It is placed further west than Finisterre, although not as far as Cape of the Nave, which is the westernmost point of the Spanish peninsula. This huge prominent part of the coast is more than 2 kilometers long and it was perfectly marked when the lighthouse was built in1898 to guide the vessels during their voyage as these waters are really dangerous. We start this part by bordering the cape by taking a small path till we reach the lighthouse.
The original lighthouse was not supposed to be built, but as there were several wrecks at the end of the 10th century, it was inaugurated in 1898. They used the optic of the old lighthouse of Vilán. It was placed 50 meters above sea level and 8 meters high. It is next to the dwelling of the lighthouse keepers. Its light reached 10 miles, with a fixed white light produced by a lamp of paraffin. In 1918, this lamp was replaced with one of vapor of petrol, reaching 20 miles.
The new lighthouse, build in 1981, is a 11-meter tower made of concrete with a light that reaches 23 miles, flashing once or twice every 15 seconds. The westernmost point of this Camiño dos Faros is right there.
We sit down on the grass that is in front of the building. On its façade we can read the poem of an anonymous writer dedicated to God and written with a lot of patience. From the top of it, we can have a privileged view of the Atlantic Ocean.
On the right, down there, we can see the imposing Laxe dos Buxeirados, a “resting”, that gets into the sea and it is a real danger for the maritime navigation. As it happened in 1935, when both the German vessel Madelein Reigh crashed against the Galician fishing which ended up breaking into two, although all its crew members were rescued. It could be mentioned as if it were another wreck, however, if we take into account that 22 years later, in 1957 the Madeleine Reigh wrecked in the same place, we can thing that the fate of this ship was very capricious. Besides, near Touriñán, the German submarine destroyed a lot of allies during the First World War.
During one month a year, from the Equinox of the spring around March 22nd till April 25th, the “last” sun in Western Europe sets in Touriñán. The physician Jorge Mira explains perfectly this phenomenon in this video.
We say bye bye to Touriñán by taking a path that goes along the coast. There are 6 kilometers left and we will get to the beach Nemiña in a short period of time.
