Vigo, Illas Cies, and La Cabeza

As Dale said we are back to work!! We have now completed 3 lines of the ~25 that we hope to cover during this second half.

Being at sea again allows me to look back at our extended stay in Vigo (Galicia). The port city of Vigo is a unique and beautiful place. The summer months are particularly nice as this part of the Atlantic coast is rainy most of the year. Vigo is just about 2hrs north of Porto (Port wine), which is in Portugal. The proximity to Portugal and the fact that in the past teaching the English language was not stressed within the school system leads to a population that speaks a mixture of Portuguese and Spanish, but not much English. As a result my (poor) Spanish was definitely put to the test as well as my ability to communicate using what are best described as elementary level sketches. 

What Vigoites lack in English they make up in hospitality and a relaxed outlook on life. In short, the idea of a "siesta" is not lost on them. While the bars (and there are hundreds if not thousands) are usually open, the restaurants do not open until 8:30 p.m., and generally not at all on Sunday. However, we did manage to find one that is, and it happened to have very good (and cheap) Tapas. Although off the beaten path it quickly became one of our favorites.

A view down the alley to one of our favorite bar/restaurants.

Vigo also has some amazing beaches! After what amounted to a 45 minute walk or a 6 Euro (~$8) cab ride from the ship we could either lay a towel down and get some sun or grab a drink at one of the bars that are literally on the sand. I was shocked to say the least in the shear number of people that were at the beach, and it seemed like there were more during the weekdays than the weekends. Must have something to do with the laid back lifestyle (?)

Playa Samil on a Tuesday.

The best beach (Rodas) in the world (The Guardian, 2007) can be found on one of three islands about 45 minutes (16 Euro, ~$20) by ferry named Illas Cies. The archipelago of Cies is also a Spanish National Park. An interesting thing about these islands is that they look like an above sea analog to what we are seeing sub-seafloor in the data. That is to say that they consist of a series of faulted crustal blocks (granite). The style of faulting is termed "Normal," which means that the hanging wall moved down relative to the foot wall. This type of faulting is indicative of extension and is expected along the length of this margin.

A view of Cies from Playa Samil with faults indicated by the arrows.

The part that we had been so patiently waiting for arrived after almost 3 weeks in this unique place. While I will not miss being in port, I am happy to have had the chance to see and experience this part of the world as it truly is a beautiful place.

Arrival of "La Cabeza" (the head).

James Gibson

Lamont-Doherty