Part 2: The Mystery and Beauty of Galicia
Sep 29th, 2016, 04:44 AM
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Part 2: The Mystery and Beauty of Galicia
Going into a bit more detail here about my recent time in Galicia: Rias Baixas wine region, Sanxenxo, Ribeira Sacra, Ribadeo (Ourense and then on up into the mountains and hills), Rinlo and Cathedral Beach, and Pontevedra.
The highlights of the entire trip for me were Rinlo and the hike from Rinlo to the famous Cathedral Beach (as well as the other beaches you pass along the way from Rinlo).
Rinlo itself was the perfect little seaside village for me. Tiny. Not even big enough for a supermarket or a gas station or indeed any businesses other than the few seafood focused restaurants that double as cafes/bars during the day and are there for purely touristic purposes (though this doesn't mean the food isn't good-seafood is abundant here and doesn't need much special treatment to be excellent!)
When you drive into Rinlo from nearby Ribadeo you find yourself suddenly on tiny streets in an even tinier village and it's not clear in what direction you should head. Just keep following along in the same direction and you'll quickly pass through the tiny town and end up crossing a little bridge that leads to an open parking lot where you can park for free near the water (sort of like a small boatdock type area with no boats).
The air is full of the smell of salt, the wind is crisp and you'll see signs pointing you to trails that will lead you various places, one of which is Cathedral Beach (8 kilometers or so) on your side of the bridge. But crossing back over the bridge into the village you'll head towards pastel and bright blue painted restaurants (like something right out of a painting) and past them, to tiny cobbled streets. Surrounding the entire village, are walking paths, access to the rocks and water, and vistas of the ocean. it feels like being on a tiny island. No knick knacks for sales, no shops to go shopping in. Just simple, tranquil, oceanic and sea air bliss.
A bit farther inside the village (literally could walk through whole center of village in less than 5 minutes) is another restaurant (or cafe before 1:30pm) called Porto de Rinlo.
We had lunch there and it was very good. The specialty in Rinlo is their Arroz Calderoso which is basically a big pot of rice stew that has been cooked with a whole lobster and spices. It's so popular literally every table orders it, and if you don't call ahead (or come into town early like we did and check in with the restaurant about their opening times) to reserve your lobster and make a reservation for a particular time you won't be tasting this special dish. It takes 45 + minutes to prepare so they need advance notice. Their mussels and pulpo were great (not surprising in this area) and their house white was so-so (hit and miss with Albarino house wine in this region)
The restaurant was also attached to a little motel-vacation apartments rental spot that would be well located to enjoy this lovely village for a few days or a week (some might be bored in such a small village but my bf and I would have loved to stay a week and take hikes, eat seafood, and read-relax by the ocean!)
After our lunch in town, the weather suddenly stopped being so lovely (aka the sun disappeared and a misty rain started). We didn't have rain jackets (my Galician boyfriend had told me 'no way it will rain!' even after I asked him three times 'are you sure? It's Galicia....') and were wearing shorts because it had been very warm. But we were not going to change our plan to walk along the cliffs and the paths from Rinlo to Cathedral Beach.
Heading out of Rinlo, just outside, there are some lovely ruins (of what we're still not quite sure) near the ocean and along the walk we saw a lot of lovely old abandoned stoned cottages or remnants of the frames of old stone buildings. As we got closer, we came to some beautiful beaches and rocks (not at all crowded if you are before the low tide time-which is when you are supposed to go). We hung out on on of the beaches until it was time to walk to Cathedral Beach.
There is a certain time you have to go to be able to walk onto the beach and underneath all of the rock arches and formations and it must be low tide so you have to check ahead of time what time that will be. By the time it was low tide and we were at Cathedral Beach there were big buses arriving in the parking lots there with crowds of people (all Spanish or Portugese you don't see many other types of tourists in Galicia unless on the Camino typically-especially after summer). We could have taken a bus back from the beach to Rinlo but opted to walk again since we had been driving a lot (Galicia requires a lot of driving).
