Trepidatious traveller – camino blog

Total distance 833.5 km
Daily average 27.8
Today’s accumulated uphill elevation 606 m
Today’s accumulated downhill elevation 623 m

Today I have done something that I thought I would never do. Actually I have done something I thought I would never do quite a few times lately. But they were rather stupid and adventurous things, and this ‘thing’ is sensible and a bit of a letdown. I spent much time last night worrying about my next stage. If I had walked on to Ortigueira yesterday it would have been do-able, but I could see no way of splitting the long treck to Cedeira. I looked at the possibility of staying in a Casa Rural, but wasn’t confident that I could find something in a suitable location. I studied various wikiloc tracks and compared possible routes and eventually went to sleep still not having made a decision.

On awaking I once again turned to wikiloc and the track of a trusted camino forum member Alan – a track that started in Ortigueira. And then I saw something I wasn’t looking for, and I experinced a eureka moment. THE FEVE. I had encountered the north coast train many times on my journey, sometimes much too close for comfort, I had been tooted at and waved to by train drivers. The Feve was part of my camino experience.

And so, my friends, I have to confess that this morning I took the 08:37 train from Espasante and arrived in Punto de Mera at 08:51 for the princely sum of 1.65 euros. Not a long journey at 14 minutes, but long enough to take me past the mud flats of the estuary just beyond Ortigueira. This way I could pick up the trail I wanted to follow, visit the pilgrimage site of San Andrés de Texeido and continue to spend the night in Cedeira. Sorted!

I was initially unhappy with the decision to use transport for part of this Camino, but the more I thought about it the more comfortable I became. It almost seemed right and proper that I should use the train that I had seen so often.

Joining the track part way through caused me to stupidly forget that I had two options – following in the right direction, or the wrong one! And you guessed it, I took the wrong one. Luckily I realised before too long, but still added 1.5 kms to my walk. Back on track I remembered Alan had mentioned a long slog past a never ending quarry with lorries buzzing by every couple of minutes. I studied his route and could see an easy work-around that by-passed the main road with very quiet country lanes and also shaved off some distance.

I knew it was going to be a day of road walking, but these lanes were really quite pretty. I also knew it was a day of much elevation and there was a steady climb for pretty much the whole way, around 12.5 kms to reach an altitude of 442 metres. Alan’s track showed a peak of 499 metres (and accumulated uphill elevation of over 1,000 metres compared to mine at 606). Apparently GPS devices are not very accurate with altitude because atmospheric pressure interferes with the result. I am sure someone will correct me or elucidate if necessary – please do.

At this highest point there is a cross situated at a stunning viewpoint. There is also a memorial plaque to the actor Leslie Howard whose airplane was shot down off this coast by the Luftwaffe in 1943.

Alan had mentioned a short cut down to the village of San Andrés by way of a very steep narrow gully, full of rocks and stones and not a little running water. It was a long way down, almost 300 metres and very uncomfortable underfoot. I took it very slowly and carefully and hoped that I didn’t meet any cows coming up, as there was plenty evidence that they used this trail. I finally reached a meadow and sighed in relief that I could relax for a few minutes – until I realised that the entire field was under water, some probably quite deep and all under several inches. I really didn’t want my feet to get another soaking and I very carefully made my way across the middle where there were some stepping stones intended for people with very long legs. Once again, I made it without mishap which I owe entirely to the use of my faithful pacerpoles.

I finally reached the village of San Andrés de Teixido – a pilgrimage site where it is believed that apostle St Andrew drowned off the coast and was brought back to life. There seem to be an abundance of apostles who ended up in this area! It is an odd, tiny place nestling at the bottom of this very steep valley where they cater to tourists with brightly coloured painted baked dough shapes – I’m not sure of the relevance, but I bought some as a keep sake. I’m not sure how durable they are – maybe I will tie it to my pack and see if it lasts. There are also odd wax body parts for sale – hands, feet, heads – doll sized that I believe are used as some sort of offering.

I stopped at an appropriately odd bar for a beer and slice of tortilla before visiting the church where there is a most strange assortment of items left near the alter. I then climbed back out of the valley, also on a track closely resembling the one on the way down but without the water-logged meadow. What seemed like a verticle climb, but was in fact 200 metres height over one kilometre. At the top there were more stunning views of the coastline and then a long, long slog along the road for the ten kilometres into Cedeira.

