PALAS DE REI - CASTANEDA

Stella's first day.

Today's leg was beautiful and varied in landscape and terrain. We walked 25 km to Castaneda under a cloudless sky and hot temperature. The paths among the trees were wider than most, the pine forests, dense and covered with ferns. The eucalyptus trees abundant and bigger as we traveled west. We stopped quite a few times to have coffee or something to drink, so counting the stop at Melide, where we had lunch, our stopping time was about 2 hours, which made this leg seem longer than what it was. The little villages we passed, all medieval and unchanged. Fresh water was abundant and our path went literally along and into many small brooks and rivers. The Rio Catasol was of great relief for Stella and Libia's tired feet. Today all of us were traveling with only small day packs, so we felt so much lighter. We saw the most number of horreos in the whole Camino. Some of the farms have up to three of them. Most are built of stone stilts and sides, others with brick and wood sides, but the most primitive and beautiful are the round ones built of rattan and straw; all of them quite special. The last kilometers from Boente were all uphill in a winding path, so it seemed endless. We finally reached Pension Santiago, our B&B, and when we got there, Justo was waiting for us under a shady awning in the garden having a beer. We sat there and had a drinkfresh, and some fresh cheese with olives, went up to our room and when I came out of the shower Libia was asleep. Stella and Justo had reserved in a town called Arzua, about 6 Km. from where we were. They came to pick us up to take us to dinner in Melide, at Pulperia Granache that had been recommended to us and that we had seen on the way out of town. We had the Galician specialties of caldo gallego, pulpo da feira, pimientos de Padron, and a bottle of good Abarino, all of this topped off by a digestive from Galicia called Oruja, an herbal liqueur, quite good. After arriving at Pension Santiago, we decided Libia and I would walk to Arzua to pick Stella up around 9:00 am to continue on to Pedrouzo.





Sylvia, Stella and horreo



An unusual Galician Romanesque church. Horreo, left



Near Leboreiro



Entering the Province of La Coruna



Which way to Santiago?



More horreos



Large eucalyptus forest



What a relief!

PORTOMARIN - PALAS DE REI

Today was the first cloudy and cool day we had. The temperature did not go over 20 C , so despite de long climbs, this leg was not at all difficult. We left the hotel at 7: 30 AM, took the path down go across the river and did a few km along the road. Today we went through some lovely little hamlets, climbed up to large pine forests, and the last 10 km we started to see eucalyptus trees, the first we have seen throughout the Camino. At the small village of Castromaior we saw a gorgeous little chapel and at the highest point of the walk, Lameiros, a large group of pilgrims was resting before the descent to Palas de Rei. Here we met a couple we had walked with for a while when we left Astorga, Manuela and Angel. Interesting thing how excited we all got when we saw each other. It was as if we had found our best friends. These are the sorts of experiences one lives along the Camino. There is a special bond among the pilgrims. I can only imagine what it must be like to experience the Refuges and Albergues where you have the common meals and dormitories. That is the one part of the experience we missed by choosing to stay in hotels and B&B's. The rest of the leg we walked with the two of them sharing stories until we got to the entrance of Palas, where they stayed. We continued on to town to the center of town, and although Palas de Rei has no special attraction--rather modern and insipid town--the hotel Belinda was a jewel. Our room and bathroom, fabulous, and the location could have not been better. We did our laundry as usual, showered and went down to get information on where to eat. As the elevator's door opened, whom do we see waiting to come up? Stella and Justo. They had just arrived from San Sebastian, and had just been given a room. They went up, rested a bit and later we all went out to eat in a great place called Meson Faxada, around the corner from our hotel. We were shown to our table by a young man whose accent we recognized as Colombian, so sure enough, he took such good care of us. We had grilled squid, a delicious fresh salad, a good bottle of Albarino, a very good Galician wine, and coffee. We wanted to plan our itinerary for the next few days with Stella, so we went down to the Conference Room in the hotel with our maps and guides, so Stella and Justo could see what we had left to do. Justo will be touring around Galicia in his rental car, will take our backpacks to our destination and will meet us their at the end of the day. Having decided on this plan we said our good nights.





Water fountain of Ligonde



Medieval style horreo



On horseback near Lameiros

SARRIA - PORTOMARIN

Today's leg was around 25 Km. From the moment we set off , about 8:00AM, until 10:00, it was foggy and very humid. The first 6 Km were all uphill, but absolutely beautiful. This is the true Galicia, with its HORREOS, or corn drying Celtic silos, unique to this area of Spain, and its fields divided by slate walls and narrow paths. Oaks and chestnut trees are abundant, as is water. There are sources everywhere, pure and crystal clear water, so cool and delicious! Today we saw hundreds of pilgrims go by. The interesting thing is that you keep your pace, they keep theirs, so you are pretty much walking on your own all the time. There are never crowded paths along the Camino. At the food stops is where you see the crowds, but not along the path. We finally got to meet Juan Carlos, the Colombian priest that was walking with a large group of teenagers. He was young and very nice.