All in all perfect day and we really kicked ourselves for not knowing about Rinlo as a place we could stay for the night when we had made our trip plans. With Galicia unless you know the name of the place you are visiting and what towns are nearby you won't easily find info on other places except by accident (or once you're there and driving past it). My boyfriend, being from the area, had never even heard of Rinlo (or didn't remember it) though he'd certainly been to Cathedral Beach and he'd also been to Ribadeo once.
Previous to our lovely Rinlo and Cathedral Beach Experience, I spent three days solo in the Riberia Sacra Region (hours away from the coast, and about two hours from Orense, the nearest major city you can train to, by car).
I'll report on that trip in my next post. It was mostly about exploring the region getting a feel for the history, the wine industry and region and tasting some wines, as it's a much lesser known and far less touristed wine region than any other in Spain but also has some of the coolest terroir and most difficult-to-harvest vineyard conditions.
signing off for now
The highlights of the entire trip for me were Rinlo and the hike from Rinlo to the famous Cathedral Beach (as well as the other beaches you pass along the way from Rinlo).
Rinlo itself was the perfect little seaside village for me. Tiny. Not even big enough for a supermarket or a gas station or indeed any businesses other than the few seafood focused restaurants that double as cafes/bars during the day and are there for purely touristic purposes (though this doesn't mean the food isn't good-seafood is abundant here and doesn't need much special treatment to be excellent!)
When you drive into Rinlo from nearby Ribadeo you find yourself suddenly on tiny streets in an even tinier village and it's not clear in what direction you should head. Just keep following along in the same direction and you'll quickly pass through the tiny town and end up crossing a little bridge that leads to an open parking lot where you can park for free near the water (sort of like a small boatdock type area with no boats).
The air is full of the smell of salt, the wind is crisp and you'll see signs pointing you to trails that will lead you various places, one of which is Cathedral Beach (8 kilometers or so) on your side of the bridge. But crossing back over the bridge into the village you'll head towards pastel and bright blue painted restaurants (like something right out of a painting) and past them, to tiny cobbled streets. Surrounding the entire village, are walking paths, access to the rocks and water, and vistas of the ocean. it feels like being on a tiny island. No knick knacks for sales, no shops to go shopping in. Just simple, tranquil, oceanic and sea air bliss.
A bit farther inside the village (literally could walk through whole center of village in less than 5 minutes) is another restaurant (or cafe before 1:30pm) called Porto de Rinlo.
We had lunch there and it was very good. The specialty in Rinlo is their Arroz Calderoso which is basically a big pot of rice stew that has been cooked with a whole lobster and spices. It's so popular literally every table orders it, and if you don't call ahead (or come into town early like we did and check in with the restaurant about their opening times) to reserve your lobster and make a reservation for a particular time you won't be tasting this special dish. It takes 45 + minutes to prepare so they need advance notice. Their mussels and pulpo were great (not surprising in this area) and their house white was so-so (hit and miss with Albarino house wine in this region)
The restaurant was also attached to a little motel-vacation apartments rental spot that would be well located to enjoy this lovely village for a few days or a week (some might be bored in such a small village but my bf and I would have loved to stay a week and take hikes, eat seafood, and read-relax by the ocean!)
After our lunch in town, the weather suddenly stopped being so lovely (aka the sun disappeared and a misty rain started). We didn't have rain jackets (my Galician boyfriend had told me 'no way it will rain!' even after I asked him three times 'are you sure? It's Galicia....') and were wearing shorts because it had been very warm. But we were not going to change our plan to walk along the cliffs and the paths from Rinlo to Cathedral Beach.
Heading out of Rinlo, just outside, there are some lovely ruins (of what we're still not quite sure) near the ocean and along the walk we saw a lot of lovely old abandoned stoned cottages or remnants of the frames of old stone buildings. As we got closer, we came to some beautiful beaches and rocks (not at all crowded if you are before the low tide time-which is when you are supposed to go). We hung out on on of the beaches until it was time to walk to Cathedral Beach.
