This bay, faced on the west and kind of closed by small islands and Punta Queimada provides the visitors with a true oases of tranquility before reaching Niñóns. It is at this point where Malpica ends and Ponteceso starts to form part of O Camiño dos Faros.
The surroundings of Punta Nariga is full with magic. A wind power plant was built to take advantage of the strong wind that dominates the area most of the year, which gives to the place a solitary aspect. When walking along it, we will see some rock formations with endless shapes.
When getting to the lighthouse, we see the construction by César Portela inaugurated in 1997 that imitates the shape of the bow of a ship getting into the sea. The figurehead is a sculpture by Manolo Coia and a perfect place to take a photo.
Being aware of the danger, we can walk along the rocks the lighthouse stands over. These rocks have different shapes because of the erosive effect the sea and the wind have on them.
It is the first big lighthouse we visit in our route and it is here where we understand the reason of the name of the route. Although the lighthouses are indsipensable elements along A Costa da Morte, it is from this point from where we can see a great part of what we have done so far in this first stage and part of the beginning of the second one. This possibility of seeing what we have walked and the route that is left will go with us along the rest of O Camiño dos Faros.
It is here in Punta Nariga where we will do the stop of grouping to face the last part of this stage that will lead us to the Beach Niñóns, with some difficulties. That´s why we do recommend doing it during the day, never at night.
The Sisargas Islands are a small archipelago uninhabited placed 1 mile off the Cape of Saint Adrián in Malpica. This archipelago is formed by the islands “Grande”, “Chica” and “Malante” together with some islets. They were inhabited in the past as the presence of the Chapel Santa Mariña proves. This chapel that was destroyed by the pirates in their endless raids all along the 10the century.
This nature reserve is rich in plant and animal life. Loads of endangered birds nest in these islands and some other ones just use them to rest in their long-distance migrations. Species such as the herring gull, the kittiwake, and the seagull known as the “dark” seagull. They find in the cliffs that are in the northern part of the island the perfect habitat.
If we have the chance of getting close to the island and walk along it, we shouldn´t miss it. There is no company that can take us, so the only way is to find a ship from Malpica that take us there.
We land in a small natural port. We can take a dip in the only beach the island has and start a walk that will take us to the lighthouse admiring an amazing view of Malpica and Saint Adrián. The seagulls and the herring gulls are the real owners of these islands and they will come with us while we stay in the island. They will protect their eggs and their chicks.
We reach the lighthouse. It was built in 1919, and it has a mute witness and guide for those sailing by for a long period of time. The lighthouse keeper used to stay there for 15 days alone in the islands till he was replaced by another one. The cliffs near the lighthouse reach 100 meters high. The croaking of the birds and the noise the sea makes are mixed in this view of the sea causing a feeling of vertigo that we will never forget.
We leave the cliffs to head to the forest that covers a huge part of the highest area of the GrandeIsland. This small forest surprises us because of the amount of leaves of the pines. Curiously, the absence of human beings has allowed that the treetops reach our heads.
We descend again till the pier where there is a ship waiting for us that will take us to land after spending some hours that are unforgettable.
The promenade of Caldeirón is the first time we end up near the open sea along O Camiños do Faros. We can see how the sea hits the rocks and we enjoy a view of the Sisargas Islands and part of the route towards Saint Adrián.
We will take this path to the Beach Area Maior, a wide beach with all services that usually families go there with their children as they can enjoy freely as they can´t do in any other areas. In summer, it is the place chosen by different sports competitions to take place, as beach football or volleyball.
This beach provides the visitors with all the services together with terraces over the sea with views of the Sisargas. We do suggest walking along the beach with low tide till the end of Canido beach and enjoy the unique smell of A Costa da Morte.
This is the first beach we go through following O Camiño dos Faros. At the end of the beach, in Canido, after passing by a fountain, a path will lead us towards Seaia and Saint Adrián.
Malpica history is closely linked to its fishing port and whaling. There are records from the 17th century of this kind of fishing carried out by these brave seamen with the help of some highly experienced whalers. The cardinal Jerónimo Hoyo said: “This village is the one where most whales are hunted in Galicia. There are big slaughtering every winter and it brings huge benefits as 200 hundred arrobas or oil “cántaras” (a type of metal containers) from a whaler ship regardless its size. The people from Malpica sell them to people from Biscay and they have to pay for this business 7,000 maravedises (a Spanish old coin) to the archbishop of Iria Flavia as a fixed fee”.
