La Caridad to Ribadeo
Into Galicia
- Distance
- 21.3 km
- Climb
- 380 m up, 440 m down
- Ground
- 0 to 180 m
- Time
- 5 to 6 hours
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Underfoot
- coastal, forest, dirt, paved, urban
Where this day sits on the Camino del Norte
Above, the highest and lowest ground of each of its 34 stages. Below, the word each day is given.
From open-pilgrimages: each stage's highest and lowest ground and its interior theme.
The day
The Puente de los Santos crosses the Ría de Ribadeo — the Eo river mouth — from Asturias into Galicia. The bridge is 1.5 km long and was completed in 1987. Before the bridge, pilgrims crossed by ferry. Halfway across, the provincial sign marks the frontier. Ribadeo on the Galician side is a port town with a rich indiano heritage, a beach (Playa de las Catedrales is 10 km away but famous for its sea-arch formations), and the end of the Cantabrian-coastal section of the Camino. From here the route turns inland and stays inland. You say goodbye to the Atlantic here.
What pilgrims often meet here
- The long walk across the Puente de los Santos — the Ría below, traffic beside
- Crossing into Galicia and seeing Galician signage for the first time (Ribadeo, not Ribadeu)
- Looking back at the Atlantic from Ribadeo's harbour for the last time
- First taste of Galician empanada or pulpo
You crossed four regions on foot in four weeks. What did each one take from you, and what did each one add?
The ground
The crossing into Galicia. Leaves La Caridad, passes through Tol and the Eo estuary, then crosses the Puente de los Santos — a 612-metre road bridge with a pedestrian walkway — into Ribadeo, Galicia. Ribadeo is the first Galician town on the route.
The light
Sunrise and sunset in La Caridad depend on the day you walk.
Walk it with Pilgrim
In Pilgrim's Honor mode you can walk this stage as it is drawn here, and save its maps for days with no signal. The morning opens with this day's word, Into Galicia, and its story. When you arrive, it asks the question above, and you can answer out loud. Your walk stays on your phone.
With Pilgrim on your phone, this opens the stage, ready to begin. Without it, you'll see the stage and where to get the app.