Legend has it that a sick donkey was abandoned on the island of A Toxa by its owner. When he returned to bury his remains, he was surprised to find the animal frolicking in some mud and fully recovered from the injuries it suffered. This event led to the discovery of the hot springs of the island, a fact already recorded in writing in 1899 by Emilia Pardo Bazán: “The Columbus of this new world of health was a donkey.”