There is a certain time you have to go to be able to walk onto the beach and underneath all of the rock arches and formations and it must be low tide so you have to check ahead of time what time that will be. By the time it was low tide and we were at Cathedral Beach there were big buses arriving in the parking lots there with crowds of people (all Spanish or Portugese you don't see many other types of tourists in Galicia unless on the Camino typically-especially after summer). We could have taken a bus back from the beach to Rinlo but opted to walk again since we had been driving a lot (Galicia requires a lot of driving).
All in all perfect day and we really kicked ourselves for not knowing about Rinlo as a place we could stay for the night when we had made our trip plans. With Galicia unless you know the name of the place you are visiting and what towns are nearby you won't easily find info on other places except by accident (or once you're there and driving past it). My boyfriend, being from the area, had never even heard of Rinlo (or didn't remember it) though he'd certainly been to Cathedral Beach and he'd also been to Ribadeo once.
Previous to our lovely Rinlo and Cathedral Beach Experience, I spent three days solo in the Riberia Sacra Region (hours away from the coast, and about two hours from Orense, the nearest major city you can train to, by car).
I'll report on that trip in my next post. It was mostly about exploring the region getting a feel for the history, the wine industry and region and tasting some wines, as it's a much lesser known and far less touristed wine region than any other in Spain but also has some of the coolest terroir and most difficult-to-harvest vineyard conditions.
signing off for now
Sep 29th, 2016, 09:05 AM
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Rinlo and Cathedral Beach sound wonderful. They hadn't even been on my radar and now they are. So my trip planning to northern Spain (for next summer) is getting out of hand as trip reports like yours keep me adding new places.
So a couple questions I hope you can answer -
How long did it take you to do that walk?
If we were driving from Santiago or Lugo and wanted to stop in Rinlo for a few hour to see it and Cathedral Beach would you think it would be safe to leave our (rental) car with luggage in the trunk? I know there are some areas (of Europe) where that's not advised but I was hoping northern Spain wasn't one of them.
So a couple questions I hope you can answer -
How long did it take you to do that walk?
If we were driving from Santiago or Lugo and wanted to stop in Rinlo for a few hour to see it and Cathedral Beach would you think it would be safe to leave our (rental) car with luggage in the trunk? I know there are some areas (of Europe) where that's not advised but I was hoping northern Spain wasn't one of them.
Sep 29th, 2016, 09:52 AM
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We happened upon so many beautiful untouristed spots in Galicia. It served us well that our daughter in law (and son) were travelling with us, as her heritage is Spanish, and she was able to converse much more freely than she had thought possible. Even so, the Galegan's Spanish is quite different than anywhere else in Spain.
And the seafood everywhere was the best and freshest that we have ever enjoyed.
And the seafood everywhere was the best and freshest that we have ever enjoyed.
Sep 30th, 2016, 10:29 AM
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isabel-
Lugo would be the closest major city so if you were driving from there, conceivably you could do a half day in Rinlo but I'd check Michelim maps if I were you. Galicia has a lot of long drives that seem like they'll be shorter than they are before you take them. And yes, I'd feel completely safe leaving my rental car (as I did when I was there) in the parking lot. It's a town of population 60 or so it's no Madrid!
Our walk from Rinlo to Cathedral beach would have taken about an hour if we hadn't stopped so much. We stopped and spent 30-45 minutes at the other beaches on the way.
Sundriedtopepo- you are right Gallego is much different than Spanish! It's closer to Portugese. Spanish people don't understand Galician more than a few words here and there. I hear my boyfriend speak it when he's on the phone with his mom and not only is it not Spanish but Galicians or Gallegos speak at 1 million miles per minute without stopping, and mush all their words together (many say like a song-so it could be compared to people from Cork Ireland who get the same comments
I ate razor clams, mejillones (mussels), chipirones (small calamari like squid) and pulpo every day!
Lugo would be the closest major city so if you were driving from there, conceivably you could do a half day in Rinlo but I'd check Michelim maps if I were you. Galicia has a lot of long drives that seem like they'll be shorter than they are before you take them. And yes, I'd feel completely safe leaving my rental car (as I did when I was there) in the parking lot. It's a town of population 60 or so it's no Madrid!
