Cinco Caminos – Stage 30: Laxe to Ponteceso (22 km) 13 - 19°C – sunny and windy

By Jim 

Our navigation app, Pocket Earth, has been indispensable for us on the Camino dos Faros (thanks, Dan, for recommending it).  Although the GPX track downloaded from our guidebook is old and the Camino has changed somewhat, the maps on Pocket Earth are so detailed that we can see all the logging roads and goat trails.  This has proved to be very helpful as many times we find ourselves off of the Camino and needing to locate an expedient way back.  Today we used Pocket Earth to our advantage to shave a few kilometers off of the day so that we could spend time at some archaeological sites along the trail.  The Camino route contained a few oxbows so we used Pocket Earth to cut across one, saving us about 4 km. 

The first site was Dólmen de Dombate (circa 3,600 BC), a burial mound that predates Stonehenge.  It was excavated in the 1980s to reveal a central chamber containing seventeen small stone idols.  This Dolmen was a much larger example than the Dólmen da Moruxosa we saw near Friol while walking the Camino Verde (Stage 17).  The enclosure and interpretive center were closed when we arrived, but we only had to wait 30 minutes before going inside for a look.  The engravings and painting reproductions in the interpretive centre were most interesting.

The second site, an Iron Age fortified Celtic village, was about 3 km away and located in a thick forest atop a hill.  In its day, Concello de Cabana de Bergantiños housed 300 - 400 people in a group of round stone buildings. Thirty-six castors (foundations) have been excavated and can be experienced in the open-air museum.

The final site was a series of 24 stone mills (muiños) from the 1600s that follow a stream for 3.5 km down the hill towards As Grelas.  The path was soft on our feet, the trees protected us from both the sun and wind, and a bench beside a mill gave us a place to eat our lunch.

The path along the estuary from As Grelas was an impressive stone promenade that was easier on the eyes than on our feet.  When we arrived in Ponteceso we stopped at the first open bar we could find for a cold drink.  The barkeeper’s wife brought us a delicious complimentary snack of pork ribs, potatoes and bread.  This kind gesture strengthened us to continue the last kilometer to our Pension.

Sunrise at Laxe.

Dólmen de Dombate

Concello de Cabana de Bergantiños today.

Concello de Cabana de Bergantiños, in its day.

Water mills (muiños) along the way.

Cinco Caminos – Stage 29: Arou to Laxe (17 km) 17°C – foggy at first, then overcast and a bit windy

By Laurel

We appreciated having a shorter stage today, especially after getting tired out yesterday.  Soon after passing by the beach at Arou, our path continued to follow the coastline and went through a section of large boulders sculpted by the elements into fantastic shapes (elephants, a giant flea, etc., etc.)  We scampered around, between, and over the huge rocks, playing a game of “I Spy” the green dots (trail markers) as we went.  We managed to come out at the other end at the correct path, which took us past several ancient stone-walled field enclosures and along the tops of some short cliffs (but not scary ones).  Next, we zipped along a stretch of boardwalks over sand dunes and salt marshes, a grassy area (walking with Hannah, the young German pilgrim), and more boardwalk.  We passed through two small towns along the way, but did not stop to drink, eat, rest, or do anything else; however, we soon arrived at Laxe and ate a delicious fresh fish lunch.

Along today’s path, we met about 28 walkers (27 going the “other” way; 10 of them in one group) and in Laxe we saw another group of 21 hikers striding along.

Update from yesterday:  when we were four kms from our endpoint yesterday at Arou, we met two middle-aged men coming from that direction.  They reported that there were boulders to contend with on the beach route to Arou, so we decided to go via the road instead.  We, in turn, warned them about the rock-climbing over Monte do Veo.  Hannah told us today that she met them after they had gone past Monte do Veo and that one of the men had fallen somewhere and thought he may have broken his nose (there was blood involved).  They had a car parked by the English Cemetery, so hopefully they made it there okay.  Unfortunately, the guidebook doesn’t warn adequately about that section.

Looking back at the Arou beach on our way out of town.

Some of today’s paths.

An example of the old stone enclosures by the coast.

The sculpted boulder section.  What shapes do you see?

Looking for the green trail markers (painted dots and arrows).

Boardwalks 

In the background:  one of many beautiful unspoiled beaches along our route.

Cinco Caminos – Stage 28: Camarinas to Arou (27 km) 13 - 18°C – cloud and fog

By Jim

Pension Catro Ventos served up a great breakfast that was worth sticking around for, so we hit the road at 8:30, a little later than we had planned.  Today’s stage included the Faro Vilan, the largest lighthouse on the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death).  The walk was along a coastal trail under cloudy skies that afforded unobstructed views of the rocky shore with its pounding surf.  By the time we reached the lighthouse, fog was rolling in so we snapped a few quick pictures and continued on. The path now was a raised concrete sidewalk that followed the coast for about 5 km and provided periodic views of the ocean as the fog played hide and seek.  Thankfully, the trail now wended between grasslands and beaches leading us to the Cemeterio dos Ingles, the final resting place of English sailors killed in three tragic shipwrecks in the 1800s.  