I am staying in a hostal in the centre. It is ok. It was conveniently opposite the first bar I reached and that was good enough for me. 30 euros – way too much compared to last night’s good deal, but hey-ho, back to albergue life tomorrow. And that will be both good and bad, of which I will explain more another time. I have said quite enough for one day!

But just to add, when I left my room to find food I discovered it had been and still was pouring with rain, the streets were swimming. So I made a quick turnabout and changed my crocs for boots and added my rain jacket. I had been recommended by another forum member to visit the restaurant Mesón Muiño Kilowatio, which was just across the river from my hostal. I was instructed to order Marraxo which is baby shark. I did as I was told and didn’t regret it for a moment. Absolutely delicious. A tapas portion was enough to feed two for 6.80 euros. No wifi so this might not get posted until tomorrow.

Today’s distance is made up of 1.6 km walk to Espasante station and 24.9 kms for the main treck.

Total distance 807 km
Daily average 27.8
Today’s accumulated uphill elevation 290 m
Today’s accumulated downhill elevation 281 m

OK, so THIS is my real holiday. If only you could hear the sound from my bedroom window. Sheer bliss!

Last evening I ate at the bar O Forno, as I had done the evening before. I ate two of my favourite foods – the first night Zamburiñas (scallops) and last night calamari, both said to have come from the estuary. Both delicious and with great service. I can’t remember if I previously mentioned where I was staying – at Hostal Marina (20 euros), although it could just as well have been at O Forno. Today started with a fabulous power shower before leaving the delightful harbour village of O Porto do Barqueiro. I enjoyed my two nights staying here.

So I set off following yet another Wikiloc route towards O Porto de Espasante. After a few km’s on quiet roads I reached a beach. The route led across and up the rocks at the other side. I surveyed the situation and couldn’t see any clear path up the cliff, so decided instead to take a route more befitting my age and sauntered along the boardwalk to cross the inlet and join back up with the trail. Probably less than an additional kilometre.

Once on the cliff-top the views in every direction were stunning, even in the grey sunless sky. I really felt I was on top of the world looking down on creation. There were jagged rocky bays at very turn with a top-knot of bright yellow gorse and all manner of beautiful wild flowers, and birds singing their hearts out to be heard above the roar of the waves crashing into the rocks far below.

Today I would reach another of my objectives on this walk – ‘el mejor banco del mundo’ (the best bench in the world). Well, I passed plenty of benches on this walk and any of them could have claimed the title, perched right on the cliff edge, high above the pounding waves. When I finally reached THE bench, it was indeed in a marvellous location, but was not the best in the world for me because there were two couples present, both trying to out-wait the other in order to be there alone. I just walked up and took a few photos and left them to it. I had already sat on the two best benches in my world this morning. I imagine this one has the title because it is accessible by car, the others took a lot more effort, but worth every ounce of energy to be there with my thoughts and no-one else.

The actual ‘mejor banco’

About half way through the walk the trail once again led to and across a long beach. I studied the GPS image to try and see what the exit would be like, but once again, could see no easy means to navigate the high rocks at the other end. I started on the long, steep trail down to the beach. The path had been strimmed, so it must be well used, but the beach was a very long way down, around 130 metres and I didn’t fancy climbing back up if I couldn’t manage the exit. So I retraced my steps and found an alternative route through yet another eucalyptus forest and across farmland until I rejoined the trail. It was actually a lovely walk, but I did regret not trying the intended trail.

I finally came to a set of three beaches divided by two rocky promontories. The first was a doddle for an adventurer like me. The second one was a different matter altogether. Virtually sheer, sandy soil, with a rope to pull yourself up by. My sensible head took over on this occasion and said ‘No way, how ridiculous to even think about it. You are a 62 year old woman and carrying 10 kilos on your back and around your waist. How easy it would be for you to slip, and be over-balanced by your backpack’. So up I went, once again scaring myself stupid, holding onto the rope for dear life. After climbing about fifteen metres the loose rope was attached to fence posts, and then it ended and there was nothing to hold on to. That was really scary. I stood stock still and retrieved one of my hiking poles that I had stowed at the bottom and very slowly, very carefully made my way on up to the top. 30 metres doesn’t sound very high, but belive me, it felt very high indeed. And then when I reached the top it dawned on me that the way down might not be much easier. It was, a little, but still hair- raising enough – particularly the last slippery, boggy part that was running with water.

