Saturday 12th January 2008

By the time that we went to bed, the wind had reduced, the rain stopped and the constant roar of the sea, less than 50m from our bedroom, lulled us to sleep. That roar was still there although slightly further away as the tide had gone out since the high tide of yesterday evening. The skies cleared over breakfast and we took Henrietta to the car park above Playa de la Catedrales. We hoped to be able to walk on the beach and through the arches of the 'cathedral' but low tide wasn't until midday and with the very rough sea, the beach was still awash. I suspect that, given the weather conditions, it would not have been possible to walk to the 'cathedral' even at low tide. However, with the sun shining there were excellent views of the sea, the coast and the rocks and we spent a very pleasant half hour walking around the top of the cliffs before we started our journey. As we were leaving the clouds started gathering and the sun went in, making the views much duller.
Our next stop was Santiago de Compostella but we decided to take the pretty route around the north west tip of Spain. This proved to be a lovely drive, passing many long stretches of sandy beaches, rocky inlets and estuaries of sand or mud with many interesting birds. We stopped for lunch near Mera overlooking one of those estuaries and then turned to Carino, the furthest north west town in Spain. From there we headed over the Sierra de la Capelada towards San Andres de Teixido and on to Cedeira. This proved to be more challenging than expected as the hills were very steep – I had to keep Henrietta in second gear for many kilometres and nearly had to change down to first gear at one point. However, it was worth it! The views were spectacular and we passed a huge wind farm with at least 50 wind turbines spread over the tops of the hills. I know that some people will disagree but I find these very attractive and it added to rather than detracted from the view. I would guess that this farm is very efficient given its size and position where there is wind almost all of the time. There are wild horses on the Sierra de la Capelada, looking for all the world like Dartmoor ponies, and we met very large horned beasts (highland cattle) standing in the middle of the road – quite unnerving when you come round a bend to find them a few metres in front of you!
At one point we stopped at a road junction, trying to decide whether we had to carry on towards San Andres or turn left as the signs were very poor. We were pouring over the map, a face appeared at the passenger window – given that we were in the middle of nowhere, this was very surprising! Even more surprising was that the lady spoke excellent English and had stopped to see whether we needed any assistance. We were very grateful and took her advice to turn left.
After this very pleasant interlude, it was time to press on to Santiago by motorway and we arrived at Camping As Cancelas well before dark.
The campsite is very well positioned on a hill within the city, only 30 minutes walk (or a short bus ride) into the historical centre. We will go into the city tomorrow.
Photos: Playa de las Catedrales arch at low tide; Sierra de la Capelada wind farm; Sierra de la Capelada wild horses.