Saturday, the 4th of June: The sun was shining, again, and it was going to be another hot day in Vigo. Hmmm, we could just laze on the beach and burn ourselves to crunchy crisps, or visit the Toja Island. Imagine us lazing on a beach and doing nothing for a day. Hahaha! Not going to happen…The island is about an hour’s drive from Vigo where the highways are almost empty, which could be due to the “geez-another-one” toll gates (ka-ching!) After crossing the bridge and entering the island, we were amazed at how quiet it was. Quiet meaning no crowds, no circling block after block and praying for a parking space. We only left our car standing after numerous checks that it was okay to park there, and that it was really free.

This is a very unusual church and to some the only attraction to be found here. It is called Ermita de San Sebastián, and if you look closely, you will see that the whole facade, really everything, is covered in local sea-shells!! It is such a pity that people do not have respect for such beauty, because most of the shells on the bottom half of the church have names and graffiti on them. The church is situated in a small park which also boasts a playing ground for children and very large rose trees…

This promenade covers only about a third of the island and found near to the fancy hotels.

We also walked off the beaten track, more along the water’s edge. Here you can see the bridge in the distance, and the town of O Grove, the one nearest to the island. There were lots of fish to be seen in the crystal clear water, but unfortunately nothing near the couple in the photo…They did not seem to have a care in the world anyway…

The rest of the island with it’s beautiful gardens and walkways. La Toja seems to be quite an “exclusive” island for the rich and famous of Galicia, or other Spaniards. You notice this by the swanky houses and the high security, who patrol in and around every corner, so behave 😉  Seriously though, this is a place where we could easily retire too, it’s just so beautiful! …and suitable for and “old” couple like us. We could play golf and tennis, swim, fish, hike, ride the island choo-choo or simply just get pushed around…Perfect!

The trees are all huge, some are eucalyptus, and lovely to sit under and have a picnic. There are also various types of flowers to be seen.

…and not forgetting the fauna…uhm…these two donkeys were the only animals, other than barking dogs and chirping birds that we had seen…oh, and fish…

This was taken when we got back to Vigo. Nooooo…we only walked around for hours on end, exactly 8.4 kilometres in total (some-one has an app) so we were not tired…ZZzzZZ that’s why we still had some energy left to explore our very own beach…the one in front of our hotel…and look for somewhere to eat…