Top photo – three beaches
Middle pic – halfway up looking down (shouldn’t have done that!)
Bottom pic – still a way to go

I stumbled onto the beach with a racing heart and a huge sense of relief. I did say yesterday that I would probably do something stupid again in the future, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so soon. I am certainly pushing far beyond my comfort zone on this trip in ways I hadn’t imagined.

So I had arrived at O Porto do Espasante and I stopped in a bar by the beach for a well-deserved beer. Although my original plan was to stop here the night, that would have been after taking the round trip that I made yesterday. So now I was planning to walk on to Ortigueira, a further 11 kms. I looked on Google for accommodation which seemed to be sadly lacking, and then thought ‘why not just stay here, as I originally intended’. And so here I am, having only walked 15 kms. And the bar I was drinking in turned out to be the cafeteria of the rather nice Hotel Orillamar. I was offerred a room with sea view for 40 euros or no view for 30 euros. I have seen plenty of sea the last few days so chose the cheaper option and was handed the key to a room on the second floor – overlooking the sea. I went back downstairs (realising as I did that I had trailed dirty sand all the way through this pristine estabilishment) to check that I had the correct room and yes I did, for the lower price – how kind.

The view and the sound of the waves hurtling onto the beach just outside my window is so lovely. Now this really does feel like a holiday!

A little bit of information you may not want – after walking through all that wet grass yesterday I found a couple of tiny ticks on my legs, not much bigger than a pin-head. I don’t think they had a chance to start feeding on me, my skin must be rather tough by now. I removed them without much trouble, pretty sure I left nothing behind and it must have been within a couple of hours of them latching on. I wonder if I should see a doctor when I finish my walk. I did see a deer yesterday and I know they can carry Lyme disease.
Does anyone have words of advice?

Total distance 791.6 km
Daily average 29.3
Today’s accumulated uphill elevation 593 m
Today’s accumulated downhill elevation 607 m

I am writing this first part of my post whilst whiling away time before the shops open, which will give me a very late starting time. But as I’m not expecting to find any means of refreshment on my journey I need to make sure I have good supplies of food and water.

Today I really am about to be brave (or quite probably stupid). I am not only walking ‘off camino’ but ‘off the Ruta do Mar’. At the time of planning this adventure, my new friend and neighbour who writes for Lonely Planet just happened to be travelling in this area and posting a few highlights to Facebook. This inspired me to want to visit Punta de Estaca de Bares, the most northerly tip of Spain. In order to do this I am today heading for Porto do Barqueiro. I have found a wikiloc route that pretty much follows the coastline, with a couple if inland climbs. I have checked the author of the trail who has a lot of activity in the area so I am fairly confident that the trail will be safe. I suppose my main worry is that if I have an accident no one is likely to find me, but that would also have been the case yesterday. The whole day I only saw two cyclists on the track. Wish me luck. It is a far far bigger thing I do than I have ever done….

Well, if you’re reading this, then you will know that I arrived safely at my destination. I did think half way through that no-one knew where I was which was really rather stupid, so I emailed David with my start and end point and details of the wikiloc route that I was following (which if anyone is interested is wikiloc reference 4914061). David is not the sort of person to worry so was quite surprised to receive my email.

I joined the wikiloc trail about one km out of Covas and proceeded on a quiet country road steadily gaining altitude. After about 3 km I took a single lane side road towards Pardiñas. A couple of km’s further and I passed a series of large unchained barking dogs, but they posed no problem when I continued innocently on my way.

When I had completed 7 km I realigned with the Cantábrico red way marks (at this point the red way mark showed a distance of 3.3 km’s travelled, so my track was 3.7 km longer. I could happily have done without this extra distance, but the walk was pleasant enough. The trouble with the Cantábrico way marks is that there is no prior indication of the route they are taking. It turns out that I could have followed these directions all the way today, but I couldn’t have known that in advance. There must be a website for the route, but I haven’t managed to find it yet. Someone needs to post the individual stages to wikiloc or some other system so that someone like me can look up the entire route and decide whether or not to follow it.

Then came the rain, not heavy, but persistent drizzle forcing me to put on my pack cover and raincoat. It persisted for about an hour I guess, but nothing too unpleasant.

