Back to Espana

We have a light continental breakfast at the hotel and decide to head north to Spain. We take the coast road and stop off at a few stops along the way. 

First stop is a beach not far from Viana do Castelo - Praia de Paco. A pretty beach that reminded us of home. Both ends are flanked by rocky outcrops. There are some old fishing shacks and an abandonned fort. 

A quick walk and we were off. 

Ed stops for cherries and soon we stop at another little town and check out the beach. At Moledo the beach was affected by king tides earlier in the year. At one end they have machines trying to restore sand dunes. 

We stop for a coffee as the coffee at breakfast was very ordinary. We eat some cherries and check out the view. This beach has rocky areas and it makes it very interesting. There are waves but it is relatively calm. We contemplate a swim. Sabrina checks the water temp - it is a little cold. 

We decide to keep moving and head for the border. As we get close we can see Spain and we notice some smoke. As we get closer it is a fire in an area of bush ( quite close to homes on the other side of the mountain). By the time we get near Valenca the firies have it almost out. 

We like the look of Caminha it is a cute little town with some old buildings mixed with some typical Portugese architecture.

Valenca is having a festa but it is too early in the morning to stop. The celebrations will take off in the afternoon. 

We cross the border and little changes except the homes are mostly made from stone. It is getting closer to lunch so we decide to take the freeway and head straight for Combarro. Vigo and Pontevedra both look interesting and we hope to have time to stop on the way home. 

We park and check out the waterfront/ marina. This is a pretty area with residents living in stone houses, driving porshes and keeping a boat. Clearly these people have not been affected by the financial crisies. 

Lunch is lovely seafood paella and nice wine. The kids opt for pizza. The mussels in the paella were the best I have ever had. The area is actually known for octopus and oysters. It was a beautiful lunch - the food, setting and conversation perfect!

We decide to walk off lunch and head to a path behind our restaurant. We find delightful alleyways with even more restaurants, gorgeous homes and winding streets. When you look between homes you can see beautiful little glimpses of the water - it reminds me of Greece. 

This was a pagan area. Christians placed poles with an image of Jesus on one side and images of Mary on the other, in strategic places to ward off witches. I think quite a few would have been burnt at the stake here. 

Alas time is moving quickly and we have to leave. This is definitely an area we would like to return to and explore further. 

We decide to stop at Vigo and just drive past Pontegedra. It looks lovely and has weird steps in the middle of the river. I would like to know why?????? 

Vigo is very large. We head for the centre. Mitchell spots El Corte Ingles and a P for parking. Ed said have a qick look around but no shopping -  we are here for the sights. Well who do you think was carrying the shopping bags when we me up? It wasn' t any of the girls! 

We head off for an old castle. It has been turned into a park and has terrific views. We sit for a while and have a drink to cool down and recover from all of the steps. Back to the shops we buy some wine and head off in the car. 

We head back to Viano do Castelo. Ed, Brina and I have a swim while Ana has a bath and Mitchell has a rest and makes use of Wi Fi. 

We head back to the same restaurant and have frango, octopus and veal. The waiter was surprised that we were there two nights in a row but food and service were excellent. ( The photos show what we couldnt eat - too full).