Freya & Us

We spent four happy nights in Muros, just wandering around the town, along the coast and generally chilling out. We found the old town charming and enjoyed walking around the old tidal mill on the seashore. Unsurprisingly to us, as with most of the tourist attractions we try to visit in Galicia, it was closed on the day we went!

We left Muros and headed to the Ria Arousa. We motor sailed most of the way but were rewarded with two distant views of dolphins on passage. Our first night in this ria was an anchorage off Santa Uxia de Riveria where we anchored just off the beach in 20-25 kn of wind and outside a buoyed area that protected some shellfish beds. We spent a pleasant and uneventful night at anchor, despite me (Paul) worrying about the anchor holding, given our experiences in Cederia a few weeks ago but the wind dropped as forecast and all was well. We were woken not long after sunrise by the sound of motors and voices nearby. When we looked up we were surprised and slightly embarrassed to see dozens of small boats, many tied together with long ropes inside the buoyed area. They use long rakes with cages on them to rake up shellfish off the seafloor. It was very surreal having breakfast in the middle of all this industry. When we came to leave, we noticed that one of the long ropes linking the small boats together had been run across our anchor chain, but a few nods to the fisherman and they cheerfully manoeuvred the rope clear. Obviously a frequent occurrence to them.

From this anchorage, we motored across the ria to the marina at Villanova, past mile after mile of Viveros (mussel rafts). While we love mussels they really spoil the ria and we wished they weren't there but it is their main industry - on saying that we haven't managed to find any to eat in any of the local restaurants! The area around Villanova is one of the ria's main tourist spots but the town itself was uninspiring. If the weather had been better we could have enjoyed the beaches and walks, but the rain and drizzle was a real dampener (pun intended) on our time there. After just one night we decided to move on.

We are now in Combarro in the Ria Pontevedra. Combarro is a lovely village towards the top of the ria. The old town stretches along the shore and has been beautifully preserved and restored. A little touristy perhaps but still really charming. It was a great place to spend my birthday yesterday and Lorraine did me proud with some great presents and a birthday cake she baked onboard. She has set the bar quite high for her birthday in a few weeks time! We plan to spend a few more days here now the weather is improving and explore the town of Pontevedra itself which is only about 4 miles away. From here we will head to the Ria Vigo which will be our last stop before we enter Portugal which is now only about 30 miles away (as the crow files).

Click here for the map of our travels