This area is the heart of farm and dairy country in Galicia, so we passed many beautiful dairy farms, mainly small ones. There were some tough downhill areas today. We stopped at Morgade to have a sandwich and a juice. We heard a Spanish couple arguing because the girl refused to go on walking. Her backpack, she said, was too heavy and she was too sore. At the little cafe where we stopped the lady made a phone call and got a taxi to come and pick the young girl up to take her to Portomarin. Libia, whose back was sore today, asked the taxi driver if he would take her backpack too, so once he said "yes" away it went, and a big weight was off her shoulders, literally. The last downhill after Parrocha was all on pavement, very hard, but we could see the River Mino and the bridge that takes you the city. In 1962 a flood covered the entire city, so its inhabitants retrieved every stone they could and rebuilt it above, about 30 m from the river. The river is green and clear, a gorgeous setting for the town. Once we crossed the bridge, we hoped our hotel would be on the lower part, but OF COURSE NOT! We still had to climb 50 steps to get to the closest part of town and walk another 3 blocks to get to it. Fortunately it had an elevator and is a modern and comfortable place. We were delighted to see Libia's pack in the lobby. It had only cost 3 euros to transport it. We decided to send the backpacks by the same means the next day to Palas de Rei. After we showered, we went into town to see the Church of St. Nicholas, originally from the XIII C, the main square, and the many shops around it. I bought a tiny backpack where I could carry my essentials and my water bottle for the next day. We found a fabulous Meson on the main square, so we had a dinner of "Pulpo da feira" or Galician octopus, croquettes, Galician cheese and a pitcher of sangria. It was so great to sit there enjoying the people, the town and the moment. Upon our return to the hotel, we called our friends Justo and Stella who would be meeting us the next day to inform them that we had made reservations in Palas de Rei at Casa Belinde. Son after 11:00 PM we turned off the lights.





A "cruceiro" along the way



100 Km left to go!



Sylvia with Colombian and Spanish priests



Galician Blondes




Church of St. Nicholas, Portomarin



Rebuilt town, Portomarin



Bridge over Mino River at Portomarin



50 more steps up?

TRIACASTELA - SARRIA

At 8:00 AM, and after a nice breakfast we were on our way via San Xil. This day to me was the one with the most varied and beautiful landscapes. There were lots of short climbs, longer descents through very narrow paths, forests of nothing but chestnut trees and beautiful green fields. We made our first coffee stop at a tiny village called Montan, then around noon in Turela, where we stopped at a great terraza where lots of pilgrims were having a break. We could hear so many languages being spoken. As we ordered a Spanish tortilla, I met a young man from Kuwait who was traveling with his Hungarian girlfriend. He lives in Vancouver and has traveled pretty much all over the world. At this point of our walk we were exactly half way to Santiago. In Pintin we had a panoramic view from a mesa that took your breath away. The largest of the chestnut tree forests was after Pintin. At this point the sun was so hot, that we thanked our lucky stars for the long shaded walk to Calvor.

Sarria is a large town which we could see in the distance, its urban area very spread out, so it took quite a long time to get to the center of town. We found out that the hotel we had reserved was on the outskirts of the city,as seems to be often the case ,and far from the center, so we cancelled our reservation and made one at The Hotel Oca de la Villa, modern, elevators and air conditioning. This was a great stop for us, because we got in at 3:30, got all our washing done, showered and went out to see the town. There is a fabulous river walk full of terrazas and bars and they were all full of people. We went to a bar called Santiago, had a cold drink and then a few of the tapas that are specialty of the region. We had delicious shrimp in garlic and parsley butter, "pimientos de Porron," grilled small green peppers with the most delicious flavor, and grilled small squid that were incredibly tender. The river walk was so cool and lovely that we stayed there for quite some time. We wanted to see the rest of the town, so we got a taxi to take us to the top of the hill to see The Monastery of the Merced. We were so tired to do in by foot! The taxi driver had been to boarding school there, so he gave us quite a comprehensive tour. In the courtyard they ha an exhibit of Compostelan Art, which was too modern and rather mediocre, in my view. The church and the tabernacle are very beautiful, as is the sober architecture of the building. After our short tour, we went back to the hotel and retired for the night.




