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Published: June 29th 2015
Do not be fooled by the photos, we have not been to the Caribbean! The Cíes Islands are a small archipelago at the entry of the Ría de Vigo. They are part of the National Park of the Atlantic Islands and they have access restricted to a certain number of people a day to preserve the flora, fauna and beauty of the place. The only way to stay overnight there is staying in the one and only camping (or if you have your own boat) and you need a reservation in advanced or you won't be allowed on the boat from Vigo.
The archipelago is just 2 hours away from my hometown but I have managed to somehow not to go there in all my years (however, this is not that bad, since as I was talking to the parking attendant in Vigo and he told me he had only been there last year for the first time in his life! He can see the islands from his work place but never thought of going until he found himself a girlfriend from landlocked Madrid and she made him go).
I don't like boats, but have
a fascination with islands, which is, at least ironic. I think islands are little worlds of their own, where weird and wonderful things live and happen, it's just too bad that you need to travel by sea to get to them!
The camping is on Illa do Medio which, as it name indicates is the one in the middle. The South and Middle island are united by a small man made bridge which leaves a small lagoon between the open ocean and the beach. This lagoon is referred to as a "natural aquarium" and lots of fish and crabs can be seen as you walk on the bridge. Ella was fascinated by them and we even managed to see a cuttlefish, which is already something special to encounter while scuba diving, let alone while walking on the surface!
Dax and I were looking forward to this weekend as it was going to be the first time camping for Ella and I have to say that she loved it! She enjoyed so much being on the tent that she would go inside at every opportunity, even though it was quite hot, as all
Clear blue waters
This may look like the Caribbean, but it's actually the North Atlantic! the shady spots for the tents were already taken when we arrived. At night was a bit difficult because, when Ella sleeps, she moves around like a tornado and I woke up many times with her little feet on my face, or being kicked in the back or legs. It was about midnight when she finally fell asleep (also because it only gets dark at nearly 11 pm!) and woke up the next day at 7 am!
The next day, we decided to go for a walk after breakfast before it got too hot and tried to get to the lighthouse but Ella feel asleep on Dax's arms so we turned around; half way back, she woke up so we turned around again and, with a great effort on all parts, we made it to the lighthouse where there were lots of seagulls with chicks. Dax had to carry Ella most of the way, but it was worth the trek.
Too soon it was time to go back and we agreed that we must return one day, maybe during the week instead of at the weekend, because the islands really are a beautiful place
and I guess they can be enjoyed even more with less people around, although I have to say that everybody was very respectful and there weren't noises at night or rubbish left around (there are no bins in the island and you have to take your rubbish back to the mainland with you).
28 HORAS EN EL PARAÍSO
¡No os dejéis engañar por las fotos!, no hemos estado en el Caribe. Las islas Cíes son un pequeño archipiélago situado a la entrada de la Ría de Vigo. Son parte del Parque Nacional de las Islas Atlánticas y el acceso está restringido a un cierto número de personas cada día para preservar la flora, la fauna y la belleza del lugar. La única forma de poder pasar la noche es quedarte en el único camping (o tener tu propio barco) y se necesita una reserva o no te dejan ni subir al barco en Vigo.
El archipiélago está sólo a 2 horas de mi ciudad natal, pero hasta ahora nunca lo había visitado (aunque esto no está tan mal si me comparas con uno de los trabajadores del parking
en Vigo, que me confesó que la primera vez que había visitado las Cíes fue el año pasado, y sólo porque tiene una novia madrileña y ella quería ir).
No me gustan los barcos pero, sin embargo, tengo fascinación por las islas, lo cual es por lo menos, irónico. Creo que las islas son un mundo propio, donde cosas raras y maravillosas viven y suceden, pero ¡es una pena que haya que viajar por mar para llegar hasta ellas!.
El camping está en la Illa do Medio que, como su nombre indica, está entre la Illa do Norte y la Illa do Sur. Las islas Sur y do Medio están unidas por un puente artificail, que deja una laguna entre la playa y el océano. A esta laguna la llaman el "aquario natural" y se pueden ver muchos peces y cangrejos mientras caminas por el puente. Ella estaba fascinada por los peces e incluso pudimos ver una jibia, lo cual es raro cuando buceas y mucho más aún desde tierra firme.
Dax y yo teníamos muchas ganas de que llegara este fin de semana porque era la primera vez que nos
íbamos de camping con Ella y he de decir que se lo pasó estupendamente. Le gustaba tanto la tienda de campaña que entraba en ella cada vez que podía, aunque dentro hacía mucho calor, ya que todos los sitios con sombra donde poner la tienda estaban ya cogidos cuando llegamos. La noche fue un poco difícil porque Ella no para de dar vueltas y me desperté varias veces con sus pies en mi cara o dándome patadas en las piernas y la espalda. No se durmió hasta pasada la medianoche y se despertó a las 7 de la mañana, con lo cual estuvo muy cansada durante todo el día y se quedó dormida en brazos de Dax mientras intentábamos llegar al faro.
Cuando llegó la hora de marcharnos, decidimos que algún día volveremos.
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non-member comment
guauuu
Precioso spot...me encantaria conocerlo...y ademas se os ve muy bien...que gusto!!! y porque solo 28 horas? no se puede mas?...que suerte seguir teniendo lugares asi tan cerca... besos a todos!