Today we had planned to do part of the Ruta de Los Miradores along the north coast of Galicia. It rained a lot in the night, and another van turned up.In the morning it was extremely foggy, so not the best conditions to visit a lot of viewpoints!! Fortunately, things improved as the day progressed!
Our first stop was San Andrés de Teixido. This was a beautiful, picturesque little village with a very rural church, the inside of which was an interesting contrast between the ornate altar and the rustic interior beyond that. I went into the local shop hoping for bread and it was full of souvenirs. I opted for a small bottle of locally produced nougat liqueur as it was the sort of shop where you felt that you should buy something, especially as we were the only tourists in the village!! At the top of the hill was space for loads of coaches, so you could imagine how crowded it would be in high season. We stopped in the only café which looked open and had the most giant croissant that we’d ever seen! This was from a local bakery which delivers to all the villages. It kept us fed until about 5p.m. The lady had always lived there and said that it got very busy in high season and that Spanish tourists timed their visit to coincide with midday mass in the church.
We carried on along the coast in thick fog to the next stopping point, Cruceiro de Teixedelo, where there was a plaque dedicated to the actor Leslie Howard, amongst others, who died there in 1943 during WW2, when the plane he was travelling on was shot down by the Luftwaffe. He was rumoured to have been involved in spy operations.
We then headed for Cabo Ortegal, but the hills were so steep that we had to divert for fuel. The fuel gauge was reducing by about a mile per 200 metres, so we made a detour to calm our nerves! But then we had to drive through some very narrow streets! We then drove back to Cabo Ortegal, by which time the fog had cleared and we could see the beautiful view and rocks with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Cantabrian Sea to the east. This is apparently a top spot for the study of migratory birds. The stretch of coast beyond this has the highest cliffs in continental Europe, so the scenery was very dramatic.
Finally the sun came out and this was perfectly timed for the next two stops, which involved more walking. The first was
Loiba, where we went down some steep steps past lovely flowers and abandoned boats. There were great rocks and the quartz was nicely highlighted in the sunshine.
We drove on over a bridge with lovely sandy beaches into Lugo province. Our final stop was Punta Socastro ( otherwise known as Fiucino do Porco – Pig’s snout due to its shape on the map). Here we walked through a eucalyptus forest which opened to a sea view. There was then a half hour walk along a wooden walkway over the rocks, with gorgeous views in all directions. Luckily this coincided with the dry part of the day!!!
Our camping spot was supposed to be Viveiro, just a little while on from there. Just as we got confident not to pre- book, however, we got to the campsite and it was shut, along with a few others nearby. There was a parking area for motor homes with electric plug-in, but it was pretty soulless and we wanted somewhere with proper facilities.
Dave used the app park4night and found one in a farm (Granja Casecha) about an hour’s drive in the direction we wanted to go that was open all year. It had very positive reviews. The heavens had opened again by now! We got there at about 5. There was plenty of space, the bathrooms were lovely and clean, there were great laundry facilities and we could even buy some of their home-grown produce which they were preparing for the next day’s farmers’ market in Ribadeo. I got some honey from their hives, some strawberries and eggs. We had dinner out of a can in the van!
Beautiful! Hope it was worth it 🙏
Wonderful, thanks!
That os a big croissant…. unless you have very small forks 😉. Beautiful scenery, kind of a Spanish Cornwall.
The whole coast is like Cornwall but on a much bigger scale (and apart from one beach) with far fewer people !!!
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Hello, I’m finally catching up on your blogs. All so very interesting and wonderful photos. A bit more sun wouldn’t go amiss. Some of the coastal photos reminded me of Cornwall. So lovely to meet up with your friend from Uni’ and meet her parents. Lots of food still featuring in your daily journeys. I’m just off to make porridge for my men for supper . A bit tame compared to what you are eating. Porridge followed by Have I got News for You. You’re not having all the fun . 🙄
Love A. S xx