Centro de interpretación
INTERPRETATION CENTER
THE BARÓMETRO HOTEL would not be the same without the uniqueness and beauty of the environment that surrounds us, we are so in love with our land that we do not want you to miss the opportunity to visit even its most remote place full of tradition, nature, magic and charm singular.
AXIS:1 Shipwrecks
Attractive: 1.2 – Matthew Cay Shipwreck
Location: Costa da Morte
The steamship Matthew Cay was a freighter almost 80 meters long. She was heading from the Scottish port of Troon to Genoa (Italy) with a load of coal and iron, but the fog prevented the crew from noticing the presence of the A Carraca shoal, 3 miles from Cape Fisterra.
The Fisterra sailors, who sighted the flares thrown by the shipwrecked, came to the rescue in their boats. Nine of the 19 crew members of the Matthew Cay lost their lives in the accident.
Months later, in October of that same year, two fishermen from the area were rewarded by the British ship Board of Trade with a medal and financial compensation for their invaluable help.
The wreck of the steamship Matthew Cay was located in 2014 by the Finisterre diving center following the indications of local fishermen. Its structure and hull had collapsed, but the steam engine, the boiler, rigging and anchoring winches, the main and respect propellers and three large admiralty-type anchors were preserved, among other remains.
The steam bell can be seen in the Fisterra Fishing Museum.
Attractive: 1.2 – La Bayonnaise Shipwreck
Location: Costa da Morte
La Bayonnaise was a spectacular sailing corvette with a wooden hull lined with copper that had three masts. She displaced 310 tons and a crew of 250 people. She had been built in 1974 in the French town of Bayonne. The ship was covering the route from Havana to Ferrol when it was pursued by the English ship HMS Ardent, with 64 guns. La Bayonnaise was run aground by her own crew, who abandoned her after setting fire to her. She broke out at midnight.
The captain of the heroic corvette preferred to blow it up off the Galician coast rather than hand it over to the enemy. The Bayonnaise was a privateer ship, she was not intended for combat or for carrying loads, her priority was speed and, consequently, she had sacrificed structural weight.
The Bayonnaise wreck was located by the Archeonauta team, the underwater archeology group of Miguel San Claudio Santa Cruz during the archaeological survey carried out during the European project to promote the submerged heritage of the Costa da Morte, Finisterre Galician Shipwrecks.
The wreck of La Bayonnaise was located in 2015 within the framework of the European project to promote the submerged heritage of the Costa da Morte, Finisterre Galician Shipwrecks
AXIS: 2 Natural viewpoint
Attractive: 2.1 – Monte Branco
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
Walking along the coast of Camariñas on one of its routes, we perceive that nature has been especially generous with the place, its natural wealth being one of the greatest values of Camariñas, protected in large part of the coast by the Natura 2000 Network. to inlet thirteen and on one of the slopes of Monte branco rises the highest rampant dune in Spain (150 meters) where on its skirt grow the caramiñas that give the entire municipality its name and are now in danger of extinction.
When walking along the coast of Camariñas on one of its routes, we perceive that nature was especially generous with the place, natural wealth being one of the greatest values of Camariñas, protected in large part of the coast by the Natura 2000 Network. Arriving at one of the slopes of Monte Branco, the highest rampant dune in Spain rises (150 meters) where caramiñas grow next to it, which give its name to the entire municipality and are now in danger of extinction.
Attractive: 2.2 – Trece Beach
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
The extremely beautiful Do Trece beach is one of the most spectacular stretches of nature in its purest form on the Costa da Morte. In it, a series of small coves of white sand separated by rocky spurs immerse us in a wild world where we can find two quite rare species of flowers such as the scarlet pimpernel and the caramiñas, from which the name of Camariñas derives.
Associated experiences
Hiking Route O camiño dos Faros Arou-Camariñas: On this hiking route we will travel through the heart of A Costa da Morte, stopping at each point of interest and contemplating the virginity of its landscapes.
