Finisterre, the end of Earth

Finisterre, more known now in Galicia as Fisterra, is roughly an hour and a half far from Malpica. The name comes from the belief that at this point was the Earth finished... (from latin finis terrae, the end of the Earth).

The village has about 3000 inhabitants, and a short distance away on the mountain, you can visit the lighthouse. This lighthouse is part of a series of beautiful and ancient lighthouses along the coast of Galicia, which served to guide the sailors of the past. The views from the top of the mountain are spectacular, so better than words, here you have some pictures:

Finisterre's lighthouse, A Coruña

View of lighthouse from the nearby mountain



View from the road towards the village



  
Although not shown in the photos, because I don't like to photograph parkingsites, there is enough room for parking in much of the last journey to the lighthouse. This road ends there, only leads to the lighthouse, so no problem to park.



As you can see, you can get here
in any transportation

 

The pretty Galician coast

   

 




Above the clouds!

    





View of the other side of the coast

   

 







O Semáforo. Littel hotel with a bar



Near, there is a little hotel (just a few rooms) very well conditioned, which has a bar and serves meals. The place is ideal to spend a night, but I was informed that you must book well in advance (2 months more or less) because it is usually full. The price seemed expensive, but I did not expect less (about 100 euros / night double room). At nigth, sure you only hear the murmur of the sea and wind. Its name: O Semáforo (El Semáforo).


 

View of the other side of the cost, pretty!

Like many other days, bright sunshine and clear sky. Blue landscape with clouds decorating the scene ... We were there in late August 2010.

 

 

Mountain near Finisterre's lighthouse



The mountain.. there was a lot of coming and going of those who wanted to visit the farthest corners of the Earth for our ancestors.

Click on the picture at the left and you will see several campers parked on the mountain, located with sea views. 

Above the clouds...

This entry is dedicated to Isabel, who also knew this beautiful land, and even spent a summer with her family in Malpica, and yesterday left us.

As Torradas beach, Aviño

I'm back in Toledo, but I'm going to write about Malpica and surroundings, becasuseI have many photos I take every year, which clearly illustrate the beauty of galician land.We discovered As Torradas beach last year, by mistake. We actually drove to Razo beach, Carballo, but I took a wrong road. Leaving Malpica towards Buño, you have to come into this village, and in the manin street running through it, near the exit, there is a signpost on the left that says "Aviño, Razo, Praias, Monte Neme". We must take this road, (it is a secondary road) and drive towards the mountain. It seems it's not going to finish, but the landscape is that so beautiful  of the galician mountain, so green and with eucalyptus and ferns everywhere. And the smell of eucalyptus when you lower the car windows. This is waht I like most when I get to Galicia: to low the windows and feel this smell.


The surprise at the end of the road was to discover a secluded beach, with very few people, beautiful and wild. Strong waves and mean wind, with bright sunshine. Some children were playing in the sand, others watched the landscape ... background, Malpica and its port. We spent some time enjoying and playing in the sand, with the promise - to ourselves - to return.

The wooden stairs to go down to As Torradas beach.
There is a creek at its rigth that runs down to the beach.



View to the right.
Beyond is the beach of Razo (not visible from here)



View to the left.
The village you see in the distance is Malpica

I can not fail to note that it is dangerous to swim on this beach, as in many other of the Coast of Death (Costa de la Muerte), which was not named so for this, but because of the number of shipwrecks which has been throughout its history . However, it also could be so called because of its dangerous sea. In this region the sea has many streams, which carry the reckless inward. All my life I have heard of people who have drowned here, even experienced swimmers.

If you look closely on the structure of this beach, it is very exposed to the sea (offshore) and makes us think that it is not safe. This beach, like many others, does not have surveillance, so you have to swim where I was said when I was as a child, "on the edge, Karina."

The hill near the beach. Did you think that there was no green?
Nothing to do with the beaches of southern Spain

In Galicia you don't have to choose between "beach or mountains." You have both together if you want, and there are numerous hiking trails, some marked and labeled as such, and some not. It's the adventure;)

Osmo beach, Corme

Osmo beach is a sheltered one to which we went last year. It is in Corme, a little town about 20-25 minute far from Malpica. I had been spoken very highly of this beach, as safe and ideal to go with kids, so we went.
de Malpica hace que allí luzca sol cuando aquí en Toledo hay tormenta, y llueva cuando aquí hay buen tiempo. Nunca se sabe, pero incluso octubre es un mes en el que la gente pasea tranquilamente por Malpica disfrutando de buen tiempo - aunque ya no haga calor como para bañarse, pero es que calor, calor, aquí no hace -.
Contrary to what many people think, Galicia is not sad or dark or gray in summer. In winter it is cold, high humidity and it's not nice it's raining all the time, but in summer it does not. The best month to go is July, followed by August, but my parents often go several times between May and October, and as I mentioned earlier, the microclimate of Malpica favors that the sun shines there while here in Toledo there is a storm, and the rain when we have good weather here. You never know, but even October is a month where people stroll leisurely enjoying Malpica good weather - although there isn't temperature hot enough to swim, but the thing is that really heat, you never have it here.  

It is very close to the urban core, and there are blocks of apartments near the beach. It seems that here you will not have many surprises, such as currents which drag you out to sea, or pools in which you sink when you are just entering the sea (as sometimes happens at high tide on the beach of Malpica).

The day, like many others in August, was bright, cloudless and very good temperature for swimming. It is a small beach, so, so close to the village and with such a good time, when we arrived it was full of people.

 

Look at the cleanliness of the water


The sand had a bright gray. It strikes me that every beach I have visited had a peculiar sand, characteristic of the area. This summer, when we were in Razo, the fine sand beat you to the skin as it does not do in Malpica. In Osmo, the sand was brilliant, shining. It had what appeared to be tiny bits of mica mixed with the sand ...




Mussel farming rafts

 





I think those floating are rafts for mussel farming. I remember having seen them twenty years ago in the Ria de Vigo (Pontevedra - Rías Baixas), but I do not remember before on the Costa de la Muerte.