A day trip from Cambados

After a comfortable first night in the Parador we set off for a day trip from Cambados to explore the Ria de Arousa and the Ria de Noia, starting with the Natural Park of Corrubeda.

Natural Park of Corrubeda

The Natural Park of Corrubeda is in a bay on the coast and covers 4 square miles. It is sand dunes, wetlands, and a belt of pine trees and is internationally protected.

We walked through pine trees and huge granite rocks to reach the beach. The wind was fierce and dark clouds over the sea promised rain at some point. We could see Corrubeda in the distance and then returned to the car over wooden walkways through the dunes.

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The park was a very promising start to a day trip from Cambados!

Ribeira

Chilled and blown about, it was time for coffee and we headed to Ribeira on the Ria Arousa. Although the town was not immediately appealing, it apparently houses the third largest fishing fleet in Spain, with a deep water port which services large fishing boats, and a busy daily market. The coffee, as always, was excellent, but the weather was closing down and it was time to move on.

Castro de Barona

Suitably fortified we left Ribeira to drive along the Ria de Noia. The weather was deteriorating and visibility was restricted – not quite what I had in mind – and then we saw a signpost for Castro de Baroña and stopped to look. What an amazing sight!

Castro de Baroña was first excavated in 1933. There are many of these enclosures in Galicia, not all excavated yet. Whoever inhabited these settlements enjoyed quite a sophisticated culture with interesting carvings and jewellery.

The noticeboard had an aerial view of the site: 3.Second Wall, 4.Gate, 5.Inhabited enclosures, 6.Necropolis. Nos.1 & 2 were the Defensive ditch and First wall.

The Defensive ditch and the First Wall were on a sandy neck of land joining the rocky outcrop to the main body of land. They guarded the entrance gate.

Inside the walls there are circular and oval enclosures, but no explanation about the purpose. It was very windy indeed and walking around was quite difficult, and the narrow path to see the necropolis seemed too dangerous in this weather.

The settlement was apparently abandoned because of damage by the sea.

We drove back to Cambados in the rain but eventually the day settled into a quiet evening. This is an interesting day trip from Cambados, even in poor weather! [Re-edit of article posted in November 2014]

Birdwatching in Corrubeda
The Dunes of Corrubeda – photographs on Pinterest
David Chipperfield’s house in Corrubeda