To Cambados
21/May/2007 17:17 Filed in: Ria de Arosa
According to my charts and pilot books a lot of the ports scattered around Ria Arosa are not really suitable for yachts. This includes several otherwise desirable places.
Today I caught the bus to Cambados. The route followed the coast and even crossed over to Isla de Arosa during the 40 min trip. Cambados is a very pretty little town and is the capital of Albariño wine. A very tasty white.
I arrived around 14:30 and had a good walk around. There were a number of shops selling Albariño wines but I held off buying until I have a bit more information. There are the remains of a lighthouse originally built in the tenth century and two ports primarily dedicated to fishing. Cambados had a much more groomed town centre than many I have visited. The streets and paths were paved in stone and the entire waterfront was bordered by an impressive promenade.
Galicia has many many beautiful sandy beaches but the Ria de Arosa does not seem to have got it's fair share. Here many beaches have a very shallow slope and the tide recedes a longway often leaving a rocky weed covered area frequently with a good deal of rubbish and of little merit.
Beach near Cambados with two large hotels on Isla de Toja in the distance.
When the tide is in, however, the waterfront looks lovely.
A walk over to the larger of the two fishing harbours confirmed my suspicion that a lot of the recent investment by the Galician Xunta in yacht facilities has yet to find it's way onto to the charts and other guides. A smallish modern yacht pontoon had been installed and was virtually unused. The few yachts there were looking very unloved but the berths looked fine with plenty of water. The chart shows only 1.5m but there was clearly a lot more water than that.
There is no security but it looked like a good place for a quick stop.
I also came across another of the water troughs that I had first seen in Redes. They are public laundries although where clothes can be washed, rinsed and hung out to dry.
Caught the bus back around 18:00 and later had dinner in the Club del Mar with Gerry and Isolde from "Northern Sky". An all sea food meal as well. The baby squid and pulpo was particularly nice as was the Alboriño wine which washed it down.
Today I caught the bus to Cambados. The route followed the coast and even crossed over to Isla de Arosa during the 40 min trip. Cambados is a very pretty little town and is the capital of Albariño wine. A very tasty white.
I arrived around 14:30 and had a good walk around. There were a number of shops selling Albariño wines but I held off buying until I have a bit more information. There are the remains of a lighthouse originally built in the tenth century and two ports primarily dedicated to fishing. Cambados had a much more groomed town centre than many I have visited. The streets and paths were paved in stone and the entire waterfront was bordered by an impressive promenade.
Galicia has many many beautiful sandy beaches but the Ria de Arosa does not seem to have got it's fair share. Here many beaches have a very shallow slope and the tide recedes a longway often leaving a rocky weed covered area frequently with a good deal of rubbish and of little merit.
Beach near Cambados with two large hotels on Isla de Toja in the distance.
When the tide is in, however, the waterfront looks lovely.
A walk over to the larger of the two fishing harbours confirmed my suspicion that a lot of the recent investment by the Galician Xunta in yacht facilities has yet to find it's way onto to the charts and other guides. A smallish modern yacht pontoon had been installed and was virtually unused. The few yachts there were looking very unloved but the berths looked fine with plenty of water. The chart shows only 1.5m but there was clearly a lot more water than that.
There is no security but it looked like a good place for a quick stop.
I also came across another of the water troughs that I had first seen in Redes. They are public laundries although where clothes can be washed, rinsed and hung out to dry.
Caught the bus back around 18:00 and later had dinner in the Club del Mar with Gerry and Isolde from "Northern Sky". An all sea food meal as well. The baby squid and pulpo was particularly nice as was the Alboriño wine which washed it down.