Ribeira

We are anchored off the beach in Pobra do Carminal - it is a wonderful setting but we aren’t here for the beach - although we do have a quick dip there on our first evening.
Our itinerary here was already set in Muros over a week ago.
We had met an English woman called Maggie who was on a two week sailing holiday in the area. She told us about the Pozas which are freshwater pools and waterfalls in the mountains. I had a good feeling it was a recommendation worth acting on since Maggie and her partner have lived in Galicia for the last twenty years.
Ronan drops Colm, Ruby and me into town on the Dingy and returns to Régal as he wants to do some catch up work on the boat for the day.
We get a taxi up into the Hills until the road ended. The taxi man is very friendly and enthusiastic about our trip to the piscinas naturales and points us in the direction of the track. There is a map to show us 7 different Poza locations and remembering Maggie’s advice we headed straight for the one at the very end and at the top. We walk through beautiful Eucalytus and pine Forrest and pass the odd old oak tree.
It is getting hot and hilly and we hear voices and shouts of glee at nearby pozas. We all start to have doubts that there is any need to pass six perfectly good natural pools to get to another one but I insist we push onwards as that was what Maggie had said to do.
When we reach number 7 we are greatly rewarded with panoramic views of the valley and sea far below, it is breathtaking. There is cool water flowing down the rocks into an natural infinity pool and we dive in.
After our scenic swim and picnic we wander down the hill to see the other pools. The view of the bay quickly disappears and we back to the shade and smell of the eucalyptus Forrest. The next pool down is busy and the children favour a quieter spot so we carry on. We come across an unmarked pool and climb down some rocks to get to our own private piscina where we stay for nearly two hours.
Our final stop on the descent is the busiest place and its easy to see why. 3 large natural pools are interconnected over several hundred metres with cascades and little pools. We travel from one to the other climbing and swimming and sliding.
We have spent 6 glorious hours here and its time to return to the salty water in the bay.Read more