It´s known that this tough sea typical in winter was favorable for the whales that on their way through the Gulf Ártabro were spotted from the SisargasIslands and also from the Atalaia one. The lawyer Molina when describing the GaliciaKingdom said: “As these ports are very tough whales usually get to the areas where the waves and the sea are “high”. And that´s why, here, in some parts of the year, there is a huge slaughtering of them mainly in December, January and February, which is the best moment, there are big slaughterings”
This whaling past was still kept in some houses in Malpica, where the whale vertebra are used as seats and big bones are even used as the beams of the roofs of these houses.
After the decline of whaling and the Civil War, it was really hard for these fishermen to survive by means of the inshore fishing. However, most of them came across with the solution overseas in a village in Perú, called Chimbote. The businessman from Corcubión (a village on the coast of Coruña) Benigno Lago had settled there in the 30s to exploit the fishing of anchoveta to produce fishmeal. In the 1950s, over 300 hundred families mainly from Malpica and Corcubión set off to Chimbote to seek their fortune overseas.
Some of the ones who got there had to overcome huge difficulties. Running away from the Civil War, between 1937 and 1938, they had led to France on the Montevideo (11 men) and on the Rocío (29 men). The passage was really dangerous but the other option even worse.
On the Eve of 29th August, the sea was calm and evading the Franco´s dictatorship vigilance, the Saint Adrián set off with 26 men. They only knew they had to sail northwest for 36 hours and then turned towards the East, without radars, without radios and with provisions for only 2 days. After 3 days, without food supplies on the verge of collapse, they were helped by a Nazi war ship confused them with some ship-wrecked castaways and provided them with food and some fuel to get to Brest.
Once they were on the Republican side they fought on the Aragon front till the defeat made them exile in France for second time. It is then, when on 5th August, 1939, 12 out of the 26 men from Malpica embarked on the Winnipeg,chartered by Pablo Neruda leading to Chile. They stayed there for a few months till they went to Chimbote led by Benigno Lago.
Here in Galicia, they worked a lot but they earnt nothing at all. Overseas, they could become vessel owners by working a bit and with a bit of luck. The amount of anchoveta was huge so, the vessels loaded tons of them every tide. These were times of plenty and the population virtually tripled in 10 years. These emigrants used to gather in the newly-built Spanish Casino. Chimbote was broadly known as the village where the shilver shines as the anchovy and runs as a ray.
However, there was a point when the anchoveta vanished. The overexploitation of the fish stocks, the lack of modernization of their factories and the change of the ocean currents together with the warming of the ocean waters brought about a deep crisis in the sector. Besides, Perú had nationalized its fishing, so it was not that profitable and many of them had returned to their country. To make matters worse, on 31st May, 1970, a devastating earthquake of magnitude 7,9 ripped through the city caused tens of thousands of victims. This earthquake was the end of the History of this city which, despite being so far, had an enormous influence on the History of Malpica.
Along the way leading to the port of Malpica, we can see the women repairing the fishing nets and those people who unload the sardines and the horse mackerels from those boats that have just arrived from fishing. At the end of the pier, some fishers with their fishing rods spend some time fishing squids surrounded by the seagulls squeaking around whereas they look tirelessly for their food at sea and on land.
Then, we go on towards the Lonja (fish market), where the fish and seafood catches are distributed in a unique auction. The buyer sees the goods and the auctioneer starts with a high price that he reduces little by little. When the prices reached is kind of interesting, the buyer stops the auction and takes with him/her the product.
Inside the dock, the boats rest perfectly in line waiting for the next tide. There are some buildings that seem to be stacking blocks as the Tetris, which seem to be over the dock looking at the port with a kind of irregular with different shapes and colors but amazing skyline.
During the Festival of the Sea, all these vessels leave the port to honor the Virgen Carmen, the patron of the sailors, in procession till The Sisargas Islands and it is followed by a large crowd of people.
We leave the port walking up the steep hill of the Lonja which will lead us to the beach Area Maior along the promenade Caldeirón.
It was from this lighthouse from where the Trasnos started this adventure in A Costa da Morte. It was early in the morning after a rich breakfast and we were looking forward to starting this adventure.
It´s known that the km 0 of O Camiño dos Faros undergo the brutal strikes of the waves during the tough winter storms that pass by freely over the pier.
Let´s go…till Fisterra!
