West Galicia - Mejillones

The west coast of Galicia is very different to the north coast because it is more developed, both as a holiday area and with small pockets of industry. The climate is more favourable than the windswept rugged north. There were a series of cove like beaches on the Rias with a number of fishing ports. We drove round the Rías Pontevedra and Vigo, both are big mussel farming areas. Rias are basically sea inlets, a bit like Norwegian fiords. We watched a couple of mussel boats come in from harvesting the mussels at Porto de Aldán. The mussels are grown on ropes hanging from hundreds of wooden platforms moored in the Rias. The mussels were cleaned and sorted, put in net sacks and loaded onto waiting lorries that proudly proclaimed they were carrying 'Medjillones de la País Gallego.'