At around 9 km I took a zig zag through a eucalyptus forest on soft ground for 3-4 kms and then on to the N642 for around 1.5 kms before turning onto a quiet country road. As I was passing through a small village my GPS informed me I was off-track. It does this by making a disgruntled whoop whoop sound which triggers a quick look at the App and when I have returned to the fold it sounds an appreciative jolly bell. On this occasion I had missed a tiny narrow track almost indiscernible, with long (very wet) grass and weeds. Now anyone who walks will know that long wet grass will soak the boots and pants of anyone walking through it much faster than a downpour of rain can achieve. Not only was this track overgrown, it was downright bog-like and I was sinking into terrain resembling black quicksand that soon enveloped my boots. It was not the first time that I thanked my luck for leather boots, even if they are wearing down at the heels.

I had now picked up yellow/white trail marks, so we were all singing from the same hymn-sheet.

Having left the bog behind, I crossed the N642 again and passed back onto a eucalyptus woodland track. I had been wishing for a suitable picnic spot for an hour or more when I came to my first ‘WOW’ moment of the day. I was so glad I hadn’t been tempted to make do with a bench alongside the road. At the very moment that I was wowed by this fabulous view, the sun put in its first appearance of the day, albeit rather half-hearted.

Up until now, I think around 17 kms, the walk had been most enjoyable, but from this point onwards it improved by leaps and bounds.

The walk high above the beach of Xolloi, on a narrow wooded track a few inches from the sheer drop down to the turquoise waves was just magical and the last few kms through woodland around the headland were absolutely delightful.

I arrived in O Vicedo at 16:30, having walked 24.5 km’s, and stopped at a port-side bar for a glass of wine. The Cantábrico route finishes here and I am continuing for a few more km’s to O Porto do Barqueiro. My track clocked up an additional 4 or 5 km’s but I have enjoyed a fabulous walk and don’t regret a single footstep of it.

No need for ‘sea breeze’ fabric conditioner for this washing.
The three bridges crossing estuary between Vicedo and Porto de Barqueiro – vehicle, pedestrian and train

I am staying at the Hostal Marina and have a very nice, if rather small, room with very modern bathroom, including state of the art shower which I found it very difficult to leave. Cost 20 euros. This is a tiny coastal village, very charming. So much nicer than my experience in Covas Yesterday. Apparently I should have stopped a couple of km’s short in Viveiro where there is a hidden gem of an old town. If only I had known!

And tomorrow my friends, I have decided to give myself a holiday. I’m sure you will have heard of a ‘busman’s holiday’ (perhaps only if you are a Brit). Well, I am giving myself a pilgrim’s holiday. I have decided to stay here for two nights and walk to Estaca de Bares without my backpack. How about that! I have found a wikiloc circular track of around 20 kms. My back is due a rest as it has been aching the last few days, and I even resorted to taking a painkiller today. No trouble with the feet though.

The planning and anticipation of these last few days gave rise to great anxiety for this trepidatious traveller, but it has all gone without a hitch. So far an amazing experience. I saw no-one on the trail today, absolutely no-one. It was great. I am finding it totally relaxing, walking with no pressure about when I will arrive or if I will get a bottom bunk. I think I am a fairly laid back pilgrim – I don’t go in for the bed-race mentality. But this is something quite different – more expensive for sure, but oh so relaxed.

Total distance 762 km
Daily average 29.3
Today’s accumulated uphill elevation 426 m
Today’s accumulated downhill elevation 440 m

Last evening I called back into the bar next to the hostal and ordered agua con gas which was delivered with three generous tapas that served as my dinner. But there was no shop open to buy food for today so I set off this morning with alarmingly diminishing supplies.

But what a fabulous day! The first few kms were rather odd – the normal hike out of town and then a long stretch amongst commercial and industrial units. I saw some yellow arrows indicating a track through the woods, but immediately before this Forestman had taken the road, and as the track looked rather overgrown, I followed in FM’s footsteps. And actually this was fortuitous because I came across the most unexpected cafe tucked away between a factory and the woods. I was able to eat a very basic breakfast of toast and jam. This place must normally serve the workers, but nevertheless seems out of place.

