Del Mar 2025

Day -1 & zero

We left Guimarães after lunch (Ana left Lisbon in the morning), and drove straight to Ribadeo (about 4 hours). Staying 2 nights right in the city centre. Hotel Ros Mary is just fine (bit pricey at this time of the year). After eating some sandwiches in the room, we made a reconnaissance walk, and later had the usual vino tinto in a nice bar to mark the beginning of our journey. Next morning we had a leisurely breakfast, and walked around the city. Got a pilgrim menu in town and then, by car, we visited the highlight of this area or even region: the Playa de las Catedrales. I had been here 20 years ago, but it made an impression. Quite cool place, for which you need a permit in the summer to avoid big crowds. Afterwards, we drove back, crossed the bridge to Asturias, just to say we were there as well. In the evenning it was easy to find a central, safe and free parking place to leave the car for the next 13 days.

Day 1, Ribadeo- O Castro, 25,2km

Got up at 7am and since the café that was supposed to be open at 8am was still closed (normal in Spain), we started by packing some last items in the car. We came back to the cafe after 20 minutes, and were back in the hotel to start the journey, at about 9am. On our way we bought two bracelets to mark the start of the camiño and our departure. Skies were grey skies and it was windy. Not great for photos....

We passed Catedrales again, but without visiting, and by early lunch time we arrived in Rinlo, where there were big crowds for the gastronomy festival - percebes (barnacles!)! There was also crabs, mussels, pulpo, etc. etc... So we got 250g of percebes for 18€, some bolos preños (bread filled with chorizo!), one nécora (small crab) and some aquarius! After that nice meal on the rocks, surrounded with families, we walked along lovely beaches, grey skies, and beautiful landscapes. We stopped for coffee on the way, on a nice bar/pub/restaurant with a big garden. We got to Refúxio o Castro, a nice enough hotel, although overpriced, right overlooking the sea (our room unfortunately faced the mountain). My left foot felt a bit weird, but nothing major, so no problems! We had some food with us, so we eat it in the room, and went down for a drink before going to sleep.

Day 2, O Castro-Foz, 17,4 km.

We left quite late for pilgrims (after 10!) but breakfast was only served from 9am. The camiño goes along a serpentine path, although parallel to the wonderful sea....Got to the Ria of Foz quickly but as there is no bridge we had to go around in a total of 11 km. Nice enough walk, but we could feel how it was warmer as we moved away from the sea. We got to Foz at about 2pm, and went startight to the Hotel Foz. We did not like the old fashioned room, with no exterior window...quite expensive, but again, it's August and tourists abound. At 2:30pm we waited so long to be served at a restaurant, that we just paid for the tinto de verano and left! We went to another place and we had a great lunch, with salad and pulpo, more tinto de verano and finished at 5pm! As it was Sunday ,we bought a few things for dinner in a petrol station, and went to the beach just across the hotel, and stayed for a while seeing all the families enjoying the sea and the sand. The water was a bit cold, but it was nice to splash around! After dinner, what eles? We had a glass of wine in a nearby bar.

Day 3, Foz to Burela, 20km

This was a relativelly short, but sunny and humid day. The path and scenery are wonderful, and we passed great beaches. We stopped only once at a restaurant, but there was no food, so we waited until Burela to have a nice linch menu for 13€. They gave us two jars of tinto de verano, a nice pee soup & salad, raxo & codillo...wow! We were stuffed by the time we got to a nice airbnb with see views and also with a view to the lighthouse island (faro de burela). All day we noticed the strong coastal erosion, and the lack of pilgrims...Burela is realatively nice, and we had a nice drink and tapa by the sea. We had made some food shoppign earlier, so we had dinner in the kitchen of the airbnb and went to bed early.

Day 4, Burela to Prado, 30,2km

This was a long day with two different parts. We left early after having breakfast at home. The camiño is mostly paved, and there are many walkers. In San Cibrán (unfortunatelly we did not go to the peninsula nor the lighthouse), we had coffee (no tapa), got a stamp at tourist office, bought some chocolate and aquarius in the spar supermarket, and decided to continue (we had the idea that we could perhaps take a taxi to save some kilometres, but we decided not to - I never do it, and I was hoping Ana would feel good to walk, which she did). to Morás. Beautiful path along the ria, then forest and then a huge industrial complex: acero, aluminium. We manage to have lunch in busy restaurant, catering for workers and tourists passing by. It is the only one around here and it is quite nice! After passing Cabo de Morás, the landscape changes dramatically...it's more exposed, and resembles Ireland or Scotland...rough, ups and downs, windy, lovely. We passed island of Sarón, and went went as far as Portocelo Beach. Then we made a detour to hostel faros...It feels like a hostel but with hotel prices, but there are no alternatives here...there is a posh restaurant bellow, and we tought we could be noisy!! It was noisy alright, but from the banging doors and guests in the corridor. Owner (an Israeli young man) was nice, but the place was crap!

