berce da miña estirpe,

Galicia, dóce mágoa das Españas,

Deitada rente ao mar, ise camiño…

(And you live in my world, my land,

cradle of my lineage,

Galicia, sweet grief of the Spains,

Lying at sea level, that road …)

Thus ends ‘Deitado frente ao mar’ (‘Lying in front of the sea’), one of the best-known poems by Celso Emilio Ferreiro, in which the Ourense poet reaffirms his love for Galicia’s land, its language and its past. The last of those phrases is the protagonist of one of the best-known places of the town of Foz, in Lugo, as part of a beautiful mural in the heart of the city.

Foz is a small fishing town located in the centre of A Mariña, between Burela and Ribadeo, at the mouth of the Masma River. The municipality has around ten thousand residents and has been one of the best-known tourist destinations in the area for decades. It is not lacking in attractions. Its coastal strip is in the so-called Rasa Cantábrica, a relatively flat area by the sea made out of slate-type rocks. This makes it a territory especially rich in wide, beautiful beaches. In the case of Foz’s 25 kilometres of coastline, many of those beaches are among the most popular for seafaring summers: A Rapadoira, located at the heart of the old town area, or Llas, very close to it; A Pampillosa, at the mouth of the Ouro River, in Fazouro; Arealonga, open to the Cantabrian sea; or Os Alemáns and Areoura, already bordering with the neighboring town of Burela.

Foz was, for a long time, an important fishing port. This is the past that was meant to be honoured with the mural, which is located on the riverbank, across from the small dock. It is located at the foot of the Santiago de Foz church, a small temple of seafaring style that presides over the old town center. Several of the surrounding streets retain all the charm of old-time towns, with their low houses, some of them with balconies, on narrow roads linked to one-another.

The mural conveys the influence of the Sargadelos ceramic factory, located in Cervo, a town very close by. It portrays half a dozen sailors and three shellfish gatherers clearly straining to transporting Celso Emilio’s verses. The work is holds a central place in a very important urban area, an area for recreation and tapas that is very busy at night. In addition, the mural has an almost secret «cousin» located very close by: at the entrance to the dock’s parking lot, on the wall of one of the service buildings, two fisherwomen made out of white, black and blue ceramic carry on their heads a basket filled with fish, in a modern work of art filled with love for the past.

Although it is a coastal town, it is important not to forget the municipality’s attractions inland. Foz has one of the most beautiful churches in Galicia, the San Martiño de Mondoñedo basilica, of pre-Romanesque origin and very pronounced buttresses. If possible, you shouldn’t miss the interior and the stone altarpiece behind the altar, a medieval gem without equal. Also in the municipality, in the Santa Cilla do Valadouro parrish, stands a castle at  the peak of A Frouxeira … or rather what little remained of it after it was razed in the late fifteenth century by the Catholic Monarchs’ troops.

The appropriate thing is to start off from the Ribadeo port itself, downhill from the town center. The so-called Estrada do Faro (lighthouse road) borders the coast on the tail end of the Eo River. Throughout the journey we can be seen from Castropol and Figueras’ town centers, on the Asturian side of the estuary. The Eo is a short river that runs along the border between Asturias and Galicia, fierce and steep in its higher section, but calm once it approaches the Cantabric sea. Proof of this is the inlet of sea into the land, used since ancient times to shelter boats from the common fury of the ocean.

Until not so long ago, crossing the estuary was only possible by travelling inland, to the narrower natural pass of Vegadeo, a stretch that is well worth a visit on its own right. Everything changed with the construction of the great Os Santos Bridge, which hangs just above the Estrada do Faro. Opened to the public in 1987 and recently widened to accommodate the highway’s four lanes, its construction completely changed the way people travelled in the region. Just before reaching it one must pass by the small San Miguel chapel.

The small park of O Cargadeiro is close by. The name refers to the main construction in the area, which to the unacquainted visitor will look somewhat like a metal bridge that goes into the estuary but was never finished. This is not the case: it is the place where ships were loaded with ore coming from the Vilaodriz mines, uphill. Ore was the area’s main trading product and, during the first half of the twentieth century, a railroad that carried it down from the mine, in the municipality of A Pontenova, to Ribadeo operated. Several panels were installed in the area to explain how loading was done, directly onto the ships located beneath the industrial facility.

