We set off late morning heading east through still slightly sleepy town in the general direction of the motorway bridge, knowing that we had to go under it to reach the Cargadeiro Ribadeo, one of the few things to pop up on the map as items of interest in the area. Apple Maps on the phone guided us along the last half mile of the walk and there it was: what appeared at a distance to be a rusty half bridge that had collapsed into the water. Actually it was an old cargo loading platform used to transfer minerals from inland onto ships, and was constructed of fine timber, offering at the end of its short projection over the water fine views into the harbour and out to see.
We had seen that there was a small park alongside the Cargadeiro and thought that a short stroll around the area would be all that was available, but instead we continued along a small road with a well made pavement that snaked around the point and along the coast, ending at Illa Pancha, a tiny island holding a lighthouse and small building. We crossed the bridge, joking that this would be a good place for a coffee and found that the small building was actually a hotel and that there was a small, but very smart café on the seaward side with smart tables and chairs and a glass screen offering protection from the wind. Unfortunately the café was closed, so we strolled back to town. After an overcast morning the sun was now out in a clear blue sky, so the photos on the return leg looked more promising.
In the toss-up between authentic Spanish bar and peaceful hotel bar with good view and only a few paces back to our room for a siesta the hotel won.
As the sun continued to shine, although with a fairly stiff breeze, we set out along the path in the opposite direction from the morning walk. The hotel sat alongside a ria, a sort of salt water fjord, so the constantly changing tides created multiple different views. The path initially looked less promising than the earlier version, but soon left the road and dipped down towards the water’s edge, eventually passing under trees and finishing with a small bridge leading to an island. The map on the board showed that this was a single path running from our morning’s destination, Illa Pancha, to this spot. This slightly shorter round trip gave us an appetite for a real dinner.
On closer examination the hotel dinner menu had various tasty looking options, so we went for a main course each with a bottle of Albariño. Amazingly, there was a vegan option available.