Kayak and Hike Through Wild Galicia

My friend and I picked this holiday as a last minute option to kayak and walk somewhere safe and warm (in June!) while exploring a lesser known coastal area of a popular country. The trip ticked this box and was full of pleasant surprises. Our guides brought the fun but also the expertise to smoothe out any bumps along the way. There are more physically demanding trips out there, and if you're a Camino purist you may want to do some extra kms beforehand, but this trip has lots of charming merits :) Essay below for those who like detail re what to expect, and a bit for any veggie/vegans near the end: MBA trips use local guides, so this trip was with the same crew who run the Picos de Europas hiking trips but for the paddling days they in turn used Galician kayak guides, who don't really speak English. This makes it a unique trip that you couldn't book yourself as the Picos guides then translate for you (and they are with you the whole time at accomodations, for meals, day hike etc). For me, as a 'Brit abroad' it is always refreshing to be somewhere that you can't just rely on being able to default to English everywhere (but with the help of the guides you are always fine in practical terms!) All the guides (Picos team and the kayak guides and their support crews) were excellent, professional and friendly. Everything ran smoothly. Alex is very sweet and gentle and did well setting up for us and then keeping the group together on the hiking day. Txetxu is a very experienced, passionate guide and in particular shared his knowledge and enthusiasm for Galicia and his home Asturias. You will get more out of the trip if you have some interest in the area's culture and history with its many languages and regional identities, but it can also be just a nice, scenic paddle in the sun with time to chill and enjoy food and wine, if that's what you're after! Everyone in our group had done at least some paddling before. There wasn't a huge amount of tutorials or coaching, just some basic instructions on day 1 and on the final day we did some stretches in the morning before setting off. Our weather was particularly good and mostly flat-calm conditions, but it was a heatwave so we still brought waterproofs etc as advised in the kitlist as the weather can be changeable. There is van support the whole time so you just have your full kit available in that, but bring what you need for the paddling/hike each day. We had barrels on the kayaks (which are open kayaks, not enclosed) and these worked well but you bring your own dry bags to line them for your dry clothes and valuables etc. One guide stays with the van, sorts accom/dinner etc (even pitched our tents!) and one stays with the group on the hike/water. Overall I feel it ticks the MBA box as a fairly unusual holiday experience without the hassle, although the trip activities, location and accomodation were less 'intrepid' feeling than e. g. MBA Norwegian fjords/Lofoten kayaking my friend and I had done before. Galicia is a popular, scenic area with lots of Spanish and European holidaymakers. We kayaked through the Atlantic Islands national park visiting some of its islands, and in this area you will also encounter small boat tour groups etc as well as the marine industry. You do need to be happy peeing outside and be aware the areas nearby are unlikely to be deserted! This applied on the hiking trail too, but would probably be true of any Camino de Santiago stretches as you walk through towns and villages a lot and they don't seem to have installed many additional public restrooms despite the increasing popularity. I tried to have low expectations re wildlife but we did indeed see (up-close and unperturbed) otters on the first day, dolphins on the second day and amazing birds including red kites soaring overhead all afternoon on the third day. The third day of kayaking as we moved upriver had a different feel and landscape, which gave some variety to the multi-day trip. Fitness/practicalities on the water: The hiking day was fine if you are moderately fit, with some short uphill stretches probably being the most strenuous part of the whole trip. A small day pack is fine to carry water, snacks, SPF and maybe a layer. We even had lunch in a restaurant that day so were not carrying much food either. My fitness level is moderate - I do 2-3 gym classes a week and climb the occasional 1000m hill in Scotland. My 5k time is 30min+ and I can't do a push-up but I found the three days in a row of kayaking very manageable. I just wore some magic gloves if I felt any rub starting on my hands (also for sun protection!) I recommend full length layers for sun protection if it's hot as sun cream is a faff and you might need to wade a bit to enter and exit boats, so needing to reapply or risk burning your feet and ankles. A waterproof pouch or bumbag is handy for your phone for pictures and/or floaty devices for phone/sunglasses etc. There is a wee douket in the kayak between your legs to keep a water bottle handy. Keep hydrated, but factor in when you might next be able to stop for a pee! Accomodation: The campsite is not wild camping - there are proper toilet and shower facilities etc. Hotels were very comfortable and even the campsites had swimming pools. By finishing the activity in the afternoon, there was then time to use these facilities, chill and get changed before dinner. There was a nice holiday feel at this time of year and we got to go to a local fiesta - with small parties like this happening most weekends through the summer. It was a very wholesome snapshot into local life. The final day of our trip where we walked into Santiago coincided with St Johns day and its various festivities in the city, including fire-jumping (participation optional but excellent vibes all around). Santiago was an amazing end point to the trip with so many walkers completing their caminos - definitely worth spending a couple of days here before or after your trip. Nobody in our group got dropped off or picked up from the airport because the area has so much to offer we all tacked on other plans (my friend and I flew into Porto then travelled up via Pontevedra on public transport over a couple of days to meet the group at O Grove. Can also recommend a side trip to the Cies Islands - catch ferry from Vigo - these are the most south of the national park islands; the most northern one you visit with the tour group). Food: Our small but perfectly formed group put the guides to the test by including a vegan (me) and a vegetarian out of only 4 people! As a lacto-ovo veggie you will be fine as there is always some form of cheese and/or egg-based thing available and you can get in on the continental breakfast pastry action. I knew as a vegan it was not going to be a local cuisine that lent itself to my diet. We had a couple of hotel buffet breakfasts or similar continental style, so fruit and bread with jam or tomato and olive oil were common. I brought some vanilla protein powder to chug or have as 'milk' over cereals (or one or two hotels had Spanish soy milk) and some hemp seeds to sprinkle on everything and a bunch of protein cookies/cereal bars as snacks. Lunches were great - big sandwiches (avo/tomato/salad etc) or one day an empanada, then fruit and large bags of corn snacks and family sized chocolate bar to have across the few days. I didn't see many legumes; vegan gym bunnies will not be hitting 100g+ protein per day, but you won't starve! I was pleasantly surprised by the guides awareness of veganism and one was lactose-free himself which helped. We got to try some really interesting food at dinner like local seaweed in tempura batter. There was a veggie caldo verde (basically cabbage and beans) soup for lunch on hike day, and at dinner there will always be chips and Padron peppers. There are also Galician beers and ciders and lots of good wine to try. If you are interested in locally farmed shellfish, this would be the place to try it as you paddle past hundreds of the floating farming platforms on the water. If you are vegan or would otherwise be offended be seeing this type of bi-valve farming or being around meat and seafood eaters at dinner, worried about e. g. things being cooked on same grills as meat, you might want to skip this trip (dishes on tables included octopus, rabbit etc - to name a few!)

