Fortaleza de Valença, seen from the Spanish town of Tui across the Rio Minho | Río Miño, the ES-PT border (📷1). Fortifications were begun c. 1262 CE but greatly expanded during 17–18th C. conflicts between Spain & Portugal, with bastions, walls & moats defending two enclosed areas: the inner town or “Praça-Forte” (📷2) & the outer defensive belt or “Coroada”. The inner town is rather touristy, filled with shops & eateries (📷3). However, pastel de nata can be obtained (📷4); the consumption of these small custard tarts may be regarded as confirmation of having arrived in Portugal! 😀

🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

From Santiago de Compostela we drove south. Ría de Vigo is a drowned river valley near the ciry of Vigo; it’s known for providing a sheltered harbour (the Cíes Islands act as a barrier against the Atlantic), for mussel farming rafts called “bateas” & for white sand beaches. On the northern side Praia da Folla de Nerga a.k.a. Playa de Nerga is popular (📷1). On the southern side there’s a string of beaches on the outskirts of Vigo with views of the Cíes Islands (📷2), connected by a long promenade. At the town of Baiona the large Fortaleza De Monterreal is surrounded by ~3km of walls, mostly built between the 11th to 17th centuries (📷3); the strategic hilltop has been fortified for 2,000 years & is now occupied by a hotel. We turned inland to Tui, wandering the medieval old town that features a fortress-like cathedral built during the 12th & 13th centuries (📷4). Tui offers views across the Miño River into the Portuguese town of Valença—the next destination on our loop through the Iberian Peninsula.

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

[2/2] Santiago de Compostela. Mercado de Abastos is the city’s main market, offering fresh seafood (📷1), produce, & tapas—if you’re not too early! The old town includes examples of a classic feature of northern Spanish architecture called a “galería” (📷2); these enclosed balconies are especially common in Galicia & provide a “glass skin” that shields the home from rain & wind while providing passive solar heating & extra usable space (plants, laundry drying, etc.). Parque da Alameda is a green space close to the old town & offers an elevated perspective of the cathedral skyline (📷3). We visited Museo do Pobo Galego, a former convent that exhibits artefacts from traditional Galician life; it features an unusual staircase with 3 spiralling paths that end abruptly at different doors (📷4). The baroque Monastery of San Martín Pinario near the cathedral is said to have ornate interiors; it was closed to visitors.

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍#unesco

[1/2] Santiago de Compostela. Christian pilgrims flock to the city’s cathedral (📷1), built 1075–1211 CE & with later additions, to visit the tomb of the apostle Saint James the Great. Although said to have died in Jerusalem in 44 CE, medieval legend holds that his followers, guided by divine intervention, brought his body to Galicia. Some pilgrims walk the Camino de Santiago, a network of interlinked routes converging here from across much of Europe—as symbolised by the scallop shell. A unique feature of the cathedral’s nave, the “Botafumeiro” is a large silver censer (incense container) that is swung across the transept during special services (📷2). The cathedral fronts onto to Praza do Obradoiro, a grand square surrounded by other historic buildings including Pazo de Raxoi | the neoclassical town hall (📷3) & Hostal dos Reis Católicos, a luxury hotel once a 15th C. pilgrims hospital (📷4). The medieval historic center of town is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site.

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍#unesco

Fervenza do Ézaro is a waterfall on the Río Xallas | River Xallas at O Ézaro on the rugged Costa da Morte | Coast of Death (where Atlantic storms, hidden rocks & fog/ sea mist have led to many shipwrecks & drownings). Next to a hydroelectric power plant, the Ézaro waterfall is billed as “one of the only sites in Europe where a river cascades directly into the sea” (📷1). While this could be contested given they are ~1.4km upstream from the shoreline, the falls are nevertheless scenic (📷2). About 16km south of O Ézaro is the village of Carnota, site of the Hórreo de Carnota built 1760–1783 (📷3). This hórreo | granary in the typical Fisterran style is the longest in Galicia at 34.76m. Once used to store, dry & conserve corn/ other crops, most hórreo (there are 884+ in this municipality alone) are now merely “decorative statements” given the decline of agricultural traditions. Carnota also boasts a long sandy beach, Praia de Carnota, backed by sand dunes & a salt marsh. From it you can see to Cape Finisterre (after the Latin “Finis Terrae” | “end of the earth”), which the Romans considered the edge of the known world (📷4).

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

The 55m Torre de Hércules | Tower of Hercules (📷1&2) at A Coruña was built during the 1st C. CE, during the reign of Emperor Trajan, & is UNESCO-listed as the oldest surviving Roman lighthouse. It’s still in use today, making it the oldest functioning lighthouse in the world: that’s *two thousand years* of continuous maritime safety service! It underwent major restoration in the 18th C. (reflected in the current neoclassical shell) & until the 20th C. was known as Farum Brigantium. You can ordinarily climb the spiral staircase within the Roman core; it was closed for renovation during our visit. On the adjacent granite headland are even older relics: the Petroglifos de Punta Herminia are a group of prehistoric rock carvings dated to 2500–1800 BCE. They’re very weathered/ hard to make out, so not as photogenic as the Atlantic surf smashing onto the rocks below (📷3). Onwards to O Ézaro, where we admired the dramatic rocky landscape surrounding the Río Xallas (📷4). This reflects a very old granite core formed ~300M years ago, & very lengthy erosion causing large fractures, rounded domes, sheer cliffs & boulder formations.

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍#unesco 🏛️ #roman

We continued W to Monumento Natural Praia das Catedrais, where a series of arches resemble the flying buttresses of Gothic cathedrals; at low tide sea conditions didn’t allow us safe access. Views from the cliff top platforms were underwhelming. Did you get a photo? If so do share!

Disappointed, we drove on to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Muralla Romana de Lugo | the Roman walls of Lugo—once the Roman colonial town of Lucus Augusti in the province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The walls were built in the 3rd C. CE to defend against local tribesmen & Germanic invaders. About 2.1km long, 4.2m wide & 8–12m in height, internal & external stone facings were supported by a cemented rubble core (📷1); you can walk the full length of the parapet. Originally featuring an incredible count of 88 towers, these were mostly semicircular at intervals of 5.4–12.8m with bases of dressed granite topped with slate (📷2); 49 are still intact. 5 of the current 10 gates are Roman in origin, including Porta de San Pedro (📷3); it was reconstructed in 1781. Many buildings within the walls are badly decayed; Lugo was nearly deserted during our visit. We looked through Sala Porta Miñá, a contemporary history museum, where they have an excavated stone-built Roman cloaca | sewer on display (📷4).

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍#unesco 🏛️ #roman

Ruta de 7 días por Cabo de Gata en autocaravana: playas vírgenes, pueblos marineros y carreteras fáciles, ideal para viajar con conducción tranquila.
#camper #autocaravana #tienda #campaña #camping #furgoneta #vanlife #motorhome #campismo #travel #furgocamper #campervan #furgo #nature #camperlife

https://campiberia.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/ruta-por-cabo-de-gata-en-autocaravana/