A little further down stands another piece of history of the town of Ribadeo and all of eastern Galicia: the San Damián Fort. It is a military fortification from the early seventeenth century that was tasked with protecting the natural entrance to the Eo estuary and the towns on either side. Located in a strategic enclave, it was attacked several times. At present you can visit the interior.

There is now less than a kilometre left to reach the route’s destination, and it goes by very quickly while travellers take in the ocean views, the Asturian coast and the whimsical shapes that waves have carved into the coast. Rock is soft in this area, unlike the granite that dominates most of the Galician coast, and, having been constantly beaten by the sea, it has formed outcrops in the shape of needles and arches, the most famous of which are those of the nearby As Catedrais beach.

Finally, after a turn in the terrain, the small Illa Pancha lighthouse appears, painted white and blue and outlined beautifully against the sky. Recently, it has been refurbished as a hotel establishment and the really good views are those seen from the viewpoint above. From the platform you can see the wide bay formed by A Mariña de Lugo’s east coast and Asturia’s corresponding west coast..

This is the case of Rinlo, in the Ribadeo municipality. It is a small town suspended over a natural inlet of the sea, the Cove of Areosa, ideal for sheltering boats in days when the sea is too fierce, something that happens quite often in the area. Visiting the town in winter guarantees unparalleled views of the sea, beating the port wall and rising much higher than any of the village’s houses.

Between the Middle Ages and the eighteenth century, whale-hunting expeditions departed from Rinlo much as they did from nearby towns such as Foz, Burela, San Cibrao, Bares or, beyond and already into the Atlantic, Malpica and Caión. It was a very dangerous but also highly lucrative activity, since whale oil was a difficult product to obtain and, therefore, very expensive. The industry began a gradual decline in the nineteenth, finally becoming in the early twentieth.

Seafood breeding centres then gained importance in Rinlo as the main way to subsist. In 1904, a centre dedicated to breeding spider crab and lobster was opened, taking advantage of the sea’s continuous ins and outs in Rasa Cantábrica’s soft coast. The town prospered around these small factories, and the township has remained in much the same condition as it was at that time. The houses are mostly suspended over the roadstead’s eastern slope, while the port facilities are to the west. These are big houses, with strong walls, which showcases the good economic status their owners achieved thanks to profits obtained from the sea. The local Fishermen’s Guild is, by the way, one of the oldest in Spain.

At present, the small port continues to operate, and supplements another economic activity that has taken hold over the years: tourism. Mainly gastronomic, because every weekend Rinlo hosts dozens of people who come to eat at the various restaurants in the area. Barnacles, seafood or rice soup are among the dishes most requested by visitors.

Rinlo is very close to Ribadeo and to another one of the municipality’s great attractions, As Catedrais beach. The Natural Path of the Cantabrian Route links all these points in a long and very beautiful promenade that can be done by bike or on foot.

The scene appears for the pilgrim around kilometre 96 of the Jacobean Route (it is already known that, following the markings on the milestones by the Camino, the distance is measured in reverse, and reflects the kilometres remaining until reaching Compostela). Just when the route branches off from LU-4203 road to start a prolonged descent towards the Miño river, in a place known as Marcadoiro, a group of white buildings can be seen in the distance, on the other side of the valley. The constructions are pleasantly distributed along the low area of ​​mountains that reach into the sky. In the forefront, the Way’s descent twists and turns between native trees and stone walls, similar to those that cross the hills the pilgrims have just left behind.

What is seen in the background is the town of Portomarín, and the strange effect of it seeming so orderly is due to the fact that it is a planned town, built just half a century ago, to accommodate the inhabitants of the old town centre, flooded by the Belesar reservoir in the sixties of last century.

The transfer of Portomarín was a collective enterprise. The village’s most important buildings were dismantled stone by stone and transported uphill to the so-called Monte do Cristo. Among those rebuilt constructions were the San Pedro church, some manor houses or the famous stairway, and the Chapel of As Neves through which the Way enters into the new town. And, above all, the imposing church of San Nicolao, formerly known as San Xoán. This Romanesque church-castle was built between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and keeps among its voluminous, almost aggressively so, parts, some corners as remarkable as the main facade, devoted to images of the Apocalypse, or a small and delicate rose window. On its stones you can still see the last trace left by the town’s history, in the form of the numbers written on the stones when the building was dismantled so they could put each piece back in its place in the new site, far from the river waters.

