Walking the Camino dos Faros

For those planning lunch on Stage 1 the Bar Xan and Restaurant Seiruga were recently reported as closed, although the Restaurant Seiruga may open in the summer

p35 - the Restuarant O Xan - the best place en route to buy a sandwich - is now closed, so if not stopping for a meal at either of the other two restaurants buy a sandwich in Malpica.

p65 - the cafe at the lighthouse Faro de Cabo Vilan is shut so buy a sandwich at Arou.

One of our customers, Ferdinand, walked the route in early October and while he enjoyed excellent weather, made a number of points that should be considered if walking late in the year and out of the holiday season.

Firstly he found a number of the bars and lunch spots mentioned in the guide closed - this may be a seasonal thing or it may be that some of these businesses haven't survived Covid. In particular, the Michelin starred As Garvas was shut on Monday (many Spanish restaurants if they open on Sunday shut on Monday) and the Bar Xan looks like its closure might be more permanent.

He also discovered that in October there is no direct bus from A Coruna to Malpica at the weekend and that you need to change at Carballo, something not mentioned in the guide. The guide does recommend that travel arrangements are checked using the wonderful RometoRio website and this usually provides up-to-date information direct from the operators' websites.

Ferdinand also speculated that it would be possible to cut across the Rio Grande at low tide after Praia do Arino and avoid some of the inland track to Ponte do Porte and indeed the whole river bed is used by locals to harvest shellfish. This is not the recommended route however as far as Camino dos Faros Association is concerned although they do identify other low tide shortcuts later in the walk.

The GR white-red waymarkers have not yet been installed and the trail still uses the green markers, but Ferdinand found the GPX traces generally accurate and helpful.

Despite the out of season feel, Ferdinand recommends the route in October and, although there are some closures, helpfully found some previously unidentified and recommended accommodation after Cereixo - the Casa Rural de Cereixo (www.casaruraldecereixo.com) .