It's been months since I enjoyed the town of O Grove (Galicia) and its surroundings, but I wanted to wait to write this post to let time pass and take advantage of the writing moment to return virtually to this beautiful place in Spain.
The peninsula of O Grave, is a small peninsula of 21 square kilometres located in Galicia, specifically in the Arousa estuary.
As most of its beaches are located in the estuary, the water temperature in summer is very pleasant and makes it a holiday destination for those of us who do not like crowds and at the same time want to combine beach days with concerts, gastronomic tourism and wine tourism.
In the last 10 years I have visited this area to spend the summer four times, on the previous occasions I had always stayed in a hotel, but there are many campsites in the area which are a very attractive option.
However, on this occasion my friends and I booked a holiday flat in April at a very attractive price of 300 euros for four nights.
The flat was 5 minutes from the city centre and had all kinds of amenities such as a large kitchen, two bathrooms, three bedrooms and a spacious living room.
I loved the flat with its decor and spotless cleanliness. The cost was very economical for all the amenities, including high speed internet via Wifi, as I wanted to continue to publish my daily post during those days of holiday.
As I mentioned before, O Grove is a peninsula located in the Arousa estuary and, therefore, it is a privileged place with many fine sandy beaches where you can enjoy the beach, but without the stress of the beaches of the Mediterranean.
One of the most important beaches in O Grove is the beach of San Vicente de O Mar.
This beach, although it is not the largest on the peninsula, is one of the most famous beaches because from it you can see some of the Atlantic islands such as the island of Ons.
Near the beach, there is a small viewpoint where there is a sculpture in honour of the volunteers who cleaned the beaches of oil after the sinking of the supertanker Prestige off the coast of Galicia a few years ago.
At the foot of the beach there is a charming beach bar where on weekend nights during the summer months there are live music concerts.
And it is without a doubt a place to enjoy with friends the beauty and peace of the sea at sunset.
However, the beach that I like the most in O Grove, is a small cove that has very little affluence, but that is undoubtedly a small oasis.
On this beach, you can enjoy the best sunsets in Galicia with the tranquillity of not being too busy because it has a small car park and 200 metres away there is a larger beach where most tourists go.
I fell in love with this beach from the first moment, because it has a couple of rocks that, playing with their perspective, remind me of a whale.
And there is a beach bar at the foot of the beach where you can have a beer.
And you can eat some tapas at a very cheap price.
Very close to the town centre of O Grove is a small island called Isla de la Toja.
On this island there are several hotels offering thermal water treatments.
However, what attracts me most to La Toja are these three activities
Donkeys are an endangered species and seeing 3 donkeys in semi-freedom in the bush of this small island is one of the visits I always recommend.
I love to walk around this small island in the mornings to breathe the pine-scented air mixed with the smell of the sea.
At the same time, in the middle of the mountain there is a small hobbit village.
With the possibility of entering these small houses.
And also to be able to enjoy a place reserved for small native birds of the area.
Another of the island's attractions is the peculiar shell chapel.
It is completely covered in scallop shells, which makes it perfectly insulated from the inclemency of the weather, and also gives it a distinctive and peculiar touch.
At the same time, in the surroundings of the chapel we can see practically the entire estuary and see how the sea practically enters the hills of the nearby hills.
One of the highly recommended activities is to visit some of the white wine cellars, denomination of origin Rías Baixas that are in the area.
In my case the winery we visited was the Martin Codax winery located 10 kilometres from O Grove.
In this winery we were explained the tradition and the meticulous elaboration of the wines of denomination of origin rias baixas, being able to visit the area of manufacture of the wine, but I had a mishap with the camera and I lost the photographs of this part of the visit.
But what I liked most about the visit was that during the visit we were shown how to do a wine tasting.
During this tasting they explained to us how to differentiate three wines according to their colour and aroma, depending on whether it was a younger wine or one that had been aged in oak barrels.
They also explained how each wine was best paired with different types of dishes.
These small appetizers were delicious, as was not to be expected when using seafood caught on the coast just a few metres away.
One of the star activities if you visit O Grove is to go to the port and buy a ticket for one of the catamarans that visit the estuary and serve food on board.
On this occasion, because my friend Miguel gets seasick on the boats, I was accompanied by my friend Eduardo.
During the trip, the first thing they offer each group is a bottle of white wine, what better drink to cheer them up.
During the trip along the river you enjoy the scenery and the mussel rafts, which is one of the economic activities of the area.
It is therefore not surprising that the first course in the restaurant is a tray of mussels for each person.
The smell of these mussels, or the fact that the tourists are already known to the seagulls, causes them to approach the catamaran.
Even being skilful enough to make a clip out of the mussel shells allows you to feed them and get pictures like this one.
Next, the second course was my weakness as we were treated to some oysters. As they are cooked, they have nothing to do with raw oysters.
And to top it all off, a seafood paella that was beyond belief.
And with so much to eat, those who are not afraid of digestion problems could take a dip.
Or stay on the boat and enjoy a delicious local liqueur with dessert.
Undoubtedly, the best time to visit this part of Spain and Galicia is the 23rd of June, because all along the coast of Galicia there are many festivities in honour of St. John with the corresponding bonfires near the beach.
But before the bonfires are lit at 00:00 on the 23rd and 24th of June, in many places, such as O Grove, there are popular festivities with live music.
But the main attraction of these festivities is being able to enjoy the local gastronomy such as good grilled meats or grilled sardines at special prices affordable to any pocket.
In addition, the bonfires are also used to launch fireworks, which is a good ending to a night of festivities and also to this post, which I hope has not been too long.
Best regards.
Own photograph taken with my Sony Alpha 6000L and iPhone SE.
Cover, separators and banner created with www.canva.com (free version).
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version).
