Loving A Marola
The Mera lighthouse constitutes a privileged balcony from which to look out over the Atlantic horizon where the mouths of three estuaries can be seen: that of A Coruña, with the profile of the city behind the bow figurehead of the Torre de Hércules; that of Betanzos and Ares, which hides a gentle coast in the heart of As Mariñas; and, half camouflaged among cliffs, the Ría de Ferrol (see SCI Costa Ártabra). This landscape has the point of O Seixo Branco in the foreground, its vertical streak competing in whiteness with the sea foam, and the island of A Marola. Practically inaccessible like other small islands near the coast, it is an important enclave for birds.
The old lighthouse keeper’s house has been converted into a sea workshop in which visitors can learn about the ecosystems and plan itineraries. The coast is like a toothed saw, inlets and outcrops with space for beaches like that of Canabal or Portiño de Dexo.
“Whoever crosses A Marola, crosses the whole sea” says the popular poem about this sea route whose winds and currents are the cause of not a few bouts of seasickness.