Slow travel through northern Spain, and sea views, aboard the Costa Verde Express train
- Slow travel doesn’t get better than the Costa Verde Express train which rolls along Spain’s northern coast with regular stops for excursions
A gentle jolt wakes sleeping guests as the Costa Verde Express leaves the small station of Viveiro at a walking pace. Early morning fog hangs over the coastal town in the far northwest of Spain.
The tangy Galician Albariño white wine served with lobster and octopus in the dining car the night before has kept most people snoozing a bit longer. The rhythmic rattling of the train doesn’t make it any easier to get up. But in the corridor, the train crew is already ringing a bell for breakfast.
The smell of warm croissants, fresh coffee, Ibérico ham, and scrambled eggs wafts through the dining car. A waitress wearing a white uniform indicates a free table, set with cloth napkins, fresh flowers and a small lamp with a yellow marbled glass shade.
Again and again, the passing coastal landscape entices one to look out of the window. Long sandy beaches alternate with rugged rocky cliffs. In between, the train travels through dense woodland and past old fishing villages.
The Costa Verde Express runs on old narrow-gauge tracks, sometimes only a few metres from the Cantabrian Sea, at a leisurely 50 km/h (30 miles per hour). In some parts, the route runs parallel to Spain’s northern pilgrimage trail, the Camino del Norte.