I thought this trip was excellent - one of the best I've done. The schedule gave a good mix of activity, rest time and fun. Accommodation-wise, the hotels and campsites were each different and each of excellent standard and the food was great - even as a vegetarian in northern Spain, which can be a challenge! A big contributing factor to everything working so well was the quality and dedication of the two guides. Alejandro and Txetxu were always flexible but focused and made sure that our group had everything we needed and also that we worked well as a team. I attended the very first running of this trip and - thanks to the guides - if there were any teething troubles, we certainly didn't notice them. Superb.

Taste being the operative word, we had some great meals including at little restaurants I wouldn't have known were so good: you know it's a great local eatery when you see your local guide & family (who lived on the island where we camped) there the same evening that you were out kayaking. Highlights of our trip were seeing otters, bottlenose dolphins and several birds of prey. I found the kayaking tougher than expected but the group was great about waiting for my plodding to catch up. Having local guides was terrific and I learned a lot about Galicia, Asturia, culture, language, food and history. Our on-the-water guides had competed nationally (wow) and we watched a Norwegian champion paddler out training, too. The islands were beautiful and probably the 'wildest' part of the trip. If I had one criticism it would be that the trip wasn't that wild, certainly the camping was fairly comfortable and we were never far from civilisation. Our guides couldn't have tried harder to keep us happy, Gold stars for them all.