Spanish roads up to this point were wonderful. I may regret saying this later when we are more into the mountains, but our journey to Ribadeo was along a non-toll, well-surfaced dual carriageway with little traffic. We pulled off after about 2 hours for fuel (at just over €2 a litre even more expensive than in the UK) and a coffee. The transport café was of a type that we might have been nervous to enter a few years back – full of chattering and drinking lorry drivers – but we managed to order coffee and two enormous croissants without problem and enjoyed them while watching one of the drivers sneaking out with a tapa without buying a drink.
From discussion with visitors to the last Parador, a man and his wife touring on a Honda Glide motorbike, (“the limousine of motorbikes” according to him) The Parador at Ribadeo was modern and less interesting than that at Santillana. What it lacked in antiquity it more than made up with a large, comfortable room, with an enclosed balcony and a magnificent view of the tidal estuary with the blue waters receding every few hours to reveal large, sandy banks. If the view was not enough was watched, endlessly fascinated, at the ship docked just in front of us and the small army of cranes and lifters unloading what looked like matchsticks from our distance. We decided that this poor quality wood was probably destined to be turned into pellets for burning, although later discovered that it was more likely for use in making paper.
The Parador menu looked disappointing, full of fancy meals and heavy sauces, when we wanted something simple. We decided to be bold and asked the waiter if they would cook something other than the menu items and he told us that this was no problem. We had already discovered a seafood restaurant for lunch and were pleased to find that the hotel bar, again with magnificent views, had a variety of snacks. So one step further on the road to Spanish eating, with the plan for the next day a hotel lunch made to order at 15:00 and a small snack later in the evening. Let’s review tomorrow to see if this works out for us.