The next few km’s passed along earily quiet country roads. There is a huge aluminium industry here and I guess all the many plots of industrial units along the way were to do with this trade. But there was no sign of life, no traffic, just really ugly seemingly unused buildings. It was like walking through an industrial ghost town. This area would once have been rich agricultural land and was now decimated with industrial waste.

I decided to part company with Forestman a few times today. Maybe he recorded his track before the Cantábrico way marks were installed, but he missed a great treat in several places.

Forestman’s track is green, mine is orange

I became more familiar with how the Cantábrico markers work today. Occasional signposts, distance markers every km, and red top poles before and after a change of direction, I presume before to alert you to look out for the after. Although this was not a foolproof system and I was still very glad to have FM’s track to refer to, I did for the most part stick with the red way marks today, and wasn’t disappointed.

I lost my nerve with the Cantábrico signs when I saw a yellow arrow pointing in a direction that would take me back towards FM’s track and away from the red markers. This diversion seemed to have saved me 3 kms in overall distance, but on reflection I really wish I had followed them. So from that point on, I did take the Cantábrico way every time, diverging from FM’s track quite a lot.

It was a fabulous walk through forests, high above rocky coves and sandy beaches, along deserted country roads and on soft dirt tracks.

I am writing this after walking 18 of 29 km sitting on a bench overlooking a beautiful white sandy bay with the waves tumbling white froth onto the beach, and the sun has poked its head through the clouds for the first time today.

I have eaten the last of the well travelled cheese, decided against the two day old open tin of pate, which left just a few prunes and some chocolate. Not the healthiest of lunches, but the best dining table I can imagine.

After many more delights and surprises I finally reached the first opportunity to stop for refreshment at a bar in Praia da Area, where I ordered a beer and was given a basket of crisps, a small plate of crabs legs, and fish empanada.

The sky turned blue somewhere between my lunch break and this last stop, and there is a brisk breeze to keep the temperature down nicely. Only three (it turned out to be 6) more km’s to my destination where I am hoping to buy something healthy to eat – I am definitely suffering from a fruit and veg deficit – I shall have to watch out for the appearance of scurvy!

I finally arrived at Covas after 29 km’s of mostly stunning walking. I have to say that the Cantábrico way marks and Forestman’s Wikiloc tracks are a match made in Galicia.

I am staying at Hotel Dolusa, which falls somewhere between overpriced O Norte in Foz and superb value Buenavista in San Cibrao. A rather tired good sized room, very clean, with a characterful host for 30 euros. I am not at all taken with the town of Covas, which seems to consist of a very long main road, full of bars, but without an open shop from which to buy supplies for tomorrow, either when I arrived at around 16:00, or later in the evening. So no fruit or veg for me tonight, or tomorrow unless I wait around for the shop to open at 09:30. A nicer place to stay would have been at Praia de Area, but that would probably have been rather expensive and have left another 6 km’s to walk tomorrow.

Total distance 733 km
Daily average 29.3
Today’s accumulated uphill elevation 68 m
Today’s accumulated downhill elevation 78 m

My friends, I have landed in pilgrim heaven, happy indeed – but more of that later.

Today’s accommodation puts the Hotel O Norte to shame. The room would have been OK for 15 or 20 euros, but 48? It was ridiculous. But arriving somewhere late on a Sunday afternoon leaves you open to rip-off. However it didn’t spoil what was a fabulous day. I didn’t actually leave the room, having spent that much on it I needed to get at least something in return. I dined on another serving of stale bread and well travelled cheese, tomatoes and chocolate (the fruit was all devoured at picnic time). I took the opportunity to catch up with blogging and passed through Foz with no real impression of what it has to offer (except overpriced accommodation).

I partook of the breakfast included in the cost of the room and ordered toast and fresh orange juice before making a leisurely start to my day at around 08:15.

I set off with the wikiloc track of the Ruta do Mar posted by Forestman. I have to reiterate how useful it is to have a GPS app to refer to. The Cantabrico signage has been pretty good again today, but there are times when a little additional help is very useful. Yesterday I completed the Cantabrico etapas 1 & 2, and today etapa 3 was to Burela and 4 to San Cibrao. I saw no camino signs today.

