Galicia and the Camiño dos Faros

I was looking for somewhere to walk in September 2022 so that I could toughen myself up in preparation for climbs of Mounts Meru and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania the following month. I had always been aware of the well known walking routes around Santiago de Compostela in Galicia but had never been keen on the idea of pilgrims and pilgrimages. But then I spotted that there was a new long-distance (and secular) walk in Galicia: the Camiño dos Faros along the coast between Malpica and Cape Finisterre. And that made my mind up. I booked a four-night trip and planned to walk just Stages 6, 7 and 8 in reverse, from Fisterra to Camarinas, as that seemed to fit in conveniently with the bus timetables. However, things didn’t work out as planned (not for the first time)! First, there was terrible weather on the first couple of days, which would have made the coastal path unsafe, and then my return flight was cancelled by the airline, meaning that my four-night trip became a seven-night trip. So there had to be a hasty rethinking of my plans but, as will be seen below, everything worked out very favourably for me in the end. A simple map of my final route can be found here.

Costs. Flight £66. Santiago hostel €43.60. Lires hostel 1 £48. Muxia guest house 1 €47.70. Camarinas pension (B&B) £27. Muxia guest house 2 €44. Lires pension 2 €50. Fisterra hotel €46. Airport–Santiago bus €1. Santiago–Fisterra bus €3.18. Muxia–Ponte do Porto bus €2. Camarinas–Ponte do Porto bus €1.50. Fisterra–Santiago bus €3.55. Typical evening meal with drinks €10–€20. Total cost of trip £510.

Places I stayed and was happy with. Hostal Mafer, Santiago de Compostela (Day 1); Fragas da Canteira, Lires (Day 2); Habitat Cm Muxia, Muxia (Day 3); Pension Catro Ventos, Camarinas (Day 4); Hostal Habitat Muxia II, Muxia (Day 5); Casa Lourido, Lires (Day 6); Hotel Faro de Finisterre, Fisterra (Day 7).

Books. Walking the Camiño dos Faros by John Hayes (Cicerone 1st edition).

Day 1: Travel to Santiago de Compostela. Left home at 11.10 am and caught 12.15 pm bus to the airport, arriving 1.15 pm. Boarding commenced about 2.10 pm – except it did not, with the queue stuck, first, in the corridor until 2.45 pm and, then, outside until 3.05 pm. Flight departed 45 min late. Landed at 7.00 pm (local time). Caught very crowded 7.40 pm bus into (very wet) city and found my convenient hostal (pre-booked) at about 8.15 pm. Went out for pizza at 8.55 pm.

Day 2: Bus to Fisterra (Finisterre); walk to Lires. Left hostal at 8.10 am and walked to bus station, arriving about 8.25 am. But no bus arrived until 9.20 am. Departed Santiago at 9.30 am. Bus finally got to Fisterra at 12.15 pm – in torrential rain. Got waterproofs out and on, then dithered a bit about walking out to the Cape, but eventually decided – maybe at about 12.35 pm – to head directly for Lires by the inland pilgrimage route. Gosh, it was wet! It would not have been safe to walk the coastal path in those conditions. Reached Lires and my hostal (pre-booked) at 3.40 pm (so 3 h 5 min walking) but it was not open until 4 pm when two ladies arrived to check me in. I then tried (!) to dry my clothes. Went out at 6.45 pm to look for food and drink and settled upon friendly A Brana. Ate a dish of fried pork, potatoes and peppers.

Day 3: Walk to Muxia. Left Lires at 10 am and again followed the inland pilgrimage route north. The day was very humid, heavily overcast and a downpour threatened but there was no actual rain. At about 12.30 pm the murk began to clear and some blue sky appeared. Reached my pension (pre-booked) in Muxia at 1.10 pm (so 3 h 10 min walking). Went out at 5.30 pm and walked up to the impressive headland with its church, lighthouse and monument, taking my camera out of my bag for the first time. Back at room at 6.30 pm. Went out again at 7.30 pm to look for food and drink. Had a beer in Bar O Porto and then a pizza in As Baleas.

Day 4: Bus to A Ponte do Porto; walk to Camarinas. Oh dear, what a night! I made the mistake of looking at the iPad at about 1 am and found that my flight home on 16 September had been cancelled because of a French ATC strike! Re-booked on a 19 September flight from Santiago to Edinburgh after spending some hours fruitlessly investigating other possibilities. Left my pension at about 10 am and caught the 10.25 am bus (which came at 10.35 am) to A Ponte do Porto, arriving about 10.55 am. Started walking along main road but could not find signs for the Camiño dos Faros. Reached O Arino cafe at about 12.15 pm and had a nice coffee. Started to follow coastline around headland as in Walking the Camiño dos Faros (the first half of Stage 6 in reverse) and stopped for a snack at the picnic spot at about 1 pm. Continued on and reached a hotel bar above a beach at the start of Camarinas at about 2.45 pm, where I had a small beer. Left hotel bar at about 3.45 pm and walked past my pension (pre-booked) at 3.55 pm (so maybe less than 3 h actual walking) but continued on down to the seafront and bought supplies in the supermarket. Went back to pension and checked in at 4.40 pm. Booked some more accommodation for the rest of my extended trip. Went out for dinner at about 8 pm and had chipirones and rice with a glass of Galician red.

