San Cosme de Barreiros

How long to stay?

A break is enough. At 29.5 kilometres from Ribadeo, San Cosme is a place to catch your breath, not a destination in itself. There is no albergue, and the village has hardly any sights in the narrow sense. What it has is a long sandy beach at the mouth of the Masma and a supermarket right on the path. Stock up, sit down by the water and then walk on to Foz.

San Cosme de Barreiros in Ninja numbers

• 29.5 kilometres are behind you, according to Camino Ninja, since the start in Ribadeo, 11.8 of them from the Praia das Catedrais.
• 9.9 kilometres remain, according to Camino Ninja, to Foz, and 242.5 to Ferrol.
• 1,100 metres is the length of the beach of Altar and San Cosme.

Arriving: away from the coast

From Catedrais you follow a chain of beaches as far as San Bartolo. After that the Camino del Mar turns left away from the coast and from the Camino Natural de la Ruta del Cantábrico and leads west along quiet, paved side roads. On the way you pass an Eroski supermarket and the old parish church. The waymarking is good here.

In brief: a parish at the river mouth

San Cosme is a parish of the municipality of Barreiros. Its beach lies on the edge of the ría where the Masma flows into the sea, partly on the riverbank, partly on the open sea, directly opposite Foz. The name of the Praia de Altar is said to go back to a large rock on which, according to legend, sacrifices were made. Where exactly this altar rock lies, the sources tell differently. Near the river mouth there is also the Lagoa dos Patos, a place for birdwatching.

On the beach and by the ría: what to see

San Cosme is not a place for monuments. It is a place for a rest by the water.

• Praia de Altar / San Cosme: The beach is 1,100 metres long and 50 to 140 metres wide, depending on the tides, with white sand and dunes behind it. A promenade runs along it, there are toilets, showers and foot showers, lifeguards in summer, and it has the Blue Flag. In the Anguieira section, already in the river mouth, the water is calm. Here you can take off your shoes and cool your feet.
• Antiga Igrexa Parroquial de San Cosme: The village's old parish church is listed by Turismo de Galicia as religious heritage. It lies about 430 metres from the path, and according to pilgrim reports the Camino del Mar passes it. We found no reliable information on its construction date or furnishings, nor on whether it is open.

Honestly

• There is no pilgrim albergue here. In San Cosme beds exist only in holiday apartments, cabins and a hotel. The next albergue on the way is in Viveiro.
• Mornings can be difficult. A pilgrim who stayed overnight in Barreiros in September 2026 found no bar nearby for breakfast in the morning. Shop the day before.
• Arrows are missing before the bridge over the Masma. Shortly before the national road N-634 and the way to the Masma the waymarking disappears, and cyclists lose the trail here too. Stick to the track.
• The old church remains a riddle. We found nothing reliable on the age, style and opening times of the old parish church. Don't plan a detour just for it.

Where pilgrims sleep

There is no pilgrim albergue in San Cosme, and along the whole Camino del Mar there are no public albergues. If you want to end the first day here, you will find private holiday apartments and cabins.

Ninja tips

• Shop at the supermarket. The Eroski is right on the path. Stock up here with provisions for the rest of the day.
• Take your break on the beach, not by the road. The Praia de Altar has showers and toilets, and from the shore you can already see Foz.
• Open the track before the N-634. At the approach to the Masma the arrows are missing.
• Plan in the basilica. Shortly before Foz lies San Martiño de Mondoñedo, the "oldest cathedral in Spain", about 2.6 kilometres off the route. If you want to see it, you need time and energy for the detour.

Onward: over the Masma to Foz

Beyond San Cosme you follow the ría via As Eiras, Mañente and A Tellada. At kilometre 36.8 the detour to the basilica of San Martiño de Mondoñedo branches off, at kilometre 36.9 the one to the Capela do Bispo Santo on the Alto da Grela. After 9.9 kilometres according to Camino Ninja you reach Foz, the small town at the river mouth, with the church of Santiago in the middle of the old fishermen's quarter. You are still on the Camino del Mar, the coastal alternative to the Camino del Norte, which has run inland since Ribadeo.