Day 7 – to Soesto Beach

The full trek Camino dos Faros is 200 kilometres and is usually done in 8 sections, each taking about 9 hours of walking. That may seem quite a slow pace, but except when the trail is close to towns and villages, the track is quite technical, with considerable up and down.

I discovered that today in the 5 kilometre section I did. It is however, one of the most spectacular sections, and it was a fine day with excellent visibility.

There was one other van staying at the old chapel the last two nights, a Spanish couple who I chatted to a few times, from Bilbao. They were, like me, walking certain sections of the route. I actually saw them at lunch parked up at Roncudo Lighthouse, having just walked the exact same section as I had. I had made it into a circuit by going over the hills and through the wind farm slightly inland. This couple were keen hikers, and the only Spanish I saw that weren’t dressed in huge padded coats with gloves and woolly hats. Though it was windy, it was 12-14C for most of the day.

In the afternoon I moved down the coast through the town of Laxe. It’s necessary to be careful, as ever, when using google maps in Spain, especially when their route goes through towns like Laxe. This has typically narrow streets, and certain corners are impossible in the van. A few times I’ve had to reverse back out. But I was wary today. I had thought of staying here, at the lighthouse on the headland, but with it being Sunday, there were just too many people around.

I continued south to Soesto, and took the bike out for half an hour, testing my various aches, and fortunately all went well.

After the France Scotland rugby Roja and I headed up the beach’s small mountain, Petón do Castro, at just 91 metres. But it does dominate the area, begs to be ascended on such a fine day, and delivers, with superb views.