Day 5, Prado to Covas de Viveiro, 13km (21km)

The morning was quite wet, so we had a lazy breakfast at 9am, waiting fot the rain to stop. It didn't, so with full rain gear we started to descend the road to the empty Esteiro beach. There were no cafes open...perhaps it was to early. We walked along the coastal path only to switch to the road as we were making very slow progress. Rain sopped as we approached Celeiro and then Vicedo. With the sun, this stretch must be quite nice....We had a really tasty lunch in Viveiro - stew with pulpo head (tasted like squid) & chicken breast...tinto de verano, watermelon & coffee....and arrived in the Hotel Arenas II in Covas de Viveiro quickly. This was so much better than last night!!

In the afternoon, wearing my flip-flops, I walked back to Viveiro to see the lovely medieval centre. The weather wasn't great, but this is one of the nicest towns we encountered. At the end of the day, I walked 21km. Quite soft.

Day 6, Covas de Viveiro to Porto Barqueiro, 25,2km

This was one of the nicest days so far: stunning views to the beautiful Island of coelheiro, a lazy lunch at a well known restaurant for which we had to queue for a while (specially Ana as she shortcutted the way and arrived earlier than me). There were no bars or cafes on the way, but we are staying at a lovely hotel right on the port. At night we met Andrew and Pia, father and daughter from the UK, who are also walking, but wild camping!....great

Day 7, Porto Barqueiro to Espasante, 21km

We started early and took a taxi (the four of us) to the lighthouse and started from there back to our hotel. We walked to the northernmost point of the peninsula, and it was one of the best moments of the camiño. After 8km we were back in Porto Barqueiro and had breakfast at the marina cafe/restaurant. Went to the hotel, I had a shower, and we left at noon. We passed the beach where a party was being prepared, crossed the waterline and climbed rocks and went through the most spectacular part so far. Beautiful beaches, rocks like Praia da Ursa... we climbed a cliff with the help of a rope and arrived at about 4pm... This was a sunny day, and hot at times. It was difficult to find a restaurant at night, and we were not lucky with our choice. One of the least tasty meals of the camiño, curiously beside a Portuguese family!

Day 8 Espasante to Carino, 29,2 km

Possibly the worst stage, mostly flat around a ria. There was a lot of asphalt, although we managed to find small paths at times. Hot also. We made a stop in Ortigueira, which seemed nice and had an aquarius with good tapas. We arrived late and although the hotel seemed nice, they gave us a crap room.... mould, humid and stuffy. By chance we met Andrew and Pia again...they were goign to try and sleep around the lighthouse, 5 or 6 km up the road. We had a nice dinner close by (there was a pulpo festival in a square, but nowhere to sit)! Night was shitty in this hotel (room flooded somehow, and some of Ana's clothes were wet). We complained by WhatsApp that night but nothing happened, and there was nobody in reception (the following day I insisted in complaining, and after 1 month I filed a formal complaint, only to get our money back. Not what we wanted. We just wanted a quiet night).

Day 9 Carino a Cedeira, 27km...

This day was quite long and tough, although pretty nice. 27km with an accummulation of 900 metres up and 900 metres down! First part was incredible, with thick fog and extremelly windy. We reached an amazing viewpoint where it started to open. In San Andrés de Teixedo, we arrived just in time for a wonderful mass and also got a stamp. What an amazing and beautiful place. We had a picnic and met up with Andrew and Pia again, who had hitchhiked! Leaving Teixido, we walked up a very steep path, in great heat, and then reached a picnic area with many horses around. wqe then continued 8km downhill, on a road, and this was one of the warmest days we got. We arrived at a good hostel/hotel and I went straight to the sea. That night we had a wonderful meal of tapas and an icecream at Bico do Xeado.

Day 10 Cedeira to Taraza, 26,3km...

We walked with a small backpack as we had to return to our hotel by bus that evening (we couldn't find a decent place to sleep in Valdovino). Morning was quite foggy, but the afternoon was extremely sunny ...In the first part, we had too much asphalt, and it wasn't nice up to near San Ciao...then amazing scenery...wonderful beaches! I met Enrique, a former Erasmus student of mine, at the beach. What are the odds??? Patin beach is top, and so is Valdovino. At the end, at the lighthouse, we met our 2 pilgrim friends and walked together to Taraza. In a local supermarket, we got grapes and water and took the bus back to Cedeira. Bang on time!! We went back to the same place to eat - Mesón Marieta - and it was lovely again. Again, an ice cream at Bico de Xeado, and bed!

Day 11 Taraza to Ferrol, 27km...

After breakfast in the main square (with a churro) we took the bus right to the place where we stopped the day before, in Taraza. It was cloudy all day, but humid and warm...The landscape was wonderful after we passed the old convent (church open but no stamp), and approched the cliffs and the sea. This was a beautiful walk, descending to a lovely beach - Praia de Ponzos . We had a picnic there and paused for a while. The way then is quite bad, mostly on asphalt, always going up and down. It is not worth it, until we got to the ria, already in Ferrol. We went back in the same hotel -Zahara, and after dinner (a Colombian restaurant where they took so much time to serve us, they offered us some chopitos), we met, by chance, Javier, Heriberto, Maria & Rubén! Wow" Two days in a row! What are the odds?

Our 261km of Camiño del Mar were done....261 as we mixed with Rota Catábrica, as Camiño del Mar is way shorter! Next day we took an early train to Ribadeo, drove to León to have lunch with Aaron (Australian friend walking Camiño Primitivo), stoped in Santiago to get a Compostela and drove to Guimarães! What a day!

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