Ría de Ares

Redes is lovely. Narrow lanes with old granite stone fisherman’s houses blended with some highly decorated houses, many with the typical Galician glazed balconies. The café bar commanded the best view up the ría towards Pontedeume so we had to stop there for an afternoon beer and enjoy the village’s relaxed pace of life.

As we wandered around we noticed again that nearly every garden in Galicia seems to have a lemon tree. There are clearly no issues with finding a slice of lemon for the G&Ts in a Galician home.

Another great photo of BV by Oscar

We got out our folding bikes with the intention of cycling up the road to visit  Pontedeume. Oscar grabbed us and explained that there was a great path which followed the coastline through the woods which was a much more scenic route.

Following his advice we were blessed with some great views across the ría and its wonderful beaches.

The approach to Pontedeume was across the river on the old Roman bridge. A very scenic town with an old quarter full of character. There was the now familiar mix of smart, dilapidated, modern and ancient so there was always something new and interesting to look at at each turn.

We managed to catch a store just before it closed for the siesta period and bought the makings of a picnic and a bottle of wine, which we enjoyed in a garden under the imposing old tower which overlooks most of the town.

Once back at Redes we were invited to dinner with Oscar and Patricia in their fantastic old stone fisherman’s cottage with great views over the ría. It was amazingly generous of them, particularly as Patricia had to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to catch a flight to Barcelona. They treated us to a spread of delicious Galician wine and foods: Albariño wine, local cheeses, jamón, empanada, salad and crusty local bread with a tomato dressing. Over coffee and a traditional coffee liqueur, which Patricia had made, we learned more about the area, great places to anchor on our route south and some top tapas bars and restaurants to enjoy in A Coruña; our next planned destination. A great evening with great company.