The Camino del Mar (The Sea Path) is a continuation of the coastal route of the Camino Norte (the Northem Path), which upon reaching Ribadeo it unfolds, and deviates from the coast inland by Ove, Arante, Lourenzá and Mondoñedo, the Official Route known as Camino Norte; and another that continues along the coast covering the municipalities of the Lucense Mariña coast, the Camino del Mar.

 

The Camino del Mar is about 140 km long. This route to Santiago starts in Ribadeo and continues along the municipalities of Barreiros, Foz, Burela, Cervo, Xove, Viveiro, Ortigueira, Cedeira and Neda where it merges with the official English Way to Santiago until reaching Santiago de Compostela.

 

The presence of pilgrims in the Mariña area is obvious in some cemeteries, churches, and hospitals, as documents in the Cathedral of Modoñedo refer to deaths and burials of some pilgrims, and many more episcopal documents in Lourenzá, Reinante, San Martiño, etc., prove the existence of this path as a way of pilgrimage.

 

Fortunately, practically every pilgrim hospital that formed the network of hospital assistance for pilgrims, and existed in El Camino del Mar, is still conserved today; hospitals like the ones in Ribadeo, San Martiño, Cervo, Celeiro (Viveiro) and Santiago de Viveiro (Viveiro).

 

EThese arguments and many more prove without a doubt that the old pilgimage route, the Camino del Mar, existed.