A quieter day to Villanova de Arousa

Shortish hop to Villanova; only 10 KM, by quiet back, country lanes. Vines and Maize predominantly….and a good, few dogs, thankfully tethered. We did pass a church, with an interesting altar stone, on the outside – weathered shell motifs. D and Mac were observing this from beyond the church wall….it was a relief to them when we moved on!

There had been some drizzle, this morning, but it was still warm. Pausing at this shell- covered house, we were glad to get out of our ponchos – very clammy.
We passed a quiet evening in the hotel and the next day, made our way down to the port, to board a boat which would take us up the Ria de Arousa to Pontesecures, and a bridge crossing in to Padron. The mayor was there to see us off – he had been with us at the Adega – he has been mayor for twenty years and unlike our mayors, his role is far from nominal, as he is elected and in these parts, that means 100 000 potential voters to be wooed. We didn’t realise, until we disembarked, that he had paid all our fares, for the trip… he gets my vote!

After we had posed for more photos, we set off under the sailsmanship of a man whose principal role was in sub- aqua, it seemed. He proved to be a great guide on the trip, his name, appropriately, was Santiago. I love working harbours and hereabouts the Mussel industry dominates the Ria. 

These are the second biggest Mussel beds in the world, there are nearly three thousand of these platforms, all worked by families – a lot of the harvest is exported to France and Italy. The boats have a small crane, with which to lift the cages of mussels – these are taken from anything like, five hundred ” strings”, dangling down from the platforms.

There are several nature reserves, both on the banks of the river and on islands – the warden of one of major habitats came out  and wished us a good voyage; friendly wave from a fisherman, too.

There are numerous stone crosses, situated on both banks, along the way, dating from the early 19 th century; placed to guide pelegrinos towards Padron. In those days, it was the preferred way to travel. We preferred it too…. a 27 km boat journey, rather than a 28 KM walk.
Lots of birdlife, Cormorants and Royal Herons abound. Nearing our destination, as the river narrowed, two more historical points of interest – the remains of an ancient fort, strategically place on the narrowest neck of the river and two replica Viking ships.
More recently, Nestle have set up a big plant, opposite a huge milling foundry.
We docked at Pontesecures – a Roman site at one time – Pontesecures means ” Caesar’s Bridge”, which now carries ” legions” of pelegrinos up from Caldas de Rei, on the orthodox Portuguese routes, into Padron. It was time to say farewell to our navigator and carry on across that very bridge.

This is the end of the Spiritual Variante, which will doubtless grow in popularity, in much the same way as  the Portuguese routes.
A memorable detour.