According to many guide books, Galicia is credited with one of the most beautiful beaches in Spain: if not the world. Playa de Las Catedrales (Cathedral beach) is located on Galicia’s northern coast between the towns of Foz and Ribadeo.
For many years Pedro, one of our neighbours, has enthused over the magnificence of this small stretch of coastline. His memories of the beach, and the state sponsored holidays that took him there, go back to his childhood.
History paints Francisco Franco as a dictator and tyrant; Pedro views him very differently. To him, Franco was the statesman responsible for sending him and his school friends, on an annual coach trip to the seaside.
Today it’s difficult to imagine the enormity of such a long road trip. In the early 1970’s, Spain’s road infrastructure was very different to now. What a great adventure this must have been for excited young kids from rural Galicia.
Before setting off on our day trip, I checked the tidal times on the internet. Arriving at low tide meant leaving the house at 9:30 am. As we left, a thick blanket of mist covered the countryside. We could only hope it cleared by the time we reached our destination.
In stark contrast to Pedro’s all-day coach journey, our drive took less than two hours. By the time we arrived, the cliff top car park was packed. I felt a sense of anticipation, verging on excitement, as we headed towards the sea.
Photo’s of the beach show tall stacks angling into the sky, majestic archways chiselled from solid rock, and a series of buttress-like rock formations clinging to the cliff, as if holding it upright. With hindsight, my expectations were so high that disappointment seemed inevitable, and so it proved.
By definition, a coastline affected by erosion will be constantly changing; many of the outstanding features have long since disappeared: washed away by a constant tidal pounding. One impressive archway remains along with many other interesting and dramatic features but I still felt a little disappointed.
History paints Francisco Franco as a dictator and tyrant; Pedro views him very differently. To him, Franco was the statesman responsible for sending him and his school friends, on an annual coach trip to the seaside.
Today it’s difficult to imagine the enormity of such a long road trip. In the early 1970’s, Spain’s road infrastructure was very different to now. What a great adventure this must have been for excited young kids from rural Galicia.
Before setting off on our day trip, I checked the tidal times on the internet. Arriving at low tide meant leaving the house at 9:30 am. As we left, a thick blanket of mist covered the countryside. We could only hope it cleared by the time we reached our destination.
In stark contrast to Pedro’s all-day coach journey, our drive took less than two hours. By the time we arrived, the cliff top car park was packed. I felt a sense of anticipation, verging on excitement, as we headed towards the sea.
Photo’s of the beach show tall stacks angling into the sky, majestic archways chiselled from solid rock, and a series of buttress-like rock formations clinging to the cliff, as if holding it upright. With hindsight, my expectations were so high that disappointment seemed inevitable, and so it proved.
By definition, a coastline affected by erosion will be constantly changing; many of the outstanding features have long since disappeared: washed away by a constant tidal pounding. One impressive archway remains along with many other interesting and dramatic features but I still felt a little disappointed.
In many ways it reminded me of our drive along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia back in 2008. One of the highlights of the drive is the Twelve Apostles: sculptured coastal stacks rising out of the great southern ocean. Unfortunately only seven remain, the rest have been pounded into submission by the same ocean that created them.
Playa de Las Catedrales is without doubt a very beautiful and interesting beach but a word of caution, many of those glossy tour guide pictures were taken a very long time ago.
We returned to the beach at high tide and on this occasion I wasn’t disappointed. The giant stacks we’d walked among earlier in the day were now tiny islands, surrounded by the sea. Waves crashed against them shooting clouds of sea spray into the air.
Playa de Las Catedrales is without doubt a very beautiful and interesting beach but a word of caution, many of those glossy tour guide pictures were taken a very long time ago.
We returned to the beach at high tide and on this occasion I wasn’t disappointed. The giant stacks we’d walked among earlier in the day were now tiny islands, surrounded by the sea. Waves crashed against them shooting clouds of sea spray into the air.
The next time I bumped into Pedro I told him of my visit and asked, ‘Has the beach changed since you were a boy?’
‘No,’ said Pedro, ‘it’s exactly the same today as it was the first time I saw it, almost 40 years ago.’
At least on this small stretch of coastline, the sands of time are shifting slowly.
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Experience the dream –sample the sights, sounds and tastes of Galicia. For details about our luxury farmhouse rental visit http://www.getaway-galicia.com
Craig’s book, Journey To A Dream, is available exclusively from Amazon, follow this link for your national store. http://bit.ly/188lOj2
Visit Craig’s website at http://www.journeytoadream.co.uk
Or join in the fun on Facebookhttp://facebook.com/craigbriggs.spain
‘No,’ said Pedro, ‘it’s exactly the same today as it was the first time I saw it, almost 40 years ago.’
At least on this small stretch of coastline, the sands of time are shifting slowly.
********************************************************************************************************************************
Experience the dream –sample the sights, sounds and tastes of Galicia. For details about our luxury farmhouse rental visit http://www.getaway-galicia.com
Craig’s book, Journey To A Dream, is available exclusively from Amazon, follow this link for your national store. http://bit.ly/188lOj2
Visit Craig’s website at http://www.journeytoadream.co.uk
Or join in the fun on Facebookhttp://facebook.com/craigbriggs.spain
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