GR57 - Great Route of Ria de Aveiro: Blue Route - São Jacinto - Sanctuary of Our Lady of Vagos

Between São Jacinto and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Vagos, the water, especially the salty one, prevails throughout the landscape. The route begins by crossing, by ferryboat, the navigation channel between São Jacinto and the Forte da Barra, right in the Port of Aveiro, in Gafanha da Nazaré. This navigation channel provides access to the more industrial port terminals. Continuing through Jardim Oudinot, where the Museum Ship Santo André is anchored, coastal fishing activities can be observed, with the trawlers and fish unloading at the Lota as the backdrop. And it is this channel of the Ria de Aveiro – the Mira channel, that accompanies us along a significant part of the route, on the paths of Praião and Canal up to Gafanha da Vagueira. The scenery of the ria, always different between the activities of gathering and cultivating bivalves, lagoon fishing, or even the practice of colorful nautical sports, contrasts with the agricultural fields inland, in well-characteristic mosaics of this area. One can then detour to Vagueira, the place of the “arte xávega,” where, nowadays, tractors pull fishing nets launched from traditional and colorful wooden boats onto the beach, or go directly to the inspiring Sanctuary of Our Lady of Vagos.

This route is promoted by the Intermunicipal Community of the Aveiro Region, with texts and photographs by its authorship and responsibility