Two Go Back to Spain

[vwalan]

hi , your getting into the nicest parts of spain now . galicia is fantastic . love just hugging the coast.
,theres a roman bridge and usually otters swimming around underneath. . used to go there when my lads were just kids . font and a tap.
if you are hugging the coast you will find the cemetry of the british naval crew that shipwrecked http://www.significantcemeteries.org/2013/11/the-english-cemetery-camarinas-spain.html
its only a track to get there but its worth it if only to see the scenery.
there are quite a few coastal tracks that really let you get good scenery .

 

[jumartoo]

We only stayed a couple of nights at the aire, seen from above in the image below, if that makes sense.

View attachment 239621

The beach was pleasant and only a few minutes walk away...

View attachment 239647

but I felt we could get closer to one.

So we drove further north up the coast to Camping A' Vouga (CC 48658 and ACSI) a few kilometres from Muros in one of the many rias (flooded valleys) which are found along the coast of Galicia.

It has a good restaurant overlooking the beach.

View attachment 239626

Where I ate a nice Sea Bream.

View attachment 239627

It was served in a sort of "spatchcocked" way but was very tasty. I would have cooked it whole but their method worked.

Charlie has enjoyed the beach here too.

View attachment 239648

Our local restaurant to Totana camperstop cooks trout the same way with a slice of ham on top. It is very nice as well.

 

[DBK]

hi , your getting into the nicest parts of spain now . galicia is fantastic . love just hugging the coast.
,theres a roman bridge and usually otters swimming around underneath. . used to go there when my lads were just kids . font and a tap.
if you are hugging the coast you will find the cemetry of the british naval crew that shipwrecked http://www.significantcemeteries.org/2013/11/the-english-cemetery-camarinas-spain.html
its only a track to get there but its worth it if only to see the scenery.
there are quite a few coastal tracks that really let you get good scenery .

Alan,
Thank you for that link. We will be stopping for a night or so tomorrow very close to the cemetery. or depending how you look at it.

 

[vwalan]

its a worn country road but if you use google earth you will see cars etc on the road going that way. me and bob get through in our trucks no probs . we stop in arou https://www.google.com/maps/@43.184...4!1sgVhetfI_0JJiOVDYENclDw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
there is a tap on the walk along the front towards the port . by the picnic area .
we get several locals call and say hello. one of the houses on the front is owned by a french family i knew when they lived in france . the world gets smaller i,m sure .
but that coast is fantastic . we then move east to caion park by the boat club place .
its like being along the wild cornish coast along there . always have a st pirans flag sticker on the truck it goes down well with the locals over there .
there really is so much to see , little villages that make you drift back in time .

 

[vwalan]

you may enjoy having a look at this font https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@43.6659791,-8.0689045,134m/data=!3m1!1e3
its just up the road from the emida chapel of san antonio de corveiro . we found it by accident years ago . its a nice country ride out . its on a road that isnt on many maps the cp2203. but its not far from the coast just above cedeira along from ferrol .
best hug the coast in galicia .
have fun,we do.

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[DBK]

We are near Camariñas now, staying the night at a free aire behind a beach. We will try and get to the English cemetery tomorrow, I can see it on the map but the route there looks a challenge. I thought we could do it from here but we need to go from south east of it I think.

 

[vwalan]

you will have to use google maps . most maps dont show the little roads .
its not that bad . just go slowly . the road does zig zag alot though.
maybe a sat nav might be helpful . i dont have one just use mapamax and you know me . take every turning to the sea .
these days we drift across from arou it makes a day out .

 

[vwalan]

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1851521,-9.1662325,2265m/data=!3m1!1e3
try this one . we did used to go up the coast fromcamarinas , on the way is the big fish factory . and the lighthouse. i know one time i had a job turning round at the lighthouse it was a busy day lots cars etc . but its a fun drive . lots spots to have a night if you need one .

 

[DBK]

We spent last night at a free aire a few kilometres east of Camariñas. The aire is listed in CamperContact as #63691. This is a very sheltered spot above a small beach and has a good service point.

