Pontevedra Hotels

Torre do Rio Bed & Breakfast: Wonderful country B&B

The Textile Mill B&B -- We moved on to a little town in the countryside near Portugal called Caldas De Reis and stayed at a renovated textile mill, classified as “Turismo Rural,” and now a B&B complex. The Torre do Rio Bed & Breakfast has streams on three sides, a forest setting, and lush, groomed grounds. It easily became one of the highlights of the trip. All the breakfast pastries and breads are made on premises by a friendly and helpful staff. One of them even took the postcards I was writing to mail for us.

Throughout this part of Spain, when you ordered a glass of wine, the waiter pours out of the bottle at tableside and leaves the bottle on the table. We were charged for one or two glasses whether we consumed more or not.

We found lots of hiking paths and diversions in the Caldas forest area including a Roman pathway leading to a bridge and drinking fountain left from the occupation 2,000 years ago. We walked through the forest, along the Rio Umia, across smaller streams, found a large dam and lake, and followed a “Ruta do Vino” amongst lots of grape vines on the hillside.

Our pretrip reading indicated that we should expect cooler, misty, and rainy weather while in Galicia, so we brought the appropriate clothing and gear. It all came back unpacked due to bright blue skies every day, with some days not even a cloud. Cooler temps, in the 70s and lower 80s, with no humidity were a pleasure for us coming from Florida.

We did a day trip from the Mill B&B to the nearby towns of Rianxo, with a working fishing harbor, and A Pobra do Caraminal for the swimming beaches. When we arrived in A Pobra, we found crews of commercial clam-diggers working in the waters. At 4:00 pm at a signal from the leader, they all left and we enjoyed some beach time. Upon returning from a long walk on the famous yellow sands of this beach, we found that the high-tide had somehow snuck up on us. Our beach bag, towels, and change of clothes were all wet! A few beers and a little wine in a seaside café quickly cured all the issues.

Unique Quality: only about 4-5 minutes drive into Caldas.
One of the best places of our 3 week trip to Spain.

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Address: Caldas de Reis
• Related to: Historical Travel, Hiking and Walking, Architecture
• Written October 6, 2012

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