(08-11-10) In our tour through the Galician estuaries, this time  we sail in the Ria de Noia, and visit the Castros of Baroña in Porto do Son, where we dive among Celtic remains.

    Maybe some of you do not remember it, others may have not read it yet, but in my last dive with Mergullo Compostela I had told you that this company was going to be important in scuba diving.

    The last time I dived with them was almost a year ago, so, when I received a message from Marcelino inviting me to dive with them in the Castros de Baroña, I said yes immediately, without thinking. I know this dive was not going to leave me indifferent.

THE CASTROS

    In the small village Baroña, belonging to Porto do Son, there is a rocky peninsula where the sea hits strongly. It is there where the famous “Castro de Baroña” is, where Ancient Celts, the first people living here, stayed from the 1st Century b. C. to the 1st Century a. C.

    There is only one entrance to the Castro from inland. There are some stairs between a dry wall 4 m wide. Inside of it there are twenty oval or circular dwellings with a big square in the middle. It is what we call Castro today.

    The sea, with its strength, besides the complexity of the rocky area, was the first line of defense in this village at that time.

    A great sense of nostalgia strikes me every time I go to these places. It is completely impossible to walk here without thinking on how life was here, with these people full with life and afraid to die in a time with many wars and fights for a piece of war that they defended with their lives.

    Still today and with the clothes we have, not many people could stay here in one stormy night, with 0ºC, winds at 100 km/h and 4 m high. waves hitting the rocks near their house. Imagine staying here just one night in a tent during a storm.

How to dive in the Castros

    Here, although we can dive going from land, I would not recommend it. The car park is 1 km up the hill, by steep paths among tree roots and stones. This way could be pleasant a normal day, but it is not with all the equipment on our shoulders. It is crazy, mainly in our coming back.

    Therefore, if you want to go dive here, I recommend you to go by boat. The perfect plan would be to contact with Marcelino to dive, and then, in the port of Porto do Son, where Mergullo Compostela has its base, eating some seafood in any of the restaurants, and in the afternoon go for a walk in the Castro, to know it from above. If you do not know this I guarantee you that this day will stay in your memories for ever.

    We had planned a very easy dive, for every one. It is a drop-shaped bottom with seabed made of gravel and sand that begins at 12 m depth and goes to the 25 m. The thinner part of the drop, the tail, is the less deep, and the deepest is the drop itself, made of biggest rocks as big as the wheel of a lorry that lie on the sand.

    Usually, there are strong currents in this area, and waters with a temperature one degree below the temperature inside the estuary, about 12-13ºC these days. In winter it will be lower...

    In the upper side of the drop, at 12-14 m. depth, we can find many algae, and many of them are “golfos”, as we call them here. Among them and the rest of the algae that cover the rocky area where we are, is where we have more possibilities to meet nudibranchs, small crustaceans and some cuttlefish searching for preys.

    Answering to a question of the previous article, I will say that in Galicia, as there is many life and of all sizes, the best, unless to me, to avoid missing a Picture and have a really good time is to have a lens for every place or a compact camera. I have a 17-70 with macro. It is not a wide-angle lens or a extreme macro, but I can do a bit of everything.

    Following with the drop-shaped bottom, going to any of its sides, we will go down next to vertical walls with 3 or 5 me of fall that ends in a step over which you will meet small wrasses that will receive you friendly.

    From here you will get the deepest area very easily. The rocks will lead you to the seabed directly, where, if you are careful, you will see in the small cracks where the rocks join those crustaceans with 8 legs and some fish that are not scared when we approach to them.

    Meanwhile, on the seabed, if we are lucky we will meet some lesser spotted dogfish, john dory, or even a common ray. Do not stay for long in the shallowest areas to have more time now, where we need time, mainly if we meet some of these fish.

    As I have already said, Mergullo Compostela will give us plenty to talk about…

    I dedicate this dive to my two friends Javier Santiago and Federico Bueno, who doctors have removed from diving. Although we can drink some bears when you want… We’ll miss you in the ship.