When the sun falls on the retreat horizon, it gives us the most beautiful farewell, which is doubled if it also happens on the coast. The reflections of the last rays in the sea, the oranges of our great star and the changes in the sky touch our hearts. The wonderful thing about this free spectacle is that it can be enjoyed every day, unless there are a lot of clouds. Let’s see some of the best scenarios to end the day in a magical way.
On the O Morrazo peninsula, in Cangas, we find Cabo Home. It is at the foot of Mount O Facho, and is part of the Costa da Vela, which runs from the Punta Couso lighthouse to Nerga beach. The cape, in addition to its natural wealth (cliffs, furnas, dunes, vegetation…), has prehistoric vestiges, with many petroglyphs. Surely thousands of years ago the sunset was also contemplated from here, and I am certain that some ritual was performed in its honor. If we are looking for an original setting, we have to go to the Buguina de Donón, the work of Lito Portela, a sculpture-viewpoint reminiscent of the shells used by sailors to give signals. From here we can frame the image of the sunset in the helical structure of the shell, with the Cíes on the left and the island of Ons on the right.
From the Monteferro viewpoint, in Nigrán, we have good views of Vigo, Baiona and Nigrán, and one of the best sunsets in Val Miñor. On the other hand, on the way to the old military battery, on the way down to the lighthouse, there is a swing strategically located, to enjoy the landscape to the rhythm of swinging among the pines.
In Sanxenxo there are good sunsets everywhere, but in the area of A Lanzada, to the southwest of the isthmus that connects the O Grove peninsula with the rest of the O Salnés region, they are especially beautiful. To enjoy them comfortably we can sit on the Noalla bench, in Punta Faxilda. Here the panoramic view covers the Cíes, the island of Onza, Ons, Sálvora, Punta de San Vicente and, on clear days, as far as the province of A Coruña and, of course, the sun, the sea and the sky . There is another panoramic bench in A Lanzada, the one on the island of Outeiriño, in front of the hermitage of A Lanzada, which is not short either.
So far everything has been Rías Baixas, but the Costa da Morte has a lot to say about sunsets. Especially taking into account that from here, in the strip between Cabo Touriñán and Cabo Fisterra, between March 24 and April 23 and August 18 and September 19, due to the rotation of the earth, the Continental Europe’s last sunset. A great place to wait for it is the bench of Cabo Touriñán, near the lighthouse. It has the coordinates of its location engraved on the back: 43º03N – 9º18O, and the reminder of being at the westernmost point of mainland Spain. Here we say goodbye to the day among impressive views of the cliffs of A Gaivoteira and Laxe de Buxeirados. Another good place to spend the sunset is in Punta Nariga, in Malpica de Bergantiños, next to the most modern lighthouse in Galicia.
It must be remembered that the fashion for benches began with the Loiba bench. It is a wooden bench that has been at the O Coitelo viewpoint, in Ortigueira, and what do you see from here? Well, everything we have between Estaca de Bares and Cabo Ortegal, which is not little, with caves included and, at the right time, an impressive sunset.
The world of sunsets gives a lot of play. Nowadays, boat trips are even organized to enjoy the last rays from the sea, many times with a gastronomic offer included, for example, in the Ría de Vigo.
