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Day zero
1 degree outside, private albergue Guiana, modern, big, with non-pilgrims. Reception, tv room, just like a hotel. Staying alone in a 7 bed dormitory, with a toilet. Should be good. Car is parked very near. Long drive from home; four tiring hours. I did not sleep in Ponferrada when walking the Frances...just passed it's castle and had a wonderful breakfast. Went for a quick walk in the historic centre and it seems cosy, despite the cold. Had a glass of red wine in bar Eureka, just in front of where I parked the car. They gave me a choice of 3 different tapas. Got the garlic "soup", almost an açorda in a little bowl. Nice! Got the stamp and just need a good night sleep to start the walk!!
Day 1, Ponferrada to Las Medulas, 26km + 3 km walking around Medulas
Feeling quite tired. Minus four degrees when I left Ponferrada at 9am...(interestingly, the only pilgrim I met at the albergue, this morning, is walking Invierno. She's from Denmark! Maybe I'll see her on the way! Sun came out at about 10 and it became nice under the sun. In the shade, all frozen. Landscapes are beautiful...gentle slopes, oak trees, nice valleys, frozen vineyards....almost no services though...most things are closed. Met some pilgrims...a couple from Israel - they stayed in a village 8km before me, and two girls (only met one), and they should be around. I am in Medulas, a little village famous for the Roman industrial complex (Unesco)....staying at Casa Socorro (30€ for a room and simple breakfast in a tourist place is not that bad). Most things here are closed, so I was lucky to grab lunch at 3.30pm when I arrived....Now just going for a glass of wine in the same (only) place, and sleep...tomorrow is another long day - about 30km - and my legs need rest.
Day 2 As Medulas-Xagoaza, 30km
Left at dawn and what a beautiful start. Almost full moon, red skies, frosty, going uphill leaving Medulas behind…beautiful! Then a good few kilometres downhill, already sunny, as far as a town called Puente de Domingo Flórez. Main attraction, apart from a nice coffee, is the fact that I crossed to Galicia. Met the Danish girl again in the café, and she had already felt to the ground twice this morning. I would expect Danes to be used to frosty terrain!! She didn't seem badly injured, but it's always a pain...it can happen to anyone, so I should be careful. The camino follows the river Sil, along the railway, and that reminded me of Douro. Also schist slopes, vineyards and lots of slate industry. The day was very sunny, so I packed gloves, buff, and jacket. In Sobradelo, I managed to have a lavish lunch…they’re building a major road (motorway) nearby, so workers must eat. 12€ for a menu del dia, and I could have rolled down the hills and sleep all afternoon. Lentil soup (a huge terrine that filled my plate twice!), and then on top of that, grilled chicken with French fries! I couldn’t even take desert! I met a pilgrim couple in the restaurant. They started near Astorga, did a bit of the Frances and changed to the Invierno. They were on their last day, so I won’t see them again. I am staying in a cool Albergue, where I am the only pilgrim. There’s another friendly guy but he’s on a long stay. The Albergue is about 2 km uphill from the town, so after 30km most people prefer to stay in small hotels in town. I was lucky as the lady told me she would drive me up the road, as she was in town. So may photos to chose from today….I stick with a beautiful cat on a slate roof!
Day 3 - Xagoaza-A Rua, 14km.
Today it was about deciding to make a short stage of about 14km or a long one of about 41 km. No other options if you don’t want to cheat. So, at 7am (it was cold in the Albergue as something went wrong with the central heating last night), I decided to reset the alarm clock for 8am. A bit frustrating to arrive at 12am, after an easy 3 hours’ walk along the river Sil (no stops as I did not see any cafe), but I hope my legs recognise today’s effort. Still cold, still sunny. A Rua, literally meaning the street is a town along a street…a long street indeed, at least 2 km. From the moment I entered the town, it took me 40 minutes to get to the pension where I am staying, at the end of A Rua. The place is beautiful, with a reservoir and the mountains surrounding it. From the sky it could be a Swiss lake and a few towns around it. But on the ground, it is a quite depressing place with loads of derelict buildings, and most others extremely ugly and disconnected. Feísmo Galego, i.e. Galician ugliness, an urbanist/architecture style that is quite common in these lands….I am staying in a nice Pension (Fabio). For 25€ I have a spacious room with bathroom, A/C, flat tv, etc….not bad for a pilgrim! Had an okaish lunch – not many options around. In fact, as I had time during the afternoon (mostly used to answer emails and do some work) I walked a bit along the A Rua. Not a single café open, not a nice place to sit…Hope to get up early to walk the 27 km or so, and get some time in the next town.