Our walk from Rinlo to Cathedral beach would have taken about an hour if we hadn't stopped so much. We stopped and spent 30-45 minutes at the other beaches on the way.
Sundriedtopepo- you are right Gallego is much different than Spanish! It's closer to Portugese. Spanish people don't understand Galician more than a few words here and there. I hear my boyfriend speak it when he's on the phone with his mom and not only is it not Spanish but Galicians or Gallegos speak at 1 million miles per minute without stopping, and mush all their words together (many say like a song-so it could be compared to people from Cork Ireland who get the same comments
I ate razor clams, mejillones (mussels), chipirones (small calamari like squid) and pulpo every day!
Sep 30th, 2016, 06:45 PM
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Oh, wow, loving your report. I know Ribadeo, but had never heard of Rinlo. Always wanted to see Cathedral Beach so might have to base myself there sometime. You say you didnt overnight there, where was your base?
Oct 2nd, 2016, 11:33 PM
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cruiseluv- we stayed overnight in a casa rurale just 15 minutes down the road, but it wasn't in a town of any type, just off the side of the highway (which you don't see when you book it ahahah). Very cute place. Quiet nights with great sleep. Lovely building. However, had we known the name of a town to look for a place in (though still quite difficult when booking casa rurales because I typed in Galicia and it was sometimes completely unclear where places were because they would simply be listed as 'Lugo' which is a huge area and then of course you'd have to go to the listing, click on their address, find it in a map and try to figure out how far things were-) we would have.
Casa Rurales are my go-to in Spain, these are local B&B's you won't find on Airbnb or hotels.com and that often only are listed in Spanish (but you can translate and often hosts will answer you in English if you sound like you are not Spanish). I've stayed in 3 so far and paid no more than 55 euros a night for any of them and they were all very nice. Cozy B&B's, located out in the more remote or less touristed spots and closer to vineyards, or rivers, or the beaches/hiking I wanted to do.
Casa Rurales often don't work like you are used to with Airbnb or hotels.com though. You often have to simply email to ask about availability. They confirm availability and price (sometimes 2 days later- so if you know Spanish it's better to call) and then you often can't pay online because there is no automatic booking button (and many don't have credit card machines to boot) so you have to send a nominal deposit to the owner's bank account. Some might not feel safe doing that. But, as I found my places through websites: Top Rural and then the a Galicia site I can't remember but will find I figured they couldn't be on there and have good ratings if they were stealing people's money. Besides, the price and location were so much better for me than just taking a hotel of hotels.com or booking. I got to be in tiny villages or really in peaceful places with no other tourists versus in the nearest city.
I took a photo of a sign of the lodging in Rinlo next to the restaurant we ate at. We saw no other lodging or hotels or apartments but there might be a house or two that gets rented to tourists-we just don't know where to find it (yet)
The apartments we saw were called the
Apartamentos As Cetereas [email protected]
But I've also found another super cool source for finding unique lodging-accommodation and they have some Galicia properties. The site is called Sawday's or Canopy and Stars, here's the website:
http://www.sawdays.co.uk/find?Search...#!display=list
Cheers!
Brooke
Casa Rurales are my go-to in Spain, these are local B&B's you won't find on Airbnb or hotels.com and that often only are listed in Spanish (but you can translate and often hosts will answer you in English if you sound like you are not Spanish). I've stayed in 3 so far and paid no more than 55 euros a night for any of them and they were all very nice. Cozy B&B's, located out in the more remote or less touristed spots and closer to vineyards, or rivers, or the beaches/hiking I wanted to do.
Casa Rurales often don't work like you are used to with Airbnb or hotels.com though. You often have to simply email to ask about availability. They confirm availability and price (sometimes 2 days later- so if you know Spanish it's better to call) and then you often can't pay online because there is no automatic booking button (and many don't have credit card machines to boot) so you have to send a nominal deposit to the owner's bank account. Some might not feel safe doing that. But, as I found my places through websites: Top Rural and then the a Galicia site I can't remember but will find I figured they couldn't be on there and have good ratings if they were stealing people's money. Besides, the price and location were so much better for me than just taking a hotel of hotels.com or booking. I got to be in tiny villages or really in peaceful places with no other tourists versus in the nearest city.
