Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal: The Light That Speaks with the Sea

⏱️ Reading time: 5 min

Índice de Contidos

• Punta Frouxeira Lighthouse (Valdoviño)
• The First Visit
• Exploring and Wandering
• The Photograph I Had Been Chasing
• Mission Accomplished
• Landscape Photography Workshops
• New Chapter of the Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal Series

After walking through the inland landscapes of the Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal, among forests, rivers and waterfalls, I return once again to the sea. There is something deeply symbolic in this return: going back to the coast is also returning to the origin of light, to the place where the horizon begins and ends. In search of the lights that speak with the sea.

Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal is a land of contrasts: ancient stone and endless ocean, calm and fury, mist and clarity. If the waterfalls held the murmur of water and the patience of time, the lighthouses represent the opposite — the precise instant when light breaks through darkness.

Lighthouses were born to guide sailors, but they can also guide those seeking a way to reconnect with themselves. In this new chapter of the series, the journey takes me to one of those luminous signals that marks both the coastline and my own photographic path: Punta Frouxeira Lighthouse, in the Concello de Valdoviño.

Punta Frouxeira Lighthouse (Valdoviño)

For a long time, I visited Punta Frouxeira more as a tourist than as a photographer. Perhaps due to my lack of experience, or because I thought the place was already “done,” that it had little more to offer my eye. And, as so many times before, I was completely wrong. How I enjoy being wrong like this!

I knew the area well — as those of you who read the first article in this series already know: Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal: Galicia’s Hidden Paradise for Photography. Virxe do Porto is one of my favorite locations, offering a direct view of the lighthouse in the distance.

The First Visit

One day I decided to return, calmly, with my camera and no expectations. Without moving too far from the lighthouse, I began to explore the surroundings. The rocks, once invisible to me, became a world of textures and shapes that seemed to tell ancient stories. The wind-beaten grass traced natural lines. The cracks and folds of the coastline revealed a unique geology within the Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal.

That day I understood something essential: it wasn’t the place that had nothing to offer — it was me who hadn’t yet learned how to look.

And then came the long-awaited gift: a magnificent sunset. The sky turned shades of orange and gold, the light fell softly over the lighthouse, and the sea seemed to breathe with hypnotic calm. It was the first time I truly felt the potential of this place — and the first time I realized I needed to explore it much more deeply.

There are rocks that allow you to play with composition, creating lines that guide the eye toward the lighthouse. You can even integrate into the frame the entrance of an abandoned military tunnel. That first day, nature gifted me a magical sunset: warm light, an orange misty sky, and a sea that seemed to breathe.

Exploring and Wandering

Over time, almost without realizing it, I began to move farther and farther from the lighthouse. Every few meters something new appeared: an unexpected curve in the coastline, a fracture in the rocks with impossible textures, a ledge that allowed me to align myself with the lighthouse in a completely different way.

Some days I only advanced a few meters; on others, I covered nearly the entire surrounding area in search of a perspective I had not seen before.

I was incredibly lucky with the skies. On nearly every visit, the light gave me something special: clouds opening at just the right moment, soft backlighting, warm atmospheres, or intense sunsets that transformed the landscape.

This variety allowed me to return again and again to similar compositions — but always with a different personality. Each image speaks of a different day, a different light, and a unique state of mind.

Little by little, I built a small visual archive of Punta Frouxeira: from the first photographs taken close to the lighthouse to wider, more distant frames — always searching for new forms, new textures, and new stories to tell, with the coastline as the main character.

The Photograph I Had Been Chasing

From my second visit onward, I began to plan and imagine a very specific panoramic image — one that could bring together in a single frame the full geological power of Punta Frouxeira.

I wanted the foreground rocks — filled with textures, cracks, and cavities — to form a natural double arch. That arch would guide the viewer’s gaze toward the lighthouse, small in the distance yet perfectly centered, like the silent heart of this stone universe.

It wasn’t an easy photograph.

I needed an interesting sky, warm light, and an extreme point of view that would distort the rocks just enough to create that almost surreal feeling I had in mind. I tried several times, but something was always missing: the sky, the light, or perhaps my own mood.

Until the day finally arrived.

Here is the result.

Mission Accomplished

It was a completely unexpected visit. We were returning from a trip to Courel, and when I saw the sky beginning to glow with sunset colors, we changed our plans on the spot. Instead of heading home, we drove straight to Punta Frouxeira in search of one last sunset.

That decision made all the difference.

The sky exploded in a combination of oranges, reds, and pinks that seemed almost painted on purpose. I quickly set up my tripod at the exact spot where the foreground worked as I had imagined, and I began shooting.

An extreme panoramic image — nearly 360º — bending and twisting the coastline until it transformed the landscape into something almost fantastical.

The lighthouse, tiny in the distance, remained perfectly framed at the center of the composition. And around it, all the geodiversity of Cabo Ortegal: folded rocks, fractures, rough surfaces — the unique landscape that earned this territory its UNESCO recognition.

After so many visits, so many attempts, so much persistence… I finally captured the image I had been envisioning.

An image that, rather than a farewell, is a tribute to a place that has opened new paths for me time and time again.

An image that says “see you soon.”

Because I know I will return. There is still so much to explore.

Landscape Photography Workshops

Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal is a place that never runs out of possibilities. That’s why I regularly organize Landscape Photography Workshops here — small groups, a relaxed pace, and plenty of hands-on shooting in the field.

If you’d like to receive information about upcoming dates, you can leave your email below 👇

New Chapter of the Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal Series

This article is part of a series dedicated to the Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal — a photographic and personal project in which I continue exploring the connection between nature, light, and territory.

In upcoming installments, I will travel to other corners of the Geopark — places that hold their own voice and story.

If you would like to follow this journey, you can stay updated on the website or through my social media channels.

If you haven’t read the first chapter yet, here it is: Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal: Galicia’s Hidden Paradise for Photography

And the second one as well: Xeoparque Cabo Ortegal: The Memory of Water

If you want to be notified when new articles are published, follow me on social media so you don’t miss the next chapter of this journey.

If you’re interested in following the series — stay tuned!
I won’t take long to share the next story with you.