Cangas again

It was time to get out and about, we love the process of exploring a new place however something that has become something of a bad habit is that we rarely turn left at first. It doesn't really help that most of the town is a right turn away. However as the sun was out, a short explore along the coast seemed a good idea. We left the marina and turned left.....

The path is not obvious as it leaves Cangas, a small climb up a hill and a drop down to a to a disused factory reveals a rather nicely renovated seafront park area and a paved cycle path.

This is the view back towards Cangas. As is usual in the Ria the water is extremely clear.

The paved path continues through more disused boathouses and further park areas, there are also several beaches the that are dog friendly.  The views over the Ria to Vigo are extensive.

After a mile or so we arrived at the small bay and rather splendid beach at Aramilla. 

There is a convenient beach café. After a small refreshing beer we had a swim to cool down, this is a very nice beach to swim from.

There are great views of the islands of Cies and when we were there the Dolphins were playing around the bateas just offshore.

After we had dried out we continued to follow the orange arrows that indicated the path. This became well wooded and soon climbed around the next headland.

We were surprised when the path disappeared into a tunnel, this was quite long and very dark, never a happy combination for Lynne. Normally she is quite keen on holes in the ground but likes a head torch.

We found it was very straight forward and soon found ourselves on the other side.

 the path continued and we followed it for a few hundred more metres before deciding to head back to Cangas. We were wearing unsuitable footwear for a long walk and we further decided to continue on another day.

It appeared that the path continued at least as far as the next major bay at the Ensenada de Timens.

This is around the second headland visible in the photo below.

After tea we went out for a drink around town, there always seems to be something going on in Cangas and this evening was no exception. There were some women working very hard and precisely making sand paintings in a closed off street by the market.

The following day this was completed and really was quite impressive, particularly as it was created overnight. The picture below was taken then. It seems to have something to do with a religious occasion when people dress up in pointy hats a la Ku klux klan.

As we wandered back towards the marina we once again passed the wonderful clock and weather station built in 1907. This octagonal thing of beauty has barometers, hygrometers, anemometers, thermometers and of course a clock. a boon to mariners, I think it's wonderful.

The day after we did finally finish the walk we had started the previous day, the weather wasn't as kind being fairly overcast. We made it to Limens which is a beautiful bay backed by a large area of dunes. well worth exploring in its own right as is the whole peninsula of Morrazo. Further along are Neolithic remains on the headland we had sailed past to enter Ria Vigo some weeks before. For now we had to content ourselves with a coffee in the local bar/ café.

It appears that you can grow anything in this sheltered bay, we discovered prickly pears growing in the dunes.

The flowers are quite lovely. After lunch on the beach we headed back leaving the mystery of how to continue to the beach at Barra and the rest of the peninsular for yet another day.

The next bay along is called the Praia days Moscas, which translates as the beach of the flies. We were not too keen on that! However we would certainly return to Limens as it is a really lovely spot.

Another tick on our to do list was finished as a few days earlier we had gone over to Vigo on the ferry to visit the Head Office of the Maritime Terrestrial National Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia. This rather grand sounding establishment is the issuing authority for the licence to Navigate which is essential to get an anchoring permit for the islands offshore. We had tried and failed to do this online so decided a visit in person would be easier. the offices also had a fascinating exhibition space and we looked around after dropping off the relevant documentation in person on the second floor.

There are audiovisual displays about the history geology and wildlife of the islands, the staff are also incredibly helpful when seen in person.

Within 24 hours our all important Licence to navigate was received via e-mail and we printed it out on board Dark Tarn. In order to anchor or sail within the National Park limits we now just needed to log onto a website with our password and ID and we would receive permission via email which we would need to print off to present to any rangers who enquired. wonderful simple Spanish bureaucracy! As my licence lasts for 3 years I am now a happy bunny. The islands await!