Report from O Grove

[scruffy1]

I was intrigued by a church off the main Camino in O Grove close by Pontevedra . Just a bit too far to walk so I hopped a bus to go see a church who's outer walls are covered with scallop shells! The ride there was awful I had last been here 10 years ago and remember a lovely coo coastal road lovely views now villa to villa and hardly any view at all. Wonderful Comarro has succumbed to the tourist bus. Off the bus in O Grove and first sight is a tour boat blaring music, and too many inebriated tour boat clients - the hour was 1200. Walked towards the church - located on a nearby island say 3k one way, nice walk along the bay nice bridge a-n-d 50-60 men armed with rakes and nets digging clams by hand! Now you understand why clams are so expensive in Galicia. Across the bridge up through a gated community for local fat cats and then the church! Yes, the church was amazing, Maria standing in a shell above the altar, was it with a whole morning+ side trip? Only for the truly obsessed! O Grove also offers a wide selection of restaurants specializing in mariscos - shellfish - similar quality and prices in Pontevedra - wher

 

[Former member 22438]

I was intrigued by a church off the main Camino in O Grove close by Pontevedra . Just a bit too far to walk so I hopped a bus to go see a church who's outer walls are covered with scallop shells! The ride there was awful I had last been here 10 years ago and remember a lovely coo coastal road lovely views now villa to villa and hardly any view at all. Wonderful Comarro has succumbed to the tourist bus. Off the bus in O Grove and first sight is a tour boat blaring music, and too many inebriated tour boat clients - the hour was 1200. Walked towards the church - located on a nearby island say 3k one way, nice walk along the bay nice bridge a-n-d 50-60 men armed with rakes and nets digging clams by hand! Now you understand why clams are so expensive in Galicia. Across the bridge up through a gated community for local fat cats and then the church! Yes, the church was amazing, Maria standing in a shell above the altar, was it with a whole morning+ side trip? Only for the truly obsessed! O Grove also offers a wide selection of restaurants specializing in mariscos - shellfish - similar quality and prices in Pontevedra - wher

We stayed in Sanxenxo in May this year, close by o Grove.
It is a typical tourists place , nice to stay for some time. Have something to drink and eat. We found it a nice area. Went back to Armeinteira and played golf in Meis close by the caminho Variante Espiritual. Unfortunately we did not see this church you mention but on the other hand after 3 camino's and this year a 2 and half month long traveling like nomads with car and caravan we were not that interested in churches anymore.
Later we moved to Ribeira at the other side of o Grove and from there we could reach Cabo Fisterre via a road along the coast a 100 kms drive which took us 2 hours to get in Fisterre.

 

[bernhugo]

I attach some photos which may jog memories of the outside of that church.

 

[bernhugo]

Sorry about that .I can't seem to move the photos to the right place-----help!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I can't seem to move the photos to the right place-----help!

Try using the edit button after you post a picture. Then click that wrench button in the tools bar above your text. Each picture will have a number surrounded by (attach)(/attach) but with square brackets. Each of these blocks is a picture. Move the block and put in spaces and line feeds as needed. Then signal that you are done with the "save changes" button. Then do what I do and repeat to correct the mistakes there, both the old and new.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

O Grove is on my to visit list when ever I find myself in Galicia next time, but to visit a Clumber Spaniel breedee. Alas I beleive buses only run 3 days a week, or so, from Pontevedra, no?

 

[Kanga]

After walking the Norte in 2015 Ian and I hired a car and spent two and a half weeks exploring the coastline of Galicia, from Finisterre south. Lovely area, absolutely lovely. Understandable why is it a tourist area - although our favourite places were the working fishing ports, and the wine growing regions. We spent a day at a O Grove and took the obligatory photos of the shell-covered church.

 

[bernhugo]

Thank you Rick of Rick and Peg, I will try to remember to do that in future.

 

[mylifeonvacation]

I've been lucky enough to spend a bit of time in O Grove over the past couple of years since making a few friends there. It's a lovely town and peninsula with many beaches on all sides. Lanzada, San Vicente, Area da Cruz, and Mexioeira are the largest, but there are many other small delightful beaches to discover (Area Grande, Playitaa, do Con, de Canelas, Abelleira, Pedras Negras (the best spot for sunsets!), Canina, and de Rons to not even name them all). Despite having so many beaches, and it's not quite the same (sometimes a bit wild) party vibe that you find in Sanxenxo. As scruffy mentions, Isla Toxa is connected by bridge to O Grove, which is where the shell covered chapel dedicated to la Virgen del Carmen is located. Isla Toxa is also home to many fine upmarket hotels/resorts, many of which feature nice spas ('balnearios' in Spanish). In O Grove itself, there are many more affordable options available.

Not only are clams harvested there (the "marisqueiras" with the rakes collecting the clams are actually all women), but you can also see the floating wooden rafts a bit offshore where mussels are farmed. There are many other kinds of shellfish to be found up and down the coast in Galicia. One of the best and most well regarded seafood restaurants in all of Spain is located in O Grove, d'Berto Restaurante, located just 500m before you get to the bridge to Isla Toxa. I wrote a couple of blog posts about our visits to d'Berto here. I still have lots of blogging to do about other great places in O Grove, such as Pan de Millo, Culler de Pau, and Taberna Meloxeira.

If you find yourself in the area during the first two weeks of October, O Grove hosts a 10 day annual Festa do Mariscos (Shellfish Festival), for 52 years running now. We went last year and it was great fun, with lots of cultural activities (traditional dance and music, expositions) and of course endless amounts of wonderful seafood!

O Grove is also a nice jumping off point for exploring the Rias Baixas wine region. There's a bit more information about the neighboring wine regions at the bottom of the d'Berto post linked above. There's an aquarium and fishing museum with a neat sculpture park near a lighthouse in between the two that makes for a lovely afternoon visit. The bus station is located in the main port area (by the city hall - which is also where the Shellfish Festival takes place), but I don't know about the actual options, we have always arrived by car.