The next section was both beautiful and exhausting.  Sandy beaches, rocky beaches, sand dunes, boulders, and ridges required concentration and stamina and made for slow going.  The original Camino route crossed overtop of Spain’s highest sand dune Monte do Veo, but this path is now closed to allow for regrowth and restoration.  The new route skirts around the headland on a precarious cliff side path that was more thrilling than either Laurel or I wanted.  By the time we reached the port of Santa Mariña, we had been walking for 6.5 hours and still had 4 km of rugged coast to walk.  We opted instead to walk the road up and over the promontory to Arou, much steeper and longer, but a faster route.  

Faro de Cabo Vilan.

Memorials along the Costa da Morte.

We took a longer, steeper path to get to our destination that actually saved us time.

Cinco Caminos – Stage 27: Muxia to Camarinas (15 km) 12 - 17°C – sunny

By Laurel

The first stage on the Camino dos Faros has been accomplished!

You may be wondering:  what is the Camino dos Faros and where is it?!

        Answer:  it is “the Way of the Lighthouses” and follows the coast from Finisterre to Malpica* (don’t be lazy — look that up on a map).

Well, we also had a few questions on our minds today as we started this next phase of the Cinco Caminos:

Q — Would we find way markers along the route and, if so, what do they look like?

        A — There is some signage, but not nearly as good as on the Camino de Santiago (which of course has excellent directional markings).  No more stone obelisks with scallop shells, bold yellow arrows, and the number of kms indicated.  Just some chipped green dots painted on boulders and the occasional green plastic arrow nailed to a tree trunk — and rather few and far between, at that.  It doesn’t help that we’re walking the route backwards and have to look behind us to see some of them.

Q — In the absence of way markers, how accurate will the online map be?

        A — Happily, it seems to be easy to follow.  We didn’t get lost.

Q — How will the trail be?

        A — Today it was flat and mostly shaded.  Only a bit on pavement.  Mainly on dirt paths sided by trees.  Views of inlets off the ocean.  Along a beach or two.

Q — Will we see lighthouses?

        A — We saw the one at Muxia as we left, and tomorrow we’ll pass by the second one!

* Clarification:  as described in this blog, we walked on the Camino de Santiago path from Finisterre to Muxia (a more inland route); there is a separate path for the Camino dos Faros from Finisterre to Muxia, which hugs the coast and involves some cliff side walking.  The Camino dos Faros officially ends at the town of Malpica, after which we’ll take the bus to A Coruna.  The C. dos Faros guide book that we’re using (Cicerone Press) outlines the route in the direction from Malpica to Finisterre, but we’re walking it in the opposite direction.

In lieu of taking a rest day today, we rode the bus part way along today’s route to make it an easier day.  We jumped out at the town of Ponte do Porto and started walking from there.  This evening we’re getting our laundry caught up at the laundromat across the street. 

Early morning church bells in Muxia.

Church at the point of the cape at Muxia, early morning.

Top and bottom left:  Ponte do Porto; Bottom right:  Muxia

Way markings on the Camino dos Faros.

Notice the green dot on the tree?

Handmade lace — an old art still expertly done in Camarina.

Ronquidos: Nocturnal Hymns

Ronquidos

By Jim

Snoring is not a crime,

Though it’s caused some (it’s said).

"I’m innocent, Your Honour …

He just fell out of bed."

The cacophony is maddening

when you’re lying in your cot.

What adds insult to injury —

they’re sleeping and you’re not!

Everyone passes judgment;

To deny makes us a liar.

The verdict depends where we sit:

The congregation or the choir.

Now, don’t feel high and mighty —

Hubris has a sting.

Comes a time in every service

When the congregation starts to sing!

A sign in the Valpromaro Ostello

Cinco Caminos – Stage 26: Lires to Muxia (18 km) 13 - 17°C – sunny

By Jim

The walk to Muxia was sunny, but well shaded along pastoral lanes and forestry roads. Most of the trail was a gentle incline to a ridge of windmills that overlooked the Atlantic Ocean and Muxia, tucked away on its rocky peninsula.

We arrived early, just after 12:00, checked into our Albergue, then walked out to the Sanctuary de Nuestra Sra de la Barca. (our lady of the boat), a church and lighthouse at the end of the peninsula.  On our way back through town we stopped for a feast of cod and Galician scallops.    

Here ends the Camino Finisterre and Muxia; tomorrow we begin the Camino Dos Faros (the way of lighthouses).

A day so warm and peaceful that the dogs didn’t bother to raise their heads, let alone bark at us.

The lighthouse at Muxia on the Atlantic Costa do Morte.

Sanctuary de Nuestra Sra de la Barca.

Left:  “A Freida” (The Wound), a monument symbolizing a horrible oil spill in 2002.  Right:  “MIRANDO” (Looking- the penalty of loneliness).

Watching the waves was mesmerizing.