Stage La Caridad to Ribadeo

The stage between La Caridad and Ribadeo covers 21.3 kilometres and closes the long Asturian passage of the Camino del Norte, setting the pilgrim down in Galicia. It is an easy day with no surprises: the profile accumulates barely 206 metres of ascent and 227 of descent, and the surface alternates comfortable dirt tracks with local roads carrying little traffic.

Here the route gives up the coastal cornice and heads inland, through a farming and stock-raising landscape of meadows, maize fields and quiet hamlets. The succession of villages —San Pelayo, Valdepares, Porcía, Tol— sets the rhythm of a morning without great scenic attractions, but well supplied with services and very kind to the legs. There is an alternative variant by way of Tapia de Casariego, somewhat longer and hugging the sea, which many pilgrims prefer for the views.

The moment of the stage comes at the end. After passing Barres and Figueras the Camino looks out over the ría del Eo, the natural border between Asturias and Galicia and one of the loveliest sights on the route, with its marshes, its sandbanks and the boats at anchor. The crossing is made on the puente de los Santos, along a narrow, uncomfortable pedestrian walkway, windy and with the traffic alongside: you need to keep your wits about you, but on the other side you set foot in Galicia for the first time.

Ribadeo, capital of A Mariña lucense, is a seafaring and stately town that lived off emigration to America. Its old quarter is dotted with indiano houses, and the Torre de los Moreno, with its dome and its exuberant modernista decoration, is the most singular example. The plaza de España, the viewpoint over the ría and the faro de Illa Pancha complete the visit, and a few kilometres away lies the playa de As Catedrais, with its rock arches. From here the Camino says a final goodbye to the Cantábrico and heads inland.