July 2005:

The town of Pontevedra is at the head of the Ria of the same name. Unlike Santiago it is not filled with tourists and the old part of the town was quiet once lunch time was over. There were numerous attractive old buildings and the tapas was excellent. We took the boat to this Ria a few days later but weather conditions and a local fiesta left us in a very busy marina with continuous noisy nightlife which we promptly abandoned the next day!

We sailed south with other boats we had met to anchor off the Islas Cies which are a group of islands at the mouth of the Ria de Vigo. This was an idyllic place and we were only moved out by a change in the wind direction which threatened our shelter. We plan to return before going further south.
The islands were covered in pine and eucalyptus forest and the smell of these was divine. There were lots of walks in the forest and along the beaches and splendid views of the islands and rias, even down towards Portugal.

Apart from the local population of boat users there are three distinct groups of cruisers around. There is a group heading south towards the Mediterranean or for an Atlantic crossing. Many of these are British but there are French, German, Irish, Dutch and even the Swiss! Another group is headed north and returning to their homes or planning seasons on the West Coast of France. The last group are oscillating between

Spain and Portugal as ex-patriots from northern Europe. It is possible that this movement may have something to do with local tax liabilities if boats remain more than six months in Spain. We have met one other ARC participant in a 40 ft catamaran from Ireland and lots of other interesting people as well. The Swiss couple in a home made steel boat with a 3 year old son were certainly the most adventurous yet, having left home with a budget for as long as it lasts.

The fluffy baby bird above was one of a number of future herring gulls we have seen on the islands. He was perched above a fair drop and certainly unable to fly. His proud parents were anxiously in attendance and later he had retreated safely under a rock. The splendid lizard was about eighteen inches long and attracting the interests of a couple of herring gulls who were muttering, “Mine! Mine!” N.B. No little sea creatures were harmed in the making of this particular web page.

There is an incredible density and variety of seafood here and apparently this is related to the plankton richness found in and around the rias. The harbours are densely packed with fish of all sizes and they enjoy relative safety there. This is not always the case since we have seen three large dolphins come right into one of the harbours with carnivorous intent!

swimming around with their mouths out of the water in groups. The largest group was several hundred strong and covered a large area of one of the rias. The fish were all swimming in the same direction and rubbing together as they moved in sinuous sub-groups through the water. The local fisherman are using fishing methods that might be seen as old-fashioned to us but the fish markets are just Apart from the mussel farming the rest of the seafood appears to be wild.