The Cies Islands, an exciting adventure in contact with nature
Rias Bajas Apartments: Live your own adventure in the Cies Islands
If you want an exciting adventure in contact with nature, here is my proposal: The Cíes Islands, recommended for scuba diving. The Cíes islands lie midway between the Vigo ria and the sunset, in the Galician Rías Baixas. Sailing towards the sunset islands is one of the greatest adventures the Galician coast can offer, made up by four groups of Islands, which have rocks on their West side and quiet beaches on their East side. These four groups are the Cíes Islands in the Ría de Vigo, Ons Islands and Onza in the Ría de Pontevedra, and Sálvora and Cortegada in the Ría de Arous.
Their history dates back to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, as primitive settlements typical from Galicia where found. Romans also left a trace in the Nature Reserve because Roman ceramics were found and some historians state that Julius Caesar was in the Islands. The Nature Reserve was populated until the 20 century and suffered pirate lootings, like the famous Francis Drake, who forced people to abandon the Islands.
The maximum recognition as a Foreshore National Park granted to the Illas Atlanticas de Galicia, which comprises four archipelagos, Cíes, Ons Sálvora and Cortegada, guarantees the preservation and the improvement of these highly exclusive but fragile ecosystems in the 21st century. There is no doubt that the thinnest sand expanses, like a mirror for the sun, and the best ocean waters can be found here, colder and saltier than in inner rias. In the Cíes, you can hear seagulls scream deafeningly during the breeding season on the cliffs open to the sea. They form the largest colony around our coasts, with about 22,000 breeding pairs.
The Nature Reserve has 20,500 acres, from which 2,950 are land acres and 17,600 are sea acres. From the boat that will take you there, you can see the still silhouette of three islands that often look like two. The Northern one, called Monte Agudo, joins the Illa do Medio (Middle Island), also known as Illa do Faro island (The Lighthouse Island) through the sand extension on the beach of Rodas, with the Lago dos Nenos in the distance. The Illa do Sur, also called San Martiño, is separated from the others by a channel which truly deserves its name of “sea gate”. In addition, there is a group of islets connected, below sea level, to sea bottoms of rich biodiversity, with large seaweed bushes teeming with shellfish and other gastronomy products within a protected area.
Flora
Pine and eucalyptus cover one fourth of the Cíes. Good preservation of the dunes. Presence of a dune bush known as “camariña” (Corema album) and of the spiny thrift (Armeria pungens). Furze abounds on the vegetation mantle. Mediterranean species such as the white broom (Osyris alba) or the wild asparagus (Asparagus).
There are rich sea bottoms, with over 200 seaweed species, especially brown seaweed of the Laminaria (kelp) and Sacohiza type, and soft corals such as the Gorgonia or common sea fan. One of the largest laurel groves in Europe lies in Cortegada.
Fauna
There are numerous world-important colonies of sea birds. Green cormorant (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) and Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans). Non-breeding presence of the Common Murre. Nesting, winter stay and resting area in migration times. Interesting reptile: the Iberian five-fingered seps (Chalcides bedriagal). Rich presence of crustaceans, molluscs and fish. Cetaceans can be seen.
Routes
There are no vehicles here, and the number of visitors allowed in the Cíes every day is limited to 2,200, which renders this area particularly quiet. In the two main islands, joined by a beach and a small bridge, all the paths are clearly indicated from the Rodas pier. The main routes take visitors to each of the three existing lighthouses. Combined with the two existing observatories, they make it possible to walk across the islands without entering the area which protects the cliffs and furnas from the northern end of O Cabalo to the southern end of Canabal.
Along the longest road to Monte Faro, southwards, besides the beach and the lake we can discover the A Campá observatory, located on pure rock and surrounded by the deafening cackling of seagulls. On the final section, before the zigzagging climb to the lighthouse, we can approach the pre-Roman castrexo village. Even if these areas are known as Siccas (”arid”) and are inhabited today, there are signs indicating that monks, hermits and fishermen lived here in the old times.
On the island of Ons, the routes start from the pier on the beach of Area dos Cans and the O Curro´s group of houses built around this pier. It is possible to climb to the vantage point of the lighthouse around the houses of the islanders, who traditionally made a living by selling octopus and shellfish until the mid-70s, when they started leaving the place. If you go towards the ends, you can choose to go northwards, to the solitary and beautiful Melide beach, or southwards, through several paths, all leading to Cova and Burato do Inferno, a pit-shaped furna where it is possible to hear the sea roaring in the bowels of the earth.
The boat tickets that will take you to the Cíes islands indicate the day and the time of return. There is no regular transportation service to sail from one island to another, but it is possible to go on tourist cruises in order to visit the whole ecosystems of the rias, and the mussel-breeding areas in particular.
If you prefer to witness production activities, the pier and promenade of Carril offer remarkable shellfishing lessons on its clam or cockle breeding grounds. They represent the only border of the Cortegada island, which displays its thick pine grove in the foreground.
More information
Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre de Las Islas Atlánticas de Galicia
