a visit to Pontevedra

Our return to Cangas from Islas Cies was done in a foggy fret which completely enclosed the islands. it presaged a deterioration in the weather for a couyple of days and food became a priority. we had been impressed by a small restaurant called El cactus and we returned so Lynne and Alex could sample the burgers.

They are huge and cost 3 euros or so.
After a day of rain the skys began to clear and we ventured out to catch some festivities celebrating arts and crafts in support of African charities. There was a small collection of stalls and we went back in the evening to watch some dancers and bands at the bandstand.

There was a dance troup of young people who were great, and later a group of three musicians and a female vocalist played some fascinating music unlike anything I have ever heard, Alex videoed them and if he posts it I will post a link.
We had agreed that sailing south would have to be postponed as Lynnes damaged ankle was giving her some trouble (she had tripped awkwardly on Islas Cies) For Alexs last day therefore we caught the bus to Pontevedra.

Pontevedra is a lovely town especially the old town. In order to walk in to the old town from the bus station you follow a path of linked park areas that follow a small stream. Alex had spotted a skating spot from the bus and was keen to try it out.

The smooth looking concrete turned out to be very rough and Alex took one tumble that took a great deal of skin off his hands.

The old town is a very pleasant jumble of narrow streets and leafy squares, we found a pharmacy and dressed Alexs wounds. Lynne had spotted a likely looking resteraunt/ bar and we decide it was time for lunch.

This turned out to be a real find, if you get the chance, its O Furancho De Bora and is excellent.
The chef spoke English and the food was superb, we opened with a Gallician fish and rice dish with mussels cockles and octopus in a rich sauce, Alex isn't too keen on shellfish so he had a salad.

 Lynne and I had huge cod for our mains and Alex had a steak and chips. beer, bread, ice cream and cheesecake for afters cost a frankly ridiculous 9 euros each!
We walked around town heading towards the circular church of Senora de los Peregrinas.

We enjoyed showing Alex the fabulous views from the gallery around the dome and whispering across 20 metres like the famous whispering gallery of St Pauls. We then moved to the main square of the Plaza de Espana.
Since our last visit some artist had created an optical trick of a chicken that could only be seen from one spot.

We spent some time having a drink of coke in a cafe on the square, the tapas consisted of three empenadas (slice of pie) bread and Russian salad and a bowl of olives, Alex thinks that no one in Gallicia has any idea of profit margins!

we continued our exploration of the old town and looked at the church of the Basilica de Santa Maria La Mayor before reluctantly heading back for the bus station.

As usual in Spain the interior was stunning with rich carvings and a fantastic alterpiece, unfortunately a funeral was scheduled so we left before the service began. we began the longish walk back to the  Estation de Autobus which passes through a residential area of high rise apartments and parks.

Alex insisted on being photographed against some graffiti thinking it would make great cover for his album!
The following day we took Alex to the bus station in Vigo and put him on the bus to Porto to get his flight home. It was a sad day we had so enjoyed spending time together. We would have to make sure it could happen again soon.....

Enchanted forest

 There is a small part of the countryside near Aldan that is known locally as the Enchanted Forest. Its the remains of a private estate that is now open to the public.

We visited as we had a car available, the weather was a little overcast but it merely added to the charm of the place.

In many respects it reminded us of our home near Rivington, there were folly castles and well made paths and structures hidden in the trees.

The forest follows the path of a small stream that was used in the past to power small water mills.

There are also typical Gallician wash houses  tucked away among the trees.

Its a peaceful, in some ways idyllic little spot. The flora indicates that there is very low levels of air pollution.

This is a photo of one of the ruined mills.

  As we followed the stream ever higher we came across a climbing wall that someone had created under a concrete bridge.

As we walked back down following the stream it was all in all a lovely spot to explore, well off the tourist trails it is a hidden gem of Galicia

Island life

 If you look at the map below Dark Tarn was anchored at the little anchor symbol at the south end of the Praia de Rodas.

We rowed ashore and walked towards the campsite which was in the process of being assembled. Its possible to rent a tent or pitch your own if you wish to stay overnight, or you can always arrive aboard your own boat!

There is a causeway connecting the campsite area to the northern part of the island, this can be impossible to cross at certain states of the tide, the lagoon is also known as the aquarium due to the profusion of sea life its possible to see.

the road carries on towards the ferry pier, this disgorges tourists during the day but at this time of year the island doesn't feel at all crowded.