Day 4 A Rua to Quiroga, 27,7km
Left at dawn again. Minus 3 degrees, and what a beautiful day it was. Most of the day the camiño day follows the river Sil, and offers great views. Continues to remind me of Douro. Olive trees, vineyards, and many abandoned or semi-abandoned villages. There are many ups and downs and an accumulated total of 847m up and 883 down, which is significant. Part of the way I walked with Pepón, a Galician who just appeared behind me in the morning! Nice guy, we had a good chat almost until Quiroga. He stopped to rest and I was eager to arrive. Experienced walker, he was telling me about his 3 month walk from Santiago to Rome! Another life for me!! Not a single café or shop on this day, so I had a small snack by a church, under the sun. Now I am staying again in a little Pension, as I did not like (from the web) the municipal Albergue, Anyway, it’s only 28€ (Albergue was 14€), and have a room to myself, my own bathroom, towels, etc. At least Pepón and the Danish girl (Mette) are staying here. Tomorrow is a tricky day: 23km, leaving about 13km only for Monday, or 36km on a Sunday with very few services or none between here and Monforte de Lemos, with rain coming in the afternoon?
Day5 Quiroga to Monforte de Lemos, 38km
Left in the dark, saw dawn up in the mountains and walked through really beautiful landscapes. Cloudy all morning, raining all afternoon...and quite cold with icy patches. Tough enough, 4377kcal spent! One nice taberna after 24 km (had a coffee) and saw what seemed like a great parrillada restaurant after 27km (Aquarius with a tapa). Unfortunatelly, I was carrying a salad from the day before, so that had to be my lunch)....now staying in an old style pension for 25€...the albergue is inconveniently located outside the city. Here's just a frame of a short video I made today.
Day 6 Monforte de Lemos – Chantada, 33km
Beautiful, beautiful day today, but quite tough! Left in the dark again, found a small bakery, drank coffee in a gas station and started to go up and up…amazing forests, great trees, misty views, fog, cows, sheep, dogs, but, no rain all day! Walked with Pepón and Mette all day, and that was fun. We stopped in a really nice viewpoint called Cabo do Mundo II…overlooking a meander of Minho river! Then more ups and down, some extremely steep, and quite slippery with moss and some ice…After 22km there is an amazing albergue run by the Xunta – in Diomandi - just beside a 12th century church! Bad thing is that there is nowhere to eat, and it is not possible to cook. We continued down to the river and then up, up until getting to Chantada. We’re now in a really stylish Albergue…only the three of us plus a girl who is on a long stay. Pepón decided to cook for all of us! Let’s see how it goes!! The atmosphere is wonderful…
Day 7 Chantada to Rodeiro, 28km
Last night was one of those special pilgrim’s nights. We had dinner around a nice table, told stories, and got to know a little of others. Pepón cooked nice pasta (what else for pilgrims?), which went down well with red wine. I went to bed rather late (after 11pm!!!). Unfortunately, I realised in the morning that a man I hadn’t seen before had also slept in the Albergue, and not so far from me. He snored all night, so I had to slept with my headphone music on (thanks Erik for the binaural meditation…). Not the best to start the day early, but I could stay in and sleep long. I left at dawn and it was a beautiful morning, and not so cold as the previous ones. It was a steady climb for the first 10km until I had a juice and an omelette (woman said we would serv me tortilla, but that was French tortilla I guess) at a small café in Penasilla. Great scenery, very Galician or Irish, green fields, some cows, mist, lovely trees, moss, stone walls, etc. After this break it was tough climbing for almost 5km, up to Monte Faro, the highest point of the camiño, over 1100 metres Unfortunately it was foggy up there so no views. Then it was mostly downhill to Rodeiro, again through magnificent landscapes. No rain all day, so managed to take the camera out and make some nice pictures I hope. Now staying in a hostel in a private room (30€ with breakfast). The Albergue, a floor below, is closed during winter. Possibly an excuse to sell these rooms. For dinner, there is a pilgrim’s menu in a nearby restaurant which opens at 7pm…Hope to get a good rest tonight as in the past 3 days I walked basically 100km in tough terrain and with a super heavy back pack!...I can feel it!!