I took a photo of a sign of the lodging in Rinlo next to the restaurant we ate at. We saw no other lodging or hotels or apartments but there might be a house or two that gets rented to tourists-we just don't know where to find it (yet)
The apartments we saw were called the
Apartamentos As Cetereas [email protected]
But I've also found another super cool source for finding unique lodging-accommodation and they have some Galicia properties. The site is called Sawday's or Canopy and Stars, here's the website:
http://www.sawdays.co.uk/find?Search...#!display=list
Cheers!
Brooke
Oct 3rd, 2016, 02:06 AM
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The information about Casa Rural is nonsense. I run a Casa Rural in Galicia. I have to correct what you say that they are not listed on AirB&B or such portals is not accurate. I do not like the website (AB&B)and the way it is run, so I would personally not use it as a guest or as a listed business.
Sawdays is hugely expensive to get listed on. So you will find that accommodation(S) that are listed on there are not prevalent, neither will they be cheap.
The website that a lot list on is Booking.com
The official website covering all vacation accommodation in Galicia is http://www.turismo.gal. However, it is an unwieldy website with far too much information and sometimes the section covering the English language simply does not have a page, you have to go to Spanish or Galician language. You can book accommodation via that website. The Xunta de Galicia has a special working relationship with a booking portal. However, it is not so easy as Booking to use.
Top Rural use to be the site to list on, but since Trip Advisor/Homeaway took over listings have crashed.
One last thing. Due to regulations to which accommodation in Galicia has to abide by anything called a Casa Rural has to be in an isolated location. I cannot speak for the rest of Spain.
Sawdays is hugely expensive to get listed on. So you will find that accommodation(S) that are listed on there are not prevalent, neither will they be cheap.
The website that a lot list on is Booking.com
The official website covering all vacation accommodation in Galicia is http://www.turismo.gal. However, it is an unwieldy website with far too much information and sometimes the section covering the English language simply does not have a page, you have to go to Spanish or Galician language. You can book accommodation via that website. The Xunta de Galicia has a special working relationship with a booking portal. However, it is not so easy as Booking to use.
Top Rural use to be the site to list on, but since Trip Advisor/Homeaway took over listings have crashed.
One last thing. Due to regulations to which accommodation in Galicia has to abide by anything called a Casa Rural has to be in an isolated location. I cannot speak for the rest of Spain.
Oct 12th, 2016, 12:00 AM
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ribeirasacra: I did not say casas rurales are NEVER on other sites. But all of the casas rurales I have stayed in (that I found on Top Rural and through Xunta Galicia) have not been on Airbnb, and have not been on booking.com
that is likely due to the areas I was staying in. It's not a surprise that some people cross-post their listings on other sites. But in the areas I stayed in, the places I was in contact with were not on Airbnb, were not on booking.com, etc. I do not post information that is untrue. I searched for places on all sites before ever finding Top Rural and the areas I was traveling to did not have anything on the other sites (except a few bad hotels in the larger cities in the regions).
I also simply mentioned Sawdays as an alternative. I did not say that casas rurales were listed on there. Nor did I say it was prevalent. In fact, I made the point that it is new and it's not a major site. It has some extremely cool properties (and yes many of them are expensive), particularly luxury properties, and many people who are on vacations and have nice budgets will really like the site. People have the right to use multiple resources when looking for lodging while traveling. Some want luxury, some want cheap and basic and still others prefer remote and less touristed areas.
It is good to be aware of all of the unique sites out there right now. Many areas are not well covered by some of the sites, but are well covered by others.
I agree Turismo Galicia's page is not great. Neither is Xunta Galicia's. But they are nice additional resources and I found a few listings on Xunta that were of use.