The walking has been mostly on various paved surfaces today, again well served with rest areas and picnic facilities. The cliffs hereabouts are smothered in Carpobrotus rossii (I had to look it up, I have some in my garden but didn’t know the Latin name, or even the common name come to that). Without the sun, the flowers are not showing at their spectacular best, but I am hoping that when I do have some sun, they will still be in abundance and I can blind you with their magnificence.

For days the weather forecast has foretold that today would be THE day that the sun would shine. But no-one told the guy in charge and my walking day began, and continued under totally grey sky. This is very good for walking, but not very good for the soul (and not very good for the photography).

Even I know a robin when I see one, but what is the bird on the left?

I passed many rocky coves, with fewer sandy beaches today, but still sufficient sand to keep an army of children happy. There were a few short soft surface tracks, but mainly paved walkways. There were also tiny paths that seemed to lead through gardens and despite following the Cantabrico signs and using the wikiloc app I do feel a bit like Dora the Explorer treading unchartered territory.

At one point I followed arrows to walk off road through soft woodland leaf-mould, alongside the train line. But the track came to an abrupt halt and my options were to retrace my steps for around 500 metres or walk alongside the rails for a couple of hundred metres. I walked on as fast as the stony ground would allow, but had to cross the tracks to reach the road above. Whilst crossing I tripped slightly, and just as the thought passed through my head of a leg-break mid crossing and a Chaplin-esque scene of an approaching train, at that very moment I felt the rails vibrate, although I heard no sound for a second or two, and before I knew it a train hurtled past blowing its horn at full volume. Could have been a close shave – luck of Maggie holds out!

Later, as I approached Burela and was enjoying a walk around the headland, the trail suddenly came to a barrier and was completely fenced off, due to road construction works. There was no indication of how to circumnavigate the works. But once again I could take a close look at the GPS to work out where I needed to go. It took one full kilometre to backtrack, cross the railroad, walk along the busy N634 through the middle of the town and get level with the point at which I had been interrupted, but then I had to navigate my way back across the rails to rejoin the path, which took another kilometre. The part of Burela that I saw was not attractive and I was very pleased to leave it behind and rejoin the coastal path, now along sweeping sections alongside a quiet road. There were a few kms towards the end of today’s stage that were entirely uninspiring, along a fast moving road in an industrial area, but the last kilometre or so was through pretty countryside that deposited me right into the town.

I felt a little fatigued today after my great effort yesterday, but made pretty good time to arrive in San Cibrao (also known as San Ciprio) at around 15:00. I found the accommodation I had booked this morning, but had to call the owner when I arrived. So I visited the bar next door and ordered an ice cold glass of white wine while I waited. Meanwhile the barman bought me two plates full of tapas and invited me to help myself – I didn’t need telling twice! The landlady turned up and gave me the choice of two rooms. I took the twin with tiny bathroom and magnificent view of the beach only a few metres away. The Hostal Buenavista is all that I could have wanted. Clean, tastefully decorated, and inexpensive – 20 euros. And the landlady is the most helpful woman. I can thoroughly recommend the place – telephone 982 594 086.

I have taken a lovely stroll along the beach and around the town and am feeling very relaxed. The feet are behaving well, no issues except understandable tiredness towards the end of the day. I have had a bit of backache the last few days, but nothing at all major. All in all, feeling good and strong.

Total distance 703.6 km
Daily average 29.3
Today’s accumulated uphill elevation 118 m
Today’s accumulated downhill elevation 99 m

I had an easy start to my new Camino this morning – turn right out of the albergue and follow the walkway around the point past the lighthouse and there were soon signs to direct me on my way.

In fact there were a plethora of signs, mostly relating to the ‘Camino Natural de la Ruta del Cantabrico’, and initially pointing the way to AsCatedrais which was high on my list of wonders to see. These signs state the distance to the destination and there are also kilometre stones increasing with each stone, and in between small red-topped posts, initially scruffily painted, and later much more posh.

But there was also a yellow arrow with the initials V M (via del mar, perhaps?) and one or two Camino style yellow arrows, none of which I was expecting.

I had downloaded Camino forum member Alan Sykes’ wikiloc route and was following it on my iPad. So all in all there was plenty of signage.