Day 5: Bus to A Ponte do Porto; walk to Muxia. Left friendly pension after a good breakfast at 10.20 am, bought supplies, and had a coffee. Bus arrived on time at 11.30 am. Started walking from A Ponte do Porto at 11.50 am. The route was pretty well marked with green paint splodges – for the first time I was going along the Camiño dos Faros in the right direction! (This was the second half of Stage 6 in Walking the Camiño dos Faros.) Explored interesting historic village of Cereixo. Met up with a group of four friendly British people (Pete, Nigel, Fran and Sue). Arrived in Muxia at about 4.20 pm (so 4 h 30 min walking) and was invited for beer with the group. Found my hostal (pre-booked from Camarinas) at 5.25 pm. Went out for dinner at 8 pm to As Baleas and met up with the British walkers again, of course.

Day 6: Coastal walk to Lires. Left my hostal and bought supplies. Started walking at 9.35 am along Stage 7 in Walking the Camiño dos Faros. Steep climb up Monte Cachelmo. I cut off the first big peninsula, Punta da Buitra, as described in the guidebook. Reached the high point, Monte do Pedrouzo, 272 m, at 12.35 pm and then descended to Praia de Moreira. I also cut off the next peninsula, Cabo Tourinan, as described in the guidebook. Reached bar at Praia de Nemina at 3.10 pm and had a large beer. Left at 3.45 pm. Reached my guesthouse (pre-booked from Camarinas) in Lires at 5 pm, rather tired and footsore (so 7 h 25 min walking). Obtained needle and thread for emergency trouser repair from my hostess. Went out for dinner at 7.30 pm, settling on A Brana again. Ate pork hamburger and cheesecake, washed down with water, red wine and coffee.

Day 7: Coastal walk to Fisterra and Cape Finisterre. Left guesthouse at 9.45 am and had breakfast at nearby friendly Liresca. Started walking at 10.05 am along Stage 8 in Walking the Camiño dos Faros. Reached the castro at 1.05 pm. Saw a beautiful Iberian Emerald Lizard and several lively Slow-worms on the path. Reached the be-masted hill at 3.05 pm and then, after enjoying stunning views of Cape Finisterre, arrived at my hotel (pre-booked from Camarinas) at 4.20 pm (so 6 h 15 min walking). Left hotel at 7.15 pm, walked to Cape Finisterre along the road, took a few photos, and then walked back again, returning to the hotel at 8.45 pm. Went out again at 9 pm and headed for As Baleas.

Day 8: Bus to Santiago; explore city; travel home. Left hotel at 9.15 am. The direct bus to Santiago arrived at 9.45 am and there was a big fight to get on board. Departed Fisterra at 10 am and arrived in Santiago at 11.20 am. I walked up to and around the impressive cathedral but it was very busy and I could find no information about anything. Ate a largely unwanted burger in a fast food outlet while using their WiFi. Left at 3.30 pm and caught jam-packed bus at 4 pm, arriving at the airport about 4.30 pm. Through security very easily at 5.10 pm. My plane took off at 7.05 pm and landed at 8.25 pm (local time). I was outside for the 8.55 pm bus to Glasgow in good time but it did not exist (it was Queen Elizabeth’s funeral that day), so I caught the 9.25 pm instead. Arrived in Glasgow at 10.20 pm and was home at 10.45 pm with the aid of a taxi.

Wildlife seen. Iberian Emerald Lizard, Slow-worm, Copper Demoiselle, Mermaid’s purse.

Other useful links. Camiño dos Faros website

Monbus buses

Edinburgh Airport bus

Reflections. This was a lovely part of the world, with a character all of its own. There were lots of other walkers about (which was good), mainly on the well-marked and well-trodden pilgrimage route between Muxia and Fisterra. I can see the attraction, especially in terms of security for solo female walkers, but I found these routes to be rather dull and functional (although very convenient in torrential rain). In contrast, the new coastal path, the Camiño dos Faros, was much more to my liking, with dramatic scenery and the occasional challenging section. I was, of course, completely thrown by the cancellation of my return flight, but in retrospect things worked out very well for me: I ended up walking for six days, never repeating any ground, and did the two best sections, Stages 7 and 8 of the Camiño dos Faros, in perfect weather (see map). Would I return to Galicia? Yes, most definitely, possibly tackling the full eight stages from Malpica down to Cape Finisterre.

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