Our second season on Galician Rías had started. From our experience we knew that every afternoon, the north wind Nortada will arrive like a clockwork. Thus, we were not in any hurry and we took it easy until the afternoon. As soon as there were signs of the wind, we weighed the anchor and turned our bow towards the bay of Vigo. This was one sweet downwind sailing. In total the canvas was up for 25 nautical miles from the total length of 27 miles. Wow, what a start of the summer sailing!
Rías Baixas consists of four bays, all of which we already sailed on previous summer. The bay of Arousa, where Suwena was wintering is the biggest. The bays from north to south are Muros e Noia, Arousa, Pontevedra and Vigo. This time we passed Ría de Pontevedra and headed directly to the bay of Vigo. Next day we have a work appointment in Vigo. However, we still wanted to experience another location on the bay of Vigo, thus we chose the marina in the town of Cangas on the north shore of the bay.
We got lucky. The marina of Cangas is rather small, and we got a penultimate free berth for Suwena. Cangas is a charming small town with the population of 26000 that is located on the comarca of Morrazo. Morrazzo is part of the Galician province of Pontevedra and it is located between the bays of Pontevedra and Vigo.
The city of Vigo have been growing around various industries. Quite a few people are commuting from the sunny (northern) side of the bay to work in Vigo by crossing the bay over 1600 meter long bridge of Rande. The bridge was built in 70s and it cuts the distance by half by removing the need to drive all around the bay. We also drove with Patricia from Cangas to Vigo. About 30 kilometer long trip passed quickly chatting while the Sun was glittering on the bay.
After active workday Patricia proposed an afternoon scenic drive to Morrazo area. The views from the hills were breathtaking, alternating between the bays of Pontevedra and Vigo. We ended up at the end of cape Cabo Home that is also a natural reserve where we enjoyed the magnificent sunset over the Atlantic Ocean.
Next to the viewpoint was the restaurant of La Caracola and we sat and enjoyed of each other’s company and glasses of the best Galician beer, Mille Nueve, after successful workday while the Sun beautifully set into the sea. The islands of Cíes were glowing invitingly in the afternoon sunshine. If only we could be there soon as on previous year we had to change plans due to the weather.
On Friday we criss-crossed on the streets of Cangas. Most importantly we enjoyed the small-town feeling. In the old town we climbed streets up and down and found terraces built on top of the streets like in Combarro. We passed from one alley to another and in every square we heard the happy Galcian chatter as people were meeting and greeting each other.
We also had a long walk along the coast. The road just kept going and going, one beach changing to another. The atmosphere was really quiet and relaxing, small-town like while we could see the city of Vigo on the other side of the bay at about three kilometer distance.
Now we have visited two marinas on the bay of Vigo: Real Club Nautico in Vigo and now here in Cangas. We definitely liked Cangas more. It felt like arriving at our own home harbor. If you plan to stay in marina in this area, this is a nice place, indeed. Many sailors only quickly stop here on a way to the islands of Cíes but we recommend to have some time for staying in Cangas as well.