The new town, designed by architect Pons Sorolla, was arranged around a main square, in which both the San Xoán church and General Paredes’ house were placed, and another, smaller square presided over by the San Pedro church. The houses and streets attempted to replicate the area’s architecture by using local materials such as slate, and were equipped with very characteristic arcades under which pilgrims who nowadays cross the French Way can rest from their fatigues and the sun.

Burela is a town very focused on work and the future, but it is not lacking in history, far from it. The west part of the town, close to the sea, is known as Os Castros for good reason. In this area there were no less than two pre-Roman settlements (and one more to the east). One of them is easily recognizable from the promenade that joins the urban beach with the beach of A Marosa: upon careful observation of the land well, you can still see the outlines of old defensive walls, surrounding some imposing crags that, legend has it, a submarine tunnel once connected with the castro of Fazouro, just across the bay.

Also on the tip of Cape Burela, accessible from the promenade, are remains of what were once these settlements. Numerous excavated rocks, marks and holes can be easily seen and transport us to a time of rituals not yet fully understood. One of the most precious treasures kept in the Provincial Museum of Lugo appeared in this area half a century ago: the so-called Torques de Burela, a thick necklace weighing over a kilo and made of gold, from the pre-Roman era. The story of how it was found is very quaint: a farmer pulled it while plowing his land and, covered as it was with dirt, he thought it was the handle of a cauldron and discarded it. The rain washed the piece clean and its glow revealed to the finder the true material from which it was made.

The Burela promenade joins the town’s two beaches. Located in the centre of the village, very close to the port, is the Portelo, or urban, beach, man made at the end of the last century over what was simply a rocky coast. Well surrounded with amenities and gastronomy establishments, it is one of the places most loved by neighbours and tourists in the summer. Three kilometres further on, towards San Cibrao, is the always wild beach of A Marosa, surrounded by a sports complex. The promenade continues along the north coast and into the municipality of Cervo, offering views of the Farrallóns (small islands off the coast of Xove) and even Estaca de Bares.

This route along the Cantabrian shore is also an ideal place to admire, in the first weekend of June, the maritime procession of the Carmen celebrations, pushed forward to benefit the summer departure of tuna fishing boats.

It is a thick, heavy, spongy and very sweet cake, and can be purchased at bakeries in the centre of town (although lately it is also easy to find in supermarkets throughout Galicia). As with so many other unique gastronomic products, the exact recipe is a mystery known only to bakers, so it is advisable to taste it in situ. In any case, the use of cow’s butter is the key to the final result.

Gutiriz corn cake is a perfectly valid excuse to visit a village that has been at the area’s forefront for centuries. The municipality’s very name proves its antiquity: place-names ending in -iz usually are of Germanic origin, and come from a time (fifth and sixth centuries) when the Suebi ruled over Galicia. In fact, its name probably refers to Suebi monarch Witerico, to whom the founding of the town is attributed. Although the truth is that, going back to the importance of communication routes in the town’s  history, it is known that the Roman road used to travel between Lucus Augusti and Brigantia passed through the area.

Subsidiary land to the monasteries of Monfero and Sobrado dos Monxe, Guitiriz was already  designated a municipality at the beginning of the twentieth century. The place has several buildings that are worth visiting, such as the monumental Santa María de Lagostelle, built barely half a century ago but with an old temple at its base, in the town centre; or the pazos, or manors, of Pontella and Casanova.

Throughout the twentieth century, Guitiriz was a hot spot for people in the surrounding areas  due to the popularity of its spa, which makes use of the spring called Fonte dos Santos or San Xoán de Lagostelle. The fame of its waters as a remedy for stomach and digestive ailments afforded it a time of splendour from the year 1908, when the spectacular hotel opened its doors, to the seventies, when it was finally closed. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the spa was renovated and a golf course was built around it, in the southern part of the village. Interesting fact: the building was used during the Civil War as a hospital for soldiers, and a small mosque was built inside the spa for Muslims. The temple, barely 50 square meters, is still there, hidden among the thick trees of the area.

Every August, the Pardiñas parish in Guitiriz hosts thousands of visitors who come to witness one of the longest-running folk music events of those organized in Galicia. The Feira e Festa da Música e da Arte, known as the Pardiñas Festival, has been held for almost forty years: it started in 1980 and brings together the great names of traditional Galician music as well as groups from other countries and latitudes.