Day 8 Rodeiro to Laxe, 29,8km
The “circle” is completed, as I reached the point where Camiño de Invierno meets Via de la Plata/Sanabres, so I have done the walk from here to Santiago. Today was soft, with gentle slopes, lots and lots of mud, puddles, rain, green fields, cows, cows’ shit, dogs, horses, donkeys…. Many of you know that feeling of walking 20 km in the morning and feel light, which means or it’s a sign that you are well into the pilgrim mood and pace. This morning I walked about 23km with no services until Lalin, where I met my 2 other pilgrim friends and we all had a quite nice lunch. Before though, we went to the Peregrinus Dezae, an association of the friends of the camiños in Lalin, where Daniel, an incredible pilgrim, gave us a really cool stamp in the credential (photo). Really friendly people here. Because I am enjoying this camiño so much, I’ll walk the two next stages to Santiago. I have things to do at home and at work, but nothing better than this! I am staying in Laxe, in the Albergue from the Xunta, where I stayed before. The albergue is big, warm, and there are only three pilgrims here. Me, staying in one dorm, and Pepón and an amazing guy, in the other. I say amazing as he is walking the camiño with a Cello on his back, pushing a small cart with his stuff! Sometimes, whenever the camiño is too tough, he gets a bus. He was just practicing a while ago, and it filled the albergue!!! Mette is staying in a fancy hotel with a bath tube just down the road!!! A good thing of walking this camiño in winter, is that in fact you can always wash your things everyday and dry them in the radiators. I always wearing the same clothes!
Day 9 Laxe to Ponte de Ulla, 33,2 km
What a sunny day this was. At times it seemed like spring! Left in the dark, with the frontal light on, and how beautiful it is to see the moon, ear the birds and slowly feel the start of the day. One of the best things of walking camiños, for sure! Couldn’t find a place for breakfast after 5km, just a coffee in a pulperia. After that, distracted with my camera, I took the wrong bridge (should be the second and I took the first), so ended up having to make a long detour. Eventually had breakfast in Silleda. In Bandeira, another small town, I thought of stopping for lunch, but it felt to early, so then after a few hours I had to go off the camiño to find the only open restaurant in the neighbourhood! In the restaurant ‘O Peixeiro’, I had meat 😊, and what a great menu it was!....Finished at 4pm, and then it was only 1 hour to get the Albergue I had been before, almost 2 years ago (contigo Rui!!). The other time, in April, there was a lot of people and movement in the bar/restaurant downstairs. Now it is all closed. It will open only at 8pm, just for registration and perhaps for something to eat (which I don’t need as I am still stuffed!). I had to collect the key in the gas station and also pay there. But it is a great single room with bathroom for 16€ (albergue style as you have to use you sleeping bag and towel). As to the places I went through: farming at its best! Mosty cattle, for dairy and meat, green pastures, lovely forests Galicia style, mud, hilly terrain and great views. I must say there isn’t a single ugly stage or section in this camiño! Yesterday I wrote about the pilgrim carrying a Cello. Well, last night he gave us (me and Pepón) a concert, a very cosy and intimate session in the Albergue. I asked to film a little, and sent him the video afterwards. He, Karston, the German pilgrim with a cello, who started his journey in Barcelona, practices as he walks the camiño. We need more people like Karston in this world…passionate, creative and generous! What a special night that was! (credit to Pepón for the photo)
Day 10 Ponte Ulla to Santiago, 21km
Last stage is never very beautiful...still, Via de la Plata-Sanabres-Invierno, is okaish. It's more about realising how soon it will all be over. How wonderful if it could last forever!! It was cloudy, no rain though, and uneventful. Started early, in the dark, and in little over 4 hours I was in Santiago...no stops. Then I waited in a cafe about 1 hour so Mette, Pepón and I could arrive together. People above places. I have a blablacar at 4pm to Ponferrada where hopefully I'll collect my car and go home. Amazing how it will take just a bit more than 2 hours to drive what took me 10 days to walk!!!! So...this is over, until next time!
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