Hiking Route O Camiño dos Faros Arou-Camariñas. On this hiking route we will travel through the heart of the Costa da Morte stopping at each point of interest and contemplating the beauty of its virgin landscapes
AXIS: 3 Archaeological and ethnographic heritage
Attractive: 3.1 – Encaixe de Camariñas
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
If there is an image that represents the identity of Camariñas, it is undoubtedly the one shown by a group of palilleiras who, with great patience, are weaving those precious bobbin lace that are exported to all parts of the world. Of Flemish origin, according to legend, Camariñas bobbin lace arrived in the area at the hands of Galician noblemen who went to war in Flanders in the 16th century and returned married to Flemish women who knew the art.
Associated experiences
The Encaixe Museum was created in 1996 with the aim of promoting an artisan practice that has endured for centuries, such as Camariñas lace and the recovery of old pieces.
The Camariñas Encaixe Show, recognized as a Festival of Tourist Interest, is an international fair that is organized every Easter presenting fashion shows with pieces that incorporate lace into garments and, of course, exhibitions of national, international and local lace makers.
Attractive: 3.2 – Vilán Lighthouse
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
The Vilán lighthouse marks one of the most dangerous sections of the Costa da Morte, but at the same time the natural enclave on which it sits is spectacular and for this reason it was declared a Natural Site of National Interest in 1933. It is the oldest electric lighthouse in Spain, being turned on for the first time in 1896, standing 125 meters high and linked to the old lighthouse keepers’ building by a covered tunnel with 250 stairs that give it a special added mystery, it is one of the tourist attractions without a doubt from the area.
Associated experiences
Lighthouse Museum In it, information on the history of shipwrecks and lighthouses in A Costa da Morte is disseminated through projections, real pieces and photographs.
AXIS: 4 Civil and religious heritage
Attractive: 4.1 – Two Wolves Pits
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
The Camariñas wolves’ den is a traditional construction (16th century) that was used to hunt wolves, being unique in the province of A Coruña. Its singularity is that it uses the coastline as a natural barrier as it is located next to the Reira beaches. At the top of its V-shaped walls there is a 2-meter well that was where the animal fell.
The hunt arose before spring when bonfires were lit in the mountains and the column of smoke indicated the start of the hunt in which everyone was obliged to participate, except at Easter and Christmas. They combed the mountains in a group, hitting the undergrowth with a stick or making noise with pots. When scaring the wolves towards the ditch, they expanded the wall that faces the mountain with people holding hands and with the ditch covered with weeds the animal fell into the trap. Afterwards, with the dead wolf, they went through the places in pilgrimage, a vestige of those practices are the place names where the bonfires were made: Monte da Vela, Alto da Vela and Coba dos Lobos.
Attractive: 4.2 – Church of Santa Marina de Tosto
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
In the place that this church now occupies, there was a Benedictine monastery of the black monks of Santa Marina de Tosto that had to be rebuilt several times after its destruction, possibly at the hands of the Vikings due to its proximity to the sea. It is considered one of the oldest sources of the Christianization of these lands and could be linked to the Christianization of some pagan cult of a natural element or fertility. Of the old monastery, now disappeared, only a simple church would remain, of which the triumphal arch leading to the main altar would be the original.
AXIS: 5 Product derived from traditional fishing and shellfishing
Attractive: 5.1 – Octopus
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
One of the most used techniques for octopus fishing is the trap. It is a traditional and sustainable system that works as a trap, introducing the octopus inside, attracted by a bait. It is respectful with the environment because it is selective with the species and the octopuses that do not measure up are returned to the sea.
Octopus a feira is the king of Galician gastronomy and owes its name to the fact that it was a typical dish at cattle fairs where the dried octopus was rehydrated with olive oil and paprika.
