effort to locate it. Obviously it is quite a popular spot, as a number of other cars pulled up while we were there. 

We returned home and had an early dinner before some of Mary Snow’s cousins arrived for a ‘Queimada’. This is a Galician tradition consisting of strong (45%) alcohol, burnt in a ceramic dish, with sugar, cinnamon, coffee beans and lemon rind. Once the alcohol was nearing the end of its burning, the flame was extinguished and the now quite warm liquid distributed. 

It was of quite a pleasant taste, although the alcohol content still quite high. We had a good chat before settling in for an early night.