A grainy black and white photograph on the wall of a bar in Malpica featured the town and beach in the 1930s. It must have been taken during a holiday or festival because, in this hard working town, the couples lounging on the beach and strolling along the sand are wearing their ‘Sunday best’. The buildings all look like they date back centuries, very few are more than two floors high.
Fast forward to today and that 1930s version of Malpica is still instantly recognisable: the wide golden arc of sand, the cone-shaped hill of A Atalaia, and buildings strung along the ridge above the sea. Little else from that photograph survives though. The old houses have been replaced by a colourful ensemble of modern apartment blocks, the beach is far busier, and literally no one is wearing a suit or full length dress.
What is unchanged, is that Malpica remains a hard working fishing port. It feels gritty and weather beaten, and aside from the beach there are few other tourist attractions. The summer crowds are almost exclusively Spanish, many are Galicians returning to their family home. Walk to the other side of the town and you quickly come to the port, fishing boats bob in the water and nets are mended in sheds. We loved it.
There are parts of the town that feel a little down at heel, but Malpica de Bergantiños, to give the town it’s full name, has a big personality to compensate. The vibrantly coloured buildings are hunkered down on a peninsular backed by steep hills as if seeking shelter from the fierce weather that can lash the Costa da Morte. The streets in the town are a warren of narrow lanes, houses tightly packed together for protection.
Celtic tribes and Romans settled this area, but Malpica largely grew during the Middle Ages as a fishing port. The earliest reference to it is from the 13th century. It remained an important but small village until the 17th century, when it was transformed into one of the region’s major whaling centres. It was a good place for whalers, the harbour is well protected and nearby cliffs were good for spotting whales.
Malpica became the preeminent Galician whaling port, but there was competition from Dutch and English whalers. The sale of blubber, oil and whale meat brought wealth to the town, but soon a combination of over fishing of the Atlantic Right Whales that migrated along the coast and foreign competition brought the industry crashing down. Whaling restarted in the 20th century, finally ending in 1986.
Today, mackerel and sardines are the backbone of the fishing industry, and Malpica has again become a very productive port with its own fish auction. A fact reflected in Malpica’s restaurants. Eating well here is not hard, there’s a cornucopia of seafood on menus around the town. Even if the influx of domestic tourists in summer can mean an occasional wait for a table, it’s worth it.
Malpica is small, with fewer than 2,000 residents, and it doesn’t take long to explore the length and breadth of the town. The port, a picturesque place where you’ll spot small fishing boats coming and going, is the centre of economic life. In summer though, the focal point is Praia de Area Maior, a fabulous city beach. In the early morning you can have the beach to yourself. By the afternoon, it is packed.
This is the sort of place where it’s easy to fall into a soporific rhythm. An early morning swim followed by breakfast of local cheese and freshly baked bread. A stroll through town and along the coast, returning in time for lunch and a siesta. An early evening swim and then an apéro quickly followed by dinner and a stroll along Malpica’s promenade as the sun sets. The views over the bay are majestic.
We might have been tempted to do little else but the promenade is also the start point for the Camino dos Faros or Lighthouse Way. There was no time to do the whole of this fantastic multi-day trail that travels the full length of the Costa da Morte to Finisterre. Early one morning though, I set off for Faro de Punta Nariga, a lighthouse occupying a dramatic location above the ocean. It would be an adventure!