It was once again grey and misty, but not at all cold and no rain. I set off at a good pace, firstly on quiet roads and then onto sandy tracks leading directly to the cliff-tops. And that is where I stayed for pretty much the whole 17 km’s to As Catedrais beach. Even under a grey sky it was a wonderful walk. Just what I had naively been expecting all along el Norte. The trails followed the coast line religiously passing cove after sandy beach after craggy inlet, one immediately after another. There were plenty early morning Sunday fishermen up and about and the spring flowers were absolutely stunning. But the mist persisted and the sky and sea remained steely.

I passed a couple of interesting huge holes in the ground, presumably made by the sea coming underground. There were information boards, but I can’t remember what they were called, not the bufones (blow holes) that we passed much earlier on the Camino. These beautiful lilies were clinging onto the wall of the hole.

There was also a yellow arrow with the letters CS presumably for Camino de Santiago.

It was obvious when I was approaching As Catedrais because there was a lot of traffic around and a few coaches. A shame, as I would have loved to have the place to myself. But my timing just wasn’t great. The tide was on the way out but still too high for me to access all the huge rock structures (Wikipedia – As Catedrais beach translates as ‘Beach of the Cathedrals’. It is the turistic name of Praia de Augas Santas – ‘Beach of the Holy Waters’…… Its name is derived from the formations of its cliffs)

I stopped by the cafe above the beach for a cola cao and was charged an outrageous 2.5 euros for the pleasure, I made use of the facilities and went on my way. Soon after the sun struggled through the cloud and, although the sky remained dim, sea turned a beautiful blue. I guess if I had hung around for an hour the tide would have receded and the sun would have been shining and I could have taken some fab photos. But I didn’t arrive at my destination until 17:30 as it was, so it was probably just as well that I moved on when I did.

A short distance after As Catedrais Alan’s wikiloc route turned away from the coastline, but I was keen to keep following it, so I did a quick search and found a route that followed the Ruta do Cantabrico. I had already walked 17 km and following the coast would entail a further 21 km, rather than 14 km if I continued to follow my original wikiloc route. But I felt strong and I thought that I had been disappointed not to have seen more of the ocean on the Camino del Norte, and here was my chance and I should jolly well take it. It was a good decision for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk which from this point on was mainly on paved surface, but I found it very comfortable. There was some, but not too much, crazy paving, but with large pieces of stone that were not uncomfortable, and the rest was made of large slate tiles and was really easy to walk on. The track wound between cliff-top houses and followed every curve of the coast. I passed beautiful beach after beautiful beach. I took so many photos that even I got fed up with taking my camera out in the end.

I was very excited to see a new direction sticker about halfway through the walk and they were very much in evidence for a while and then ran out of steam. But there definitely seems to be a movement to promote this trail as the Camino de Santiago coastal route.

I stopped for a picnic of stale bread, very well travelled Brie (I have been carrying it for about 80 kms, but at least I like it runny), some fruit and tomatoes. Even the stale bread tasted ok in such wonderful surroundings. The trail is very well provided with benches and picnic areas and the paving must have cost a fortune. It really is a huge project to follow the coastline so truly.

I appreciate that I walked a very long stage today and that not many people would want to do this. But there was the option of catching the train (Feve) from just after As Catedrais either back to Ribadeo or on to Foz (I presume there is a station here). Then you could return to where you left off the next day.

After I had walked probably around 28 kms the buildings of Foz came clearly into view, across an estuary. They weren’t far away – that is if I could have somehow travelled directly across the water. But that wasn’t going to happen. The bridge to cross the river was 5 or 6 km’s away, and I have to say that some of this walk seemed to go on for ever, although plenty of it was through pretty woodland. I was glad I was following a wikiloc trail because there were a couple of points in the last stages where the signage wasn’t immediately clear and I could refer to the gps and save myself making mistakes. I am very pleased to have my new (second-hand) iPad with sim for lots of reasons, but for this one in particular.

This new adventure is going to cost me considerably more in accommodation than normal on Camino, because there are no albergues to stay in and the stopping points are holiday resorts so are more expensive anyway. I had found a hostal for 18 euros, but when I phoned yesterday to book, I was told that it was closed. So I have ended up having to pay 48 euros for the night. And I don’t like it one little bit. I am staying the the Hotel O Norte which is rather (very) old fashioned but it had piping hot water for my second bath in a week and I haven’t actually moved from the room since arriving.

Hopefully the wifi will be good enough to load the photos into this post and I can get if off before going to sleep. It will be good to catch up on my blogging. Lack of company has its compensations!