First stop: The ruins of Catoira. Centuries ago, Vikings entered the area via a river leading to the ocean, and being Vikings, pillaged and desecrated the place. Now the town has a famous Viking festival each summer where citizens dress up as Vikings and come in on big boats to burn down the makeshift village (already been added to my festivals to attend list, fret not). When we went there were two Viking ships in the port that you could board in addition to three ruined buildings. Nifty.
Next stop: As piscinas do Río Pedra. Another natural beauty, with yellow flower- and tree-lined hills on either side of the river. The giant rocks create miniature waterfalls which flow into swimming-worthy pools. It's understandably a big hit during the summertime. Despite the heat when we went, the water was too cold for my taste. We did traverse upstream which required walking barefoot in the water. I only fell once, and not into the water, so overall it was a good experience.Third Stop: Castro de Baroña. Approaching it from the woods, the small, walled peninsula with remains of circular rock houses looks mythical. I can certainly understand why the Celts chose this place for their village. It's got charming beaches on either side, is on a cliff that meets the ocean, and has a good view of the mainland where enemies would come from. Perhaps my favorite place we visited that day.
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| Is it Atlantis? Nay, it's Castro de Baroña! |
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| The remains are only a few feet high because people would take the rocks for their own walls |
Next Stop: A beekeeper's workshop. This part was like visiting a honey museum, except personal and with free samples. I (more or less) learned the steps to making honey and tried about 10 varieties--to get different 'flavors' he leaves the bees by different types of flowers. My favorite kind was chocolate honey, and he even gave me a jar of it. Stellar! Not really a honey fan, but can't resist chocolate goodness.
Final Stop: As dunas de Corrubedo. I was actually not too impressed by this park. Although now it is better guarded and there are signs that warn a 60-600 euro fine for walking onto the dunes, before people apparently used to drive their cars right up into the dunes and thus would have to push them back out. The dunes used to be bigger and more impressive, but it seems that because of their misuse they've shrunk. So by now it just looks like a sandy hill leading towards a beach.
