Galicia is a place of magnificent coastlines. Immense cliffs plunge into the remarkably blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean along its jagged 1500km route. Distant peninsulas are crowned by lonesome lighthouses, and its many isolated inlets and bays are just as likely to shelter golden arcs of pristine sand as they are to be home to colourful fishing villages. In good weather it’s hard to believe there is a more glorious place on earth. Bad weather though is never far away.
We didn’t have to endure the fierce Atlantic storms that can violently lash the coast. We did get a taste of the ocean fog that engulfs all before it. As we stood at the lighthouse on the end of the peninsular at Finisterre, an almost supernatural fog rolled in with alarming speed and seemed to dissolve land and sea. The world sounds different in dense fog, every noise muffled and mysterious.
For all the beauty, these are treacherous waters. Vicious currents and dangerous, rock strewn coastal waters have combined with the Atlantic fog to doom many ships to the ocean floor. Since records began in the 14th century, close to a thousand ships have been lost along the Galicia’s coastline between A Coruna and Cape of Finisterre. The true number is probably much higher. No surprise that it is known as Costa da Morte, the Coast of Death.
Annette Meakin, a British travel writer, invented the name in response to the sinking of British ships – and by lurid tales of Galician bandits who were said to lure ships onto the rocks. They would row out to the shipwreck, murder the crew and steal the cargo. Meakin’s book, Galicia, the Switzerland of Spain, starts with the sentence, “Galicia is the least known and the least written about of all the little kingdoms that go to the making of Spain.”
That was in 1909. Things have most definitely changed and Galicia is firmly on the map. Even though during the warmer summer months there are plenty of tourists, most are Spanish or Portuguese (the border is nearby), and the further north you go, the fewer tourists there are. We started out along the Costa da Morte in Muxia and Finisterre, two fishing villages that felt low key compared to Cambarro to he south on the Rías Baixas coast.
Our journey down the the coast ended in the port of Vigo, a city with a reputation as a gritty industrial port with only limited highlights for visitors. It turned out to be a hugely fun place. It’s pretty old town has seen better days, true, but is filled with squares and pedestrianised streets – which are buzzing with nightlife after the sun sets. A short bus ride away are great beaches and a coastal path passing through sandy coves to the old fishing village of Bouzas.
The food on this coast is some of the best you’ll find in Spain, especially if you like shellfish – best washed down with a glass of local Albarino wine. We had some amazing food on this trip, and that continued during the final few days when we went inland to the historic town of Ourense. Just on the border with the Ribeira Sacra, it is fast gaining a reputation as a foodie paradise.
The temperature in Ourense was a debilitating 35ºC, but the cool evening tapas hour in the medieval centre saw the whole town take to the narrow streets. It is a lively and fun place that’s packed with history going back to before the Romans, when it was a much sought after spa town thanks to its hot springs. The thermal waters still attract visitors, but it was way too hot for us to take the plunge.
