Holiday in the Rias Baixas

Galicia in particular and Northern Spain in general have long been considered to be a hidden jewel in the entire Spanish tourist industry and hidden away within Galicia itself are some further jewels and we are going to examine Costa da Morte further.

If you look at all of the autonomous regions that make up modern day Spain, Galicia has to be the most remote and hidden away within that remoteness lies Costa da Morte.

Historically, always classed as the poorer cousin to some of the other richer regions Galicia had an economy that did not easily lend itself to modernisation and herein lies a paradox in that it is this very reluctance to embrace modernity throughout that gives the region much of its appeal as far as tourism is concerned.

The natives of Galicia if you trace them back far enough have origins very similar to their Celtic cousins in the north and are justifiably proud of their language and culture and these connections no matter how stretched or tenuous give them their sense of regionalism and uniqueness.

Galicia always seemed to be a very closed and inward looking area being fiercely resistant to any formal external invasion and in many ways this degree of isolation was very much driven by the geographical location of the region.

Slowly but surely in the 20th century, Galicia began to develop and today traditional lifestyles rub shoulders with modernity throughout the region whilst at the same time the region has lost none of its more traditional culture and within the tourism economy this is starting to show real benefits.

Located between Cabo San Adrian near Malpica in the North and the Cabo Fisterra in the south west lies the Costa da Morte which as you would expect roughly translates into the “Coast of Death” so names because of the large number of shipwrecks that had been smashed to pieces on the rugged shoreline and also found offshore.

How much of this is actual fact and how much is embellished fantasy it doesn’t matter, as they say, why let the truth get in the way of a good story.

The one fact that is inescapable is the fact that the coast is extremely wild, windswept and rugged. It also has another grim and foreboding aspect to it and these are a series of stone “cruceiros” and also gigantic “borreos” which do tend to add a degree of solemnity bordering on the morbid to it.

That having been said however there is more to the Costa da Morte than just wild rugged scenery and huge Celtic crosses.

The first stop on the coast as you travel southwards from Coruna is Malpica which has been described as a large friendly fishing town that depending upon the day you arrive may or may not be awash with Sea Gulls aplenty!

Next further down the coast is Corme. The town can be reached by a small side road off the main coastal road and is located in a small gentle bay that is used to farm and cultivate shell fish.

Further down the coast from Corme can be found the towns of Ponteceso, Camarinas and Muxia and actual evidence that there is more to see on the Coast da Morte than one would initially think.

There is more to see on the Coast da Morte than one would initially think and it is most definitely an interesting part of any visit to Galicia.

Stephen Morgan writes about a great many Internet Travel based issues and more on the above can be found at Accommodation in Galicia . For a more complete overlook at Tourism in Galicia try http://www.turgalicia.es