The western Rias and onto Portugal

And so into the Rias Bajas, 4 big flooded river valleys on the west coast of Spain. They are much hyped up for their beauty and tranquility; sadly we were a little disappointed after all the hype, they were not a patch on the Scottish lochs.

Still, our first stop in Portosin in the northern most ria de Muros was pretty, quaint old world cobbled streets winding up the hill.
A big feature of the rias is the mussel rafts, there are thousands of these things lining both sides of the rias, a huge industry here.








Walking up a local hill one afternoon we got a splendid view of the extent of these things, anchored in lines for miles like a huge fleet of small ships.







We had a close shave with mussels just after A Coruna. We found a lovely collection of big fat mussels growing on the pontoon floats in a small harbour. As we collected a big bag full for our tea a local came and warned us off them. Apparently they carry a virus which is prevalent in the area that will make you very sick; the locals leave well alone. A close one indeed but what a shame! It seems the farmed mussels are okay as they are picked when they are young. Mussels have been a staple for us ever since the early days sailing round Ireland, lets hope this virus doesn't carry on down the coast too far!


A common feature in Galicia are the ancient grain stores known as 'horreos'. It seems that most homes in the country had one; note the big stone discs at the top of the legs to keep the rats out!

From Portosin we hopped on a bus to Santiago de Compostella, capital of northwest Spain’s Galicia region. It’s known as the culmination of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes, and the alleged burial site of the Biblical apostle St. James; his remains reputedly lie in the cathedral. It was St James who it was said brought Christianity to Spain and it is his remains that pilgrims come to be close to; certainly an awful lot of people have walked an awfully long to pay homage to him so I hope its true. The routes run in a lattice work all over Europe from as far away as the Baltic coast - that's a long walk!

Santiago is a beautiful old city. Sadly the very grand cathedral front is covered for an extensive refurbishment but we did get inside and were able to see the small sarcophagus that is said to hold the remains. Look what we found down a side street on the side of an ancient building - is nothing sacred?!








Back on the boat having a sun downer we were approached by this rather threatening looking beast - spanish customs -fortunately we were not guilty!







Just south of the rias is the northern border of Portugal and pulling into the harbour town of Viana de Castelo I immediatly felt a difference from Spain. The Spanish towns generally had very little character, nearly all the building being just painted concrete. I do not know where all the old houses have gone. Portugal is a complete contrast, old higeldy pigeldy lanes and houses everywhere, many decorated in the beautiful tiles that are a theme of Portugal, even the smaller houses have some decoration on the outside. The whole atmosphere was helped by the street decoration for an upcoming festival.




























This pretty church at the end of the main street had a stunning tile mural












I am going to like Portugal!