The pine trees were full of little birds. I saw a Treecreeper and based on distribution it might have been the Short Toed variety but I can't be sure as I couldn't about the next one. Again, on distribution it should have been a Firecrest but it was mostly in silhouette so could also have been a Goldcrest.

The aire is reached down a lane from the main road. Coming out onto the road this morning I turned right and took the next junction on the left after a few hundred yards. This took us on a straight road north west for about a kilometre when we saw, with a relief, a sign for the "Cemitario Dos Ingleses" which was what we were hoping to find.

This road wound on for a few more kilometres until we reached a short stretch at a challenging 19% incline. The surface was concrete and the grip good so we got up it but half way up a road appeared going off to the left. Stopping to look for signs wasn't an option so I took it anyway which was the right thing to do. There was a sign for the cemetery - but facing the wrong way!

The roads up to now had been metalled but it then joined a gravel track at a T junction. There were no signs but Mrs DBK was following us on Google maps and knew where we were. Turning left the track, which has more than a few potholes, soon starts descending down to the headland.

As you descend the scenery gets a bit better.

The track we were now on goes all around the coast, I had tried unsuccessfully I think to find the other end of it at Camariñas yesterday. I found a track but it was very narrow, this one was mostly two vehicles wide.

At the bottom of the hill is the English Cemetery which @vwalan mentioned a couple of days ago.

The story behind this site is described in the final bit of this post which I took from a Spanish website, but in 1890 HMS Serpent struck rocks here with only three sailors surviving and 172 drowned.

A low wall surrounds the cemetery with an inner wall where the officers were buried. In the outer part two crosses in the ground mark the mass graves of the sailers.

A stone marks the officer's resting place.

We visited on a very calm day, there were hardly any waves visible on the shore. On the night of 10 November, 1890 this must have been a terrifying place.

A board (written all in Spanish) gave details of the shipwreck and included a photograph of the three survivors.

A newly placed plaque was intriguing. I haven't looked them up yet but I guess a tour of notable European cemeteries might be possible...

But the stone balancers have found the place too.

A curious hobby but I won't be critical as there was a geocache to find here!

The ground was covered in cushions of dense plants, some spiky - I had to carry Charlie at one point - with rounded rocks sticking up from it. I was leaping between these like a mountain goat to avoid the thorns.

But Mrs DBK spotted the cache first. A classic hiding place behind a little rock covering an opening. Can you see it in the image below?

Closer up it should be easier.

The cache itself was a glass tube with a rounded bottom. It had me wondering if it was previously used in medical procedures involving a torch and a mirror on a stick.

Inside would have been a sheet to sign but I never bother and just log the find online using the geocache app.

Tonight we have stopped at another CamperContact aire #24665 at the village of Mordomo less than 10km east as the gull flies from the cemetery. It is just a carpark with no services but it will more than do for the night. Charlie enjoyed running off the lead on its huge beach.

The village has several hórreos or grain stores which you find here and in the Mihno area of northern Portugal - we saw several including some very big ones as we drove through it last week.

On the map this is where we are. (Blue blob)

And the story of the wreck is as follows.


Cemiterio dos Ingleses

Between Punta do Boi and Punta da Cagada, is located one of the most fateful places on the Costa da Morte: there were eight shipwrecks and 245 victims, but the one that created the most commotion was the loss of HMS Serpent .

This battleship departed on November 8 from Plymouth to Sierra Leone. She sailed too close to the land and combined with the poor light of the Vilán Lighthouse struck the Punta do Boi at 23:00 on November 10, 1890, in the place that today is called "the bass of the Serpent". The captain ordered the launching of ropes by the cannon-launcher but they broke against the rocks. They tried to use the boats but the blows of the sea swept the entire carapace. Then the order was heard: "Save yourself who can!"

At night only the cries of anguish could be heard. The sea, helped by the stones, unmade the bodies of the crew. But three sailors, surnamed Bourton, Gould and Lacsne, were pushed by the sea to the beach of Trece, resulting in the only survivors of the tragedy.

In the following days the sea gave up the bodies of the 172 remaining sailors. The priest of Xaviña mobilized the neighbors to proceed to the burial of the bodies in this place.

The remains of the captain and officers remain in the interior of the cemetery and in the outer area, those of the sailors.

