I was really looking forward to going to Galicia. I've already been in Northern Spain (Basque country, Cantabria and Asturias) when I was driving to Sevilla from Germany in October. I absolutely loved this region of Spain. So much nature and few people!
My first stop in Galicia was Baiona. I found this spot on Google Maps and did a tiny hike there. I had a really nice view from the Virxe da Rocha, a big statue on a hill.
Right from the beginning I realised that driving in Galicia means loads of tiny and narrow roads. When I drove to a parking close to Vigo to do another hike the road was so narrow that I was just hoping that there won't be any other cars coming. The alternative route - a small tunnel - was so narrow that I was wondering which cars acutally are fitting through here... So that was a bit of excitement but the hike to the top of the mountain (El Mejor Banco del Mundo del Redondela) was super nice!
Finding places to spend the night was very easy! While driving through Galicia I only saw a few other campervans and almost all nights I was just by myself.
My next stop is probably the best-known place in Galicia: Santiago de Compostela. Since it was end of January I didn't see many pilgrims and the city was really quiet. I did a tiny hike to the Monte de Dios before I walked down to the cathedral. Quite impressive!
From Santiago I drove to the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death). The coast between Cape Finisterre and Malpica got this name because of the many shipwrecks along this rocky and wild shore. For me this was probably the best part of Galicia! The coast was breathtaking! So many cute lighthouses, the wild Atlantic Ocean, no people... And I was SO lucky with the weather! I got loads of sun and no rain at all.
I stopped in Muxía, Laxe and Faro de Punta Nariga. For sure there are many more beautiful places to explore along Costa da Morte.
After a tiny stop in the IKEA in A Coruña I kept driving through Galicia. Mostly along the coast but also a bit inland. I stopped in the Natural Park Fragas do Eume to do some hiking. This was a very peaceful area in the woods with more cows than people :)
There are not many touristy spots in Galicia, but one of them is Punta de Fuciño do Porco. It's a popular coastal
hike close to Viveiro. Unfortunately it was closed to construction work. I wanted to go there anyway, so I parked the van at Praia de San Román and started hiking from there. The scenery
was stunning and (for me) it didn't really matter that the last bit of the path was closed.
At that point (beginning of February) the nights and mornings were getting quite cold! Unbelievable that I took a cold shower at the beach the evening before. Yeah it was COLD but you get used to many things while traveling with the van :)
As I said, there are not many touristy spots in Galicia. The most touristy one is definitely Playa de las Catedrales. It's a natural monument near Ribadero. The coastal cliffs have been eroded by the sea to form arches and domes. When there is low tide you can walk along the beach. In summer you need a permit to go there. In winter it's free. Since I was there at the weekend, it was a bit busy, but still nothing in comparison to Southern Spain or other places. I also spent the night there at the parking which was very convenient. Something you can probably not do in summer time.
I totally get it why Cathedral Beach is so famous. It's really impressive, especially when you are walking through the arches during low tide. I really loved this place! I loved it although I got a bit wet because the waves were higher than expected :)
After visiting Cathedral Beach I was ready to leave Galicia. I can highly recommend to go there or other parts in Northern Spain! More than once I felt like being in New Zealand. And this is a very good feeling :)
The timing was perfect because the weather changed and I got the typical "northern" weather: Rain AND wind.
Thank you, Galicia, for having me and thank you, universe, for sending me the best weather for this part of my trip!!!
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