Top Rural, however, has been for me the absolute best resource for finding accommodation in the more remote or rural areas of Spain.And, since those are the areas I like to visit, it will continue to be my site of choice. Your note that it 'used to be' the place to post is interesting but it doesn't mean that it's not a great site to use when traveling to off the beaten path locations in Spain. It is an invaluable resource for me in Spain.
that is likely due to the areas I was staying in. It's not a surprise that some people cross-post their listings on other sites. But in the areas I stayed in, the places I was in contact with were not on Airbnb, were not on booking.com, etc. I do not post information that is untrue. I searched for places on all sites before ever finding Top Rural and the areas I was traveling to did not have anything on the other sites (except a few bad hotels in the larger cities in the regions).
I also simply mentioned Sawdays as an alternative. I did not say that casas rurales were listed on there. Nor did I say it was prevalent. In fact, I made the point that it is new and it's not a major site. It has some extremely cool properties (and yes many of them are expensive), particularly luxury properties, and many people who are on vacations and have nice budgets will really like the site. People have the right to use multiple resources when looking for lodging while traveling. Some want luxury, some want cheap and basic and still others prefer remote and less touristed areas.
It is good to be aware of all of the unique sites out there right now. Many areas are not well covered by some of the sites, but are well covered by others.
I agree Turismo Galicia's page is not great. Neither is Xunta Galicia's. But they are nice additional resources and I found a few listings on Xunta that were of use.
Top Rural, however, has been for me the absolute best resource for finding accommodation in the more remote or rural areas of Spain.And, since those are the areas I like to visit, it will continue to be my site of choice. Your note that it 'used to be' the place to post is interesting but it doesn't mean that it's not a great site to use when traveling to off the beaten path locations in Spain. It is an invaluable resource for me in Spain.
Oct 12th, 2016, 03:01 AM
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I am write from the business side accommodation here in Galicia. I am in an association of tourism. I can assure you that, me and my fellow businesses, owners say that TR is not working at all. Listings have reduced over the years.
Turgalicia Officially lists 718 Casa Rurals- That figure includes self catering but no Pazos (manor houses)
TR lists 330 Casa Rurals including self catering and Pazos
Booking Lists 300+ Casa Rurals. Maybe that includes Pazos too.
Sawdays lists only 10 2 are classed self catering and 6 as hotels not casa rurals.
AirBnB has 300 plus rentals which are for the whole property, But one cannot filter this to only rural locations. You have to search on the map for that. I doubt if many of those listed have licences to do so.
What is very good about booking.com is that reservation is instant plus no language difficulties and there is a phone app. You can book as you travel.
Another correction: Sawdays is not new. Books have been around since 1994 and website since 1998.
A practical point: When searching maybe a person should be aware that the results are these days twisted. The listing portals etc have big adverting funds. They pay a great deal of money for Google-ads. Thus getting more hits on the website/portal and as a consequence are pushed up rankings.That means they are nearer the top of any search. It is a huge problem for the owners of small business no matter what they trade in. Over the years it has got a lot worse.
http://www.bizbuzz.co.nz/articles/ho...nge-google-ads
Turgalicia Officially lists 718 Casa Rurals- That figure includes self catering but no Pazos (manor houses)
TR lists 330 Casa Rurals including self catering and Pazos
Booking Lists 300+ Casa Rurals. Maybe that includes Pazos too.
Sawdays lists only 10 2 are classed self catering and 6 as hotels not casa rurals.
AirBnB has 300 plus rentals which are for the whole property, But one cannot filter this to only rural locations. You have to search on the map for that. I doubt if many of those listed have licences to do so.
What is very good about booking.com is that reservation is instant plus no language difficulties and there is a phone app. You can book as you travel.
Another correction: Sawdays is not new. Books have been around since 1994 and website since 1998.
A practical point: When searching maybe a person should be aware that the results are these days twisted. The listing portals etc have big adverting funds. They pay a great deal of money for Google-ads. Thus getting more hits on the website/portal and as a consequence are pushed up rankings.That means they are nearer the top of any search. It is a huge problem for the owners of small business no matter what they trade in. Over the years it has got a lot worse.
http://www.bizbuzz.co.nz/articles/ho...nge-google-ads
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