The English Admiralty entertained the people of Camariñas, in gratitude for their behavior, with a barometer, the priest of Xaviña with a shotgun, and the mayor with a clock. In the first years after the catastrophe, a ship of the British Navy came to the place to throw a wreath of flowers and each English warship that passed near these coasts threw some salvos of ordinance in the honor of the companions buried in the English Cemetery.

To the right of the cemetery you can appreciate the incomparable landscape of Monte Branco, the largest ravine dune in Galicia and at its feet, the caramiñas* that populate the area.


*A type of heather, Corema album

 

[Tribbtravs]

Really great thread, your travels are just so interesting and the story about HMS Serpent so very interesting.
We are about to start our travels on Friday and have 7 weeks (I have just retired "early" I might add! And OH due to finish end of year) we will without doubt be following some of your routes both current and previous.

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[monzer]

Very sobering. 172 souls lost is tragic.

That aside, how do you get on with the storage box I see on the rear of your van? My van isn't great for space and I am thinking about something similar to hold my outside table, chairs etc.

 

[DBK]

Very sobering. 172 souls lost is tragic.

That aside, how do you get on with the storage box I see on the rear of your van? My van isn't great for space and I am thinking about something similar to hold my outside table, chairs etc.

We've had it on for about 25K miles now and without problems. It carries our folding chairs, silver screen cover and bits and bobs such as the hose etc. The main thing is to keep the weight down and go slowly over speed bumps. I bought it second hand for a very reasonable price but they are expensive new.

 

[vwalan]

hi, glad you found it . certainly part of plymouth history ,yet many will never know about it .
my dad was plymouth based for awhile in the navy. was only a kid when we first visited the place.
but the coast road is fantastic . enjoy your drive and only drive slowly . i,m sure you are driving too fast. hee hee .
still lots to see along that coast. have fun .

 

[DBK]

hi, glad you found it . certainly part of plymouth history ,yet many will never know about it .
my dad was plymouth based for awhile in the navy. was only a kid when we first visited the place.
but the coast road is fantastic . enjoy your drive and only drive slowly . i,m sure you are driving too fast. hee hee .
still lots to see along that coast. have fun .

Sadly we have to catch the ferry a week today so we are going to have to put a spurt on to get a bit nearer Santander. Delaying the ferry isn't an option - we have a house painter booked for the following Monday.

But we will return to Galicia, there is still so much to see here.

I looked up the European Cemeteries organisation. Their website includes a map.

https://cemeteriesroute.eu/map.aspx

Which isn't completely up to date as it doesn't include the one here.

They even have a mobile app to help you find points of interest in some of the grave yards! I might stick to geocaching.

 

[vwalan]

if you get time have a drive out to cabo penas . the view from out there is amazing . you see mountains way off in the distance . earlier in the year you see snowcapped ones and your in the sunshine . but worth the drive .
galicia is my favourite part of spain .

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[DBK]

We are currently sitting near a beach a short drive from Santander where we will board the ferry to Plymouth this evening.

But first a belated catch-up on what we've been doing, or not doing, over the last week. After Mordomo and the hórreos (post #219) we drove to just north of A Coruña and Camping Valdoviño (CC57869). This turned out to be a mistake. The town was hosting a leg of a Spanish surfing championship and the site and the beach were very busy. So we stayed just one night and then put in a very long drive to San Vicente de la Barquera a little west of Santander.

There are options here to park for free along the harbour wall next to the bus station and there is a commercial aire a little outside town but we opted for the relative comfort of Camping El Rosal which is within easy walking distance of the town.

San Vicente is close to the Picos de Europa, here seen with a little snow on them on the first of July.

The main preoccupations of the campers here seemed to be fishing and surfing. The main beach a couple of hundred metres from the campsite had some good surf on it while we were there and was very popular. The site faces the sea in two directions, the surf beach on one side and the sheltered harbour side, a bit like a mini-Poole harbour on the other.
We did a little exploring, there is a very small old part of the town with a little castle and church.

And the remain of a town wall I think.

Some of the stones near the church had some fairly old graffiti carved into them. One even had my initials - I didn't do it!