Attractive: 5.2 – Ariño Clams
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
The autochthonous varieties of Galicia would be the fine, the slug and the blonde, being the fine the most gastronomically appreciated with an intense flavor of the sea. The fine clam is oval in shape, with a variable color depending on the seabed where it lives, being generally light brown. In its shell we can distinguish some lines in the form of radios that form its characteristic little squares. The most common recipe is clams a la marinera, which receives its name from its peculiar flavor of the sea.
AXIS: 6 Tangible and intangible maritime heritage
Attractive: 6.1 – The Nasas
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
In Galician artisanal fishing it is perhaps recognized as the most widely used method, it is a passive trap art, old and with little impact on the marine environment. With a cylindrical shape, they are used mainly for the capture of crustaceans, shellfish and cephalopods, which enter them to eat the bait or bait placed inside. Thenasas must be set in such a way that they constitute trolling, trains or batches, in which each trap is tied to a strap and this, in turn, is attached to the mother rope.
Attractive: 6.2 – Longline
Location: Municipality of Camariñas
It is a type of traditional hook-based fishing that is selective in the sense that it affects fewer species, because depending on the size or depth at which the bait used is submerged, you will attract a type of fish. It has been practiced in Galicia since the fifteenth century and continues to be used today.
AXIS: 7 Galician Markets
Attractive: 7.1 – Vigo Market
Location: Vigo
Vigo is the European leader in the sale of fresh fish, so this fish market could not be missing from our list. It is a market for large fish in which a frenetic spectacle is put together every morning in which, always at a low price, the best fish in the world is auctioned directly to the markets of half of Europe. A lot of product is moved and many different species of fish, although we want to highlight the monkfish or toad fish.
This fish is distributed along the European and North American coasts. It crawls along the bottom by moving its pectoral fins to search for food. Its meat is exceptional, compact and very tasty. The fishing gear used to capture it is trawling with trammel nets, traces and longlines.
Monkfish stew recipe
We wash the monkfish tails and remove the central rasp, which is more than a rasp, it is a cartilaginous bone. We cut them into 3 parts. Clean and finely chop the onion, garlic and pepper. Saute them with the oil in a wide saucepan, with salt. Sauté them and when they are almost done add the paprika, stir, add the peeled and chopped tomato and let it reduce. Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes.
Add the monkfish and sauté it for about 5 minutes. We add the potatoes.
Then add the wine and let it evaporate. .Then we put water (or fish broth) until it covers them, pepper, bay leaf and turmeric and bring to a boil.
Cover the pan and leave it on low heat for about 20 min. or until potatoes are tender.
From time to time we move it to and fro so that it binds the broth better. We tried salt.
We serve them very hot and freshly made.
Attractive: 7.2 – O Grove Market
Location: O Grove
One of the markets that has been best adapted for tourism, being able to observe the bidding from stands at the top, without thus hindering the sale. Many different types of fish also pass through this market: horse mackerel, clams, sea urchins, sole, rays… But one of the most elaborated products in this market, and the star of its seafood festival, are the delicious spider crabs.
This crustacean belongs to the same family as crabs. It lives on the coast in rocky or sandy bottoms. It lives in depths greater than 100m. It feeds on starfish, algae, molluscs, urchins, invertebrates from the seabed such as sea cucumbers and fish, especially flat fish such as sole. Typical inshore fishing product, special types of nets such as pots or trammel nets are used to catch it.
Crab croquettes recipe
First of all we cook the spider crab, about 20 minutes in boiling water with plenty of salt. Save all the peels and cook in half a liter of water to obtain a very tasty broth.
In a casserole, add half a liter of this broth and half a liter of milk. Put to boil. In a bowl, mix the cinnamon, flour and sunflower oil. When the mixture of broth and milk begins to boil, add this mixture and magically a perfect béchamel is formed almost instantly. Spread out on a tray and when it’s cold from the fridge, make some croquettes, go through the egg, breadcrumbs and fry them. (If we leave them in the fridge once prepared to rest, they will be better. A trick to make the croquettes quickly is to make them with a pastry bag without a nozzle).