A little further on is yet another stunning beach the Praia de Figueiras.

It seemed a good spot for a swim and a sit......

Later we climbed up through the Eucalyptus forest heading for the Alto de Pricipe.

This is a well known viewpoint and has a collection of weirdly shaped rocks adorning the summit.

 There is a precipitous drop down steep cliffs on the Atlantic side. The views are again outstanding.

The sunbaked rocks are home to many lizards and as Alex has recently acquired a large lizard as a pet ( a bearded Dragon, called Madison) he was fascinated and fairly desperate to catch one!
He also insisted in giving his mum a heart attack by getting too close to the edge, the rock he is on in the photo below is known as the" throne".

We wandered back through the cool woods unfortunately Lynne twisted her ankle in the rough track which would influence our plans considerably in the next week.

We walked back to the campsite area and continued on to our favourite beach on the island, the Praia de Nosa Senora,( Our lady beach) this overlooks the southern island of San Martino.

A final swim and we left the island after a very interesting,  (and hot ) day on what must be one of the loveliest islands in Galicia.
That evening we were joined in the anchorage by another old friend Aros Mor and its skipper Ian who we had last met on the north coast a year ago. Alex and I sank a few beers in the bar ashore which was open for the first time in the year. Ians crew was Brian who was flying home from porto on the same day as Alex. Lynne was confined afloat due to her strained ankle. We would undoubtedly bump into Aros Mor again as we sail down the Portugese coast. The following morning we had planeed to climb to the lighthouse but Lynnes ankle and a foggy sea-fret persuaded us to sail back to Cangas.

Back to Islas Cies

I booked a couple of days anchoring at Islas Cies, this is very easy to do as we had completed formalities last year. A couple of hours saw us approaching the Praia Rodas on the west side of the main island, we dropped anchor under sail and noticed a French boat from Cangas already at anchor.

This was the day after the terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena and Alex had been awake most of the night chatting with his friends on messenger, One of Alexs friends had been missing for a few hours after attending the concert. She turned up safe to everyones immense relief..We let Alex have a doze before going ashore.

The Islas Cies are a truly stunning place, the water is crystal clear, the sands are clean and white, the air is heavy with pine and eucalyptus. It was a million miles away from the tragic events unfolding at home.

Alex used his rowing skills to drop us off on the beach.

The heat was growing and the water looked very inviting.......

Alexs factor 50 seemed to be working well!

That evening we enjoyed a lovely sunset and looked forward to exploring the island tomorrow.

As the breeze died we were left alone, the French couple aboard their boat from Cangas our only company.

Exploring the Ria

It was soon time to set sail, we had an enjoyable time showing Alex around our temporary home but now we felt it was time to set sail for a little day trip.

We decide to drop down the Ria to anchor off the beach at Barra for lunch.

We tucked in under the cliffs and enjoyed an al fresco lunch in company with a couple of local yachts.

 Barra and Nerga beaches are really beautiful and the recent rain had left the pines and Eucalyptus trees very green.

As we raised anchor and headed back up the Ria past Cangas and on to San Simon a racing fleet was returning to Vigo . We spread our gennaker to catch the light winds and keep up with the returning fleet but the wind died completely off Cangas and we had to resort to the engine to take us under the motorway bridge and into the upper Ria.

 We anchored off San Adrian and were pleased to find not only Magnet but Modus Vivendi with Bob and Maureen were also anchored. We adjourned to the only bar by the Marina for drinks and conversation.

Sadly this would be our last evening with Jim and Megan for a while as they planned to leave for Xufre in the morning. Bob and Maureen however planned to linger in the Rias for a while longer....

As Bob and Maureen were meeting a friend in the morning everyone adjourned at a reasonable hour, we however stayed on into the evening chatting and playing table football.

San Simon is a very sheltered anchorage and we spent another day recovering from the previous nights excesses. In the photo below you can just see Dark Tarn. The Ensenada is totally landlocked and surrounded by hills on all sides

The following day we returned to Cangas. Alex again took advantage of the local skatepark and after a pleasant afternoon swimming and skating we had a drink in one of the pop-up beach bars or Chiringitos.....

These seem to have a lifespan restricted to the summer months, they literally spring up and are built overnight and will disappear just as quickly at the end of the season.

Alexs P20 had to be upped to factor 50 as the sun became increasingly hot!