The beach, the beach, the beach - with a little culture in between!!!!

After my difficulties in getting out to the Islas Cíes with my visitor in the early part of last week, we finally made it out there on Wednesday, although not quite as early as she would have liked. I think that my friend takes this holidaying business VERY seriously indeed! The earliest boat with available places left at 1.00 pm meaning that faced with a choice of returning at 6.00pm or 8.00 pm Heidy opted for the later boat.

This was no bad thing as it gave us chance to explore other aspects of the island as well as the beautiful beaches. So, having sailed over on a packed boat (although we did arrive early enough to get a seat on the top deck) we had a quick lunch and set off up the path to the Alto del Príncipe, one of the highest spots on the island.

Strange as it may seem, a long hike proved to be the ideal activity for the hot afternoon. The path led up through trees which provided enough shade to keep walkers cool and we did make fairly frequent stops for a rest and a drink of cold water – putting a bottle of water in the freezer overnight and taking it with us provided a source of cold water on a hot day as the ice gradually melted! (Every blogger should provide handy hints along the way!)

During one of our halts we were asked how far it was to the top. We answered that we were not sure but that we were resting. When we set off again we passed a couple of children who had been with the group who spoke to us earlier. With the confident politeness that Spanish children can sometimes show they asked us ¿Habéis descansado bien? and went on to tell us that we only had about ten minutes more walking to do to reach the top.

The view from the top is certainly worth the climb. Everyone and their grandmothers seemed to be up there with cameras at the ready. The walk from the shore there and back takes about an hour and a half, depending of course on how fast you walk and how frequently you stop and rest.

We still found time to go for a swim before heading back to Vigo once more on the boat. The water was fine and the sun not too fierce by that time. There is something special about a beach in the early evening and the beach on the Islas Cíes certainly did not let us down.

On the following day we decided to forego the pleasures of the beach as we had a date with culture in the evening. Mr Leonard Cohen was performing in the Castrelos Park auditorium and we intended to get good seats. Gates were opening at 8.30 and off we went, Heidy, Phil and I, to join the queue.

This was a much more manageable (and well-managed) queue than the one we had stood in with other friends in Santiago de Compostela but it still went on for some distance. This was not surprising as apparently some 20 000 people (even more according to some sources) found places to sit and listen to the concert.

Those of us who had paid our very reasonable 18 euros had seats within the inner circle of the auditorium but many more sat on the stone steps of the outer area. And Mr Cohen gave very good value too, playing for a solid three hours: not bad for a man who will be 75 next month!

There was inevitably a standing ovation for Halleluyah, which seems to have become the best known of his songs, but I preferred Take this waltz, his tribute to the Spanish poet García Lorca. There were so many songs though that it is impossible to play the which-was-the best-song-of-the-evening game. It was quite simply a magical concert in a wonderful setting.

I did wonder how much of the meaning of his lyrics was understood by this Spanish audience but his following here seems to be strong. In the queue I met a friend from one of my book clubs. She had come all the way form Ourense specially to see the concert. Many more must have done a similar journey as we found out later that there had been huge traffic problems as people tried to get to the concert venue and again on leaving. We had no problems of that kind as we strolled home gently at around 1.30, stopping for a beer on our way, planning a bit of a lie-in for the next morning.

That little luxury was not to be; the reformas on floor five started up again at about 8.15 and there was no staying in bed with that racket going on. They must have known it was going to be another hot day and wanted to get started before the heat did!

Nothing daunted, however, my friend was ready for another day on the beach. This was, after all, her last day in Vigo and she planned to make the best of it. This time, we caught a bus down to Samil beach where we took one look at the very crowded main beach and settled for one of the smaller beaches.

Once again the water was delightfully refreshing but I was not quite as intrepid as my persistent friend. While I had reached the point of sitting under the sun umbrella avoiding the sun’s rays, she was back in the water again and again and then stretched out like a lizard in the sun.

Finally, though, I pulled her, not quite kicking and screaming, away from the sand. Home, a shower and then down to La Porchaba bar for some very good chipirrones a la plancha and a glass of Albariño wine was the order of business. The next morning we were off for Portugal for a look round Oporto before she got on a plane on Sunday morning and back to the UK. Not everyone has the good fortune to be here for a longer stay!