The bridge in the mouth of the river Anllóns was built in the 19th century over the remains of an old one and the village was named after it.
The “pazo” (“pazo” is the Galician word used to describe big rural houses that used to be inhabited by people from the high classes), where Eduardo Pondal was born in 1835 is placed in the mouth of the river Anllóns. This poet, contemporary of Rosalía de Castro and Curros Enríquez, described as nobody has done the wonders of Bergantiños. Together with Manuel Murguía, he is a staunch defender of the Celtic print in this land. From that point, the “Pondalian” route starts and it gets to the MountBranco when we review all the works by Eduardo Pondal as his poems are engraved in different stones.
A part of his poem “Queixume dos Pinos”, together with the music by Pascual Veiga, is part of the Galician Anthem and it is the icing of the cake in this stage that we had started in Niñóns.
¿Qué din os rumorosos
na costa verdecente
ao raio transparente
do prácido luar?
¿Qué din as altas copas
de escuro arume arpado
co seu ben compasado
monótono fungar?
Do teu verdor cinguido
e de benignos astros
confín dos verdes castros
e valeroso chan,
non des a esquecemento
da inxuria o rudo encono;
desperta do teu sono
fogar de Breogán.
At this spot we are witness of how the wind action shapes the really fine sand to form some dunes with whimsical shapes. It is the desert of O Camiño dos Faros. In our route, we will walk over it and we will try not to step on any plant.
We go on through the boardwalk of Couto towards Ponteceso. This part is full of contrasts, which makes us be aware again of the great variety of treasures in this route. O Camiño dos Faros, every step, one amazing landscape.
We have walked a lot of kilometers of this stage but there are still 5 left to finish it in Ponteceso. However, suddenly the landscape radically changes, now the sand plays the main role. The mountBranco is the vantage point of this area.
When we descend the mountBranco we get to the beach Barra, which divides the sea and the river.
At this spot we are witness of how the wind action shapes the really fine sand to form some dunes with whimsical shapes. It is the desert of O Camiño dos Faros. In our route, we will walk over it and we will try not to step on any plant.
The route takes us along the mountFacha by using a broad forest track easy to walk along, something that we really thank after walking the kilometers we have already done.
From this point on, the route becomes smoother towards the beach Valarés.
When we started designing this Camiño dos Faros, the primordial characteristic was that this should go along the coastline if it were possible. And this is what we have done in this part of the route: open a route that connects ErmidaBeach with this small sandy area called Río Covo, as beautiful as unknown by most of us. We got there after a kind of technical descent.
From that point we went up walking along all the vegetation till we reached the road that goes along the mount Facha.
Ermida beach is the biggest beach in Corme. It is placed at 1km far from the village taking the road that leads to Gondomil. It provides the visitors with a parking area and with lifeguard services.
We can see on this beach, apart from its complex dune area the small island Estrela, which is the set of an endless number of legends where we can see the remains of a small “castro” and an old chapel dedicated to the Virgin Estrela.
We walk along the beach and go on along the coast towards the beach Río Covo, another amazing discovery along Os Camiños dos Faros.
This is the beach that is usually used by the so-called family tourism that looks for calm and good baths in these waters that are actually cool as the rest belonging to the estuary. This beach provides the visitors with showers, and a lifeguard service. At the end of the beach, there is a “furna” that is used for the young people in the village to celebrate one of the most unique festivals in the area, “A noite dos encantos da furna do Osmo” (the night of the enchantments of the Furna in Osmo)
We arrive at the fishing port in Corme. Its current calm atmosphere highly contrasts with the buzzing atmosphere back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Corme was acknowledged as the first port exporting wood.
Corme is a land of fishermen, who sailed along all the seas and oceans around the world. Corme may be the village, taking into account its population, that has provided the history of navigation with more ship´s masters.
Apart from the exportation of timber, the fleet was also composed by merchants, “tarrafa” (a type of fishing), and some inshore fishing boats. At that time, there were also some canneries and the increase of the population was really significant, with 2978 inhabitants according to the population census in 1920. However, the civil war and some other factors were the trigger which brought about a crisis in the fishing economy and consequently a decrease in the number of its inhabitants.
Los habitantes de Corme saben muy bien los que es la mar: en la Mercante, en el Gran Sol, en todos los mares del mundo conocen a estos esforzados marineros.
The inhabitants from Corme know very well what the sea means: in the Merchant, in the Gran Sol grounds, these hard-working fishermen are known all over the world.
We said goodbye to Suso saying thank you to him for his companion and all the stories he had told us about Corme. We did, of course, invite him to come with us to enjoy any of the stages of O Camiño dos Faros. Before leaving, Suso suggested us where to have lunch. It was late and high time to taste those gooseneck barnacles from O Roncudo…
There was a couple eating half of a kilo of barnacles. We rushed to get some. Luckily, the couple didn´t realize about it. They were delicious.
At this point of the stage, it can be said that the hardest part has been left behind. From Niñóns to Barda, going up to the Windmill farm and down till the CapeRoncudo had left our legs really sore all over. But after eating the gooseneck barnacles and a 30-minute rest, we were ready to go on.
From this point on, the route is kind of smoother. On the way to Ponteceso, we will see the beaches of Corme, Valarés and its pine tree forest, the mountBlanco and all the estuary of Anllóns. The views of the estuary Corme-Laxe will amaze you for sure.
We leave Corme by taking the path that goes across the beach of Arnela and we will get to the one in Osmo.
Without any doubt, the best gooseneck barnacle is the one from O Roncudo. In the latest years, a plan that has controlled the gooseneck barnacle hunting has caused that the amount of gooseneck barnacle has really increased as in the past.
Our friend Suso Lista explains us all the secrets and all the hardship to hunt what he considers to be the “king” of the sea.
“The good gooseneck barnacle is as high as wide, the one that is similar to the biggest toe. Eating a gooseneck barnacle is as if you were eating part of the ocean. You close your eyes and in the ocean you can find everything: seaweeds, fish, dolphins, lobsters, air…the gooseneck barnacle has all these flavors altogether. It´s a sip of ocean 100%”
Barnacle, the king of sea (by Suso Lista, percebeiro in Corme) – Os Camiños do Mar
Since 1992, on Saturday 1ST, July, “the exaltation of the gooseneck barnacle” (a kind of festival) takes place, which has transformed Corme into a place known around the world.