 

[DBK]

I might try and send something from the ferry tomorrow, summing up my thoughts of this trip.

For completeness, though I'm not sure it is entirely complete here is a list of the birds we saw.

Crag Martin
Black redstart
Rock bunting
Blue rock thrush
Wryneck
Corn bunting
Spanish imperial eagle
Black stork
Black vulture
Griffon vulture
Egyptian vulture
Dunlin
Serin
Stonechat
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
White Stork
Turtle Dove
Rock Dove
Night Heron
Golden Oriole
Lesser Spotted Flycatcher
Pied Flycatcher
Iberian Grey Shrike
Woodchat Shrike
Bee-Eater
Starling
Spotless Starling
Goldcrest/Firecrest - on distribution the latter but view not good enough
Treecreeper/Short Toed Treecreeper - as above
Western Orphean Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Blackbird
Little Ringed Plover
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow - probably hybrid with House Sparrow
House Martin
Swift
Penduline Tit
Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Kestrel
Scops Owl (heard only)
Quail - as above
Corn hunting
Egyptian Goose
Nightjar/Red Necked Nightjar
Gull Billed Tern
Flamingo
Turnstone
Squacco Heron
Reed Warbler
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Raven
Avocet
Black Winged Stilt
Black Kite
Red Kite
Ferruginous Duck
Pochard
Ruddy Duck
Red Crested Pochard
Shovellor
Coot
Moorhen
Swallow
Red Rumped Swallow
Swift

 

[Chockswahay]

@DBK yet again another very interesting and inspiring thread, thank you

Just where am I gonna find the time

 

[MikeD]

Great thread and a pleasure to follow.

Did you not mention you saw a Kingfisher in a earlier posting?

 

[DBK]

Great thread and a pleasure to follow.

Did you not mention you saw a Kingfisher in a earlier posting?

I knew it wasn't complete!

List continued.

Kingfisher

My brother is much more organised. He carries a notebook with him.

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[Lenny HB]

I might try and send something from the ferry tomorrow, summing up my thoughts of this trip.

For completeness, though I'm not sure it is entirely complete here is a list of the birds we saw.

Crag Martin
Black redstart
Rock bunting
Blue rock thrush
Wryneck
Corn bunting
Spanish imperial eagle
Black stork
Black vulture
Griffon vulture
Egyptian vulture
Dunlin
Serin
Stonechat
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Cattle Egret
Little Egret
White Stork
Turtle Dove
Rock Dove
Night Heron
Golden Oriole
Lesser Spotted Flycatcher
Pied Flycatcher
Iberian Grey Shrike
Woodchat Shrike
Bee-Eater
Starling
Spotless Starling
Goldcrest/Firecrest - on distribution the latter but view not good enough
Treecreeper/Short Toed Treecreeper - as above
Western Orphean Warbler
Sardinian Warbler
Blackbird
Little Ringed Plover
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow - probably hybrid with House Sparrow
House Martin
Swift
Penduline Tit
Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Kestrel
Scops Owl (heard only)
Quail - as above
Corn hunting
Egyptian Goose
Nightjar/Red Necked Nightjar
Gull Billed Tern
Flamingo
Turnstone
Squacco Heron
Reed Warbler
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Raven
Avocet
Black Winged Stilt
Black Kite
Red Kite
Ferruginous Duck
Pochard
Ruddy Duck
Red Crested Pochard
Shovellor
Coot
Moorhen
Swallow
Red Rumped Swallow
Swift

Steady on this Fun you are not supposed to brag about all the birds you have pulled.

 

[vwalan]

my mate bob got pulled by a young lady in san vicente de barquera .
yes by isabel the dentist.hee hee.
only once though ,
a tooth pulled . ha ha .

 

[Nomad.]

We are currently sitting in the queue at Plymouth waiting to board the ferry to Santander. The plan is to head towards the south west, Andalusia and Extremadura then return through Portugal to Galicia before ending back in Santander at the beginning of July.
But like all our plans this one may be subject to later modification!

Have a lovely time.

 

[Spriddler]

Have a lovely time.

I've waited in some long queues for the ferry, but never for FIVE years.