After several decades of work to overcome the mountains of the galician East, in the summer of 1883 the railway lines existing in Galicia were permanently linked to those of the central plateau. The arrival of the route to Monforte and its inauguration, under King Alfonso XII, meant the communication of the ports of A Coruña and Vigo with the rest of the Peninsula. It was in Monforte where the main line, originating in Madrid, was served, and the enormous progress that the train brought to the town earned it the title of city. Around the station an important industrial nucleus and railway repair workshops were created, until, in the mid-twentieth century, the change of technologies brought along a decline. Monforte, specialized in steam engines, lost much of its privileges as a communications hub, although it is still one of the most important stations in Galicia.

It is in one of those buildings where steam engines were repaired that the MUFERGA stands today. In its interior, railway material from the twentieth century is conserved. One of the most popular locomotives is the Mikado, built in the United Kingdom in 1953 and used until 1975 in various lines throughout Spain. It ran on steam, and the generalization of diesel oil relegated it to a tourist train. Nearby you can see one of the first diesel locomotives to enter into service, a Canadian Alco 1812, or a British 7700 from the fifties.

You can also contemplate the luxury of train cars such as the lounge car  ZZ1, built in wood in the Basque Country in the 20s of last century with all the technological advances of the time. A walk around the warehouse also shows us what railway command centres were like seventy years ago through original machinery and models.

Inside the enclosure but at approximately one kilometre away is the real jewel of the MUFERGA: the forty-track roundabout where, thanks to a rotating bridge, trains could change direction or enter hangars for repairs. It is a building of enormous historical importance, because in all Europe very few with these characteristics are conserved. It can only be visited with guided tours, which must be scheduled in advance with the Museum, and its appearance, just like something out of a cartoon, makes it unforgettable for kids.

Children will also enjoy the miniature train that runs through all the MUFERGA facilities. The small railroad crosses tunnels, sets of points, and even a station to scale making the kids protagonists in a story that is purely Monforte.

The main reason is the beautiful landscape of the route, perfectly signposted. The final section runs practically hanging above the sea, thanks to some footbridges that make the Fuciño do Porco (also known as Punta Socastro) into a small Chinese Wall above the sea. It also helps that the route is apt for almost anyone, although we must take into account some things before embarking on the adventure: to reach the end there are at least a couple of pretty steep slopes, that can be overcome by anyone minimally trained in hiking; you have to be always aware of where you are stepping, especially along the footbridges, and, most of all, if the route is made with children; and, finally, that the wind often blows strongly.

The route begins in the parish of San Román, well known for its large beaches of fine sand. To get to the Fuciño do Porco you have to look out for the indicated  intersection from the coastal road, the LU-862, which leads to a small car park where the car must be left. The first part of the route runs through a forest track easy to traverse. On the right, among the trees, the silhouettes of the Viveiro estuary are drawn, with the beautiful beach of Area and the Punta do Faro in the foreground. In the interior of the bay is the small city of Viveiro, while the municipal capital of O Vicedo is located several kilometres west of San Román.

Once the top is reached begins the descent towards Punta Socastro and, with it, the footbridges. They were built recently to reach the maritime beacon located in the far north with more ease. Few people approached the Fuciño do Porco (so-called because of its flattened appearance on the map) until now, and much of what is seen in the surroundings is very rarely frequented even by the residents of the area. The small beach of Pereira, which displays to the west its grey sands, is almost always empty and has a difficult access, for example. The footbridges cross the steep isthmus that links the coast with the end of the cape, which can be reached through a steep downward ramp.

The view from the beacon is amazing. The Cantabrian sea opens to the north crashing wildly against the rocks of Punta Socastro. To the west you can see the brutal granite masses of Coelleira Island and Cameiro Point, in the foreground, and Estaca de Bares behind them. Towards the east, the hacked coast of the Concello de Xove, with the Roncadoira point standing out. And, if you look towards the land, you can see the path travelled and the footbridges of the Fuciño do Porco twisting over themselves to overcome the gap to a place thankfully rediscovered on the north coast of Lugo.

Green fields and blue sea frame this beautiful beach, where two thousand years ago the ancestors of the present day Lucenses used to bathe.

More than 300 metres of eroded cliffs shaped in the manner of gothic cathedrals. A true spectacle of Nature in its pure state.   A wide, sandy beach popular with tourists in summer. A camp site lies nearby.