Cíes Islands and Vigo
It’s a fair amount of paperwork to navigate through to get a permit and permission to anchor at the Cíes Islands, but we felt it was worth doing. The islands are part of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, a protected habitat that’s home to crystal-clear waters, white sandy beaches, granite cliffs, and some of the largest seabird colonies in Europe, including yellow-legged gulls and shags. The surrounding waters are also rich with marine life, which is why anchoring and visiting are carefully controlled to protect this fragile ecosystem.
We found it reminded us of Herm from back home – the beautiful long sandy beaches, rugged granite cliffs, and the relaxed, island pace. Admittedly, one of our favourite parts of the day was when the evening ferry took all the day trippers back to the mainland, leaving the island quiet again.
We enjoyed some lovely cliff walks and swims despite the big swells all around the coast at the moment. The scenery and views were breathtaking. A highlight was our sunset walk up to Alto do Príncipe, surrounded by golden light which slowly turned to darkness, making the walk home more adventurous hearing only the sounds of the island at night.. and the kids moaning about walking so much 🤣
We definitely loved our time here, but next time we think we’ll try to visit out of season for a more peaceful experience, as it’s no surprise that such a beautiful island was bustling with visitors.
We were also contacted by a local journalist from Vigo who had followed our boat on MarineTraffic and ended up writing a story about our journey so far — much to the amusement of our friends and family back home. You can check out David’s article here for the full story.
(Open it in google to translate to English)
We then stoped in Moaña and Baiona (just on the outskirts of Vigo for a week, fixing a gearbox leak, refuel, provision run… oh and adopting a rescue kitten !