Panoramic view



A shady path



Among the chestnut trees



Pilgrim sculpture, Sarria



River walk, Sarria



Our taxi driver's Alma Mater



Our Lady of Mercy



Monastery's courtyard

O'CEBREIRO - TRIACASTELA

We got up before sunrise and went down to the end of the street looking for coffee and some bread. The cafe was open, already full of people getting their "fuel" for a good day's walk. As we came to the edge of the mountain, we could see below us a sea of clouds from which an occasional tree top wold protrude. It was a most amazing sight. We took the path down to Linares, which led us to Triacastela. There were some short climbs as well as descents in a spectacular setting of forests, prairies and beautiful cattle fields. In this part of Galicia, the Galician Blonde is the local cattle, mostly raised for dairy products. We walked through many tiny hamlets totally unchanged since medieval times. As poor and small as they all are, each has its pretty little church. At the highest point of this leg we reached the Alto de San Roque, where it stands a huge statue of a Pilgrim facing the elements. On this day Libia and I did not buy any food to have along the way thinking that we would find little cafes among the many little villages. We got hungry very early in the day and as we were walking we stopped to watch a group of people unloading large sandwiches and drinks from a van. We thought they were for sale, but were told they were for a group of young men and women from Madrid who were doing the Camino with two priests, one of whom was Colombian. They insisted we take a sandwich each--this is what pilgrims do--so, we thanked them profusely and ate happily as we walked. At the exit of the next little village, an old lady was selling fresh crepes, so we had a couple of those as well. Around 1:00 PM, we stopped near a house in a field with some beautiful cows with two newborn calves, and sat under some big shady trees. A woman came out with a little girl and told us she owned the property and we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted. The little girl, Soraya, was her grand daughter, and the two of them spoke only in Galician, a very beautiful language somewhat similar to Portuguese. They told us the youngest calf had been born two hours ago. He was so beautiful! After this stop, the descent was rather long. The last five Km seemed endless to us, under a burning sun. We could see Triacastela down below in the distance, but the path seemed to get away from it rather than closer. When we finally got there, we found out the hotel was at the exit of town and the room they had for us was on the 3rd floor and, Guess what? No elevator! We sat down at a little cafe, had a cold beer and found out the owner had a guest house around the corner called Casa David. After a while, she took us to this lovely house with our room facing a beautiful yard. We could wash our clothes and hang them in the sun, which we promptly did. After our showers, we went into town, found a market, bought some great fruit, a 1/2 bottle of wine and some great local cheese and jamon serrano to eat the evening.





Early morning at O'Cebreiro



A sea of clouds



Alto de San Roque



Galician scene. Newborn calf



Bucolic nap



Soraya with doll



A beautiful Galician church



Down to Triacastela



My favorite type of path



A Galician hamlet



Casa David

VILLAFRANCA DEL BIERZO - O'CEBREIRO

After a good night, we got up at 8:00 AM and had a great breakfast at the hotel. We got a call from our friend Stella Azpiazu, who would be leaving Miami and arriving in San Sebastian the next day. She and her husband, Justo would be joining us somewhere along the way before Santiago. We had talked to Carmen, the owner of Casa Mendez, so we were very well informed as to everything we should see during our visit in Villafranca. The Calle del Agua takes you anywhere you want to go, so we walked along it to the highest point in the city, going by some very beautiful mansions. At Villafranca two rivers converge,Church both of crystal clear waters that reflect the buildings like a mirror. The castle of the XV C. is a private castle that apparently has belonged to the same family for centuries. Across from it, there is the Romanesque XIIIC. Church of Santiago, which has an incredibly beautiful Byzantine Crucifix. We had been told to eat at La Puerta del Perdon, a very beautiful restaurant that had just been renovated. We stopped, talked to the owner, reserved a table and continued on our tour. We so welcomed this day of touring!. We continued on to the center of the city where we visited the old convent that has a wonderful church, and next to it what is today a fine Hotel called San Nicolas el Real. When we got to the restaurant, we were given the best table with view of the castle, and there we had a lovely lunch accompanied by a very good Bierzo wine. We walked back to our hotel, picked up our backpacks and walked to the road to wait for the bus that would take us to Piedrafita. It was 4:45 PM, but the sun was so hot! We sat there baking in the sun until the bus came. It was totally packed! In the back we found a couple of places next to two young boys, Francisco and Alex who had started their walk at Roncesvalles, in the Pyrenees. They were delightful young men, very polite and helpful. We got off the bus at Piedrafita after a very steady climb; from 800 mt. to 1,300,mt. We were so glad we were not doing it on foot. Galicia opens up to you like a flower. What beauty! What vastness! We walked only 3,5 km to get to O'Cebreiro, an old Celtic slate village which still has a few "pallozas" or Celtic dwellings of thatched roofs. The village is tiny and intimate with its narrow cobblestone streets and tiny church. Our lodge was called Carolo, owned by a young couple who had just remodeled it, so the rooms were very comfortable and the bathrooms, modern. At the bar, we had a beer, some home made "requeson" country cheese from Galicia, and some delicious olives with peasant bread, al lovely combination. From there I was able to make a phone call to my bank to get a new password for my ATM card. I had to scream because they could not hear me on the other side, but I succeeded at the end. We ran into Sol, whom we had met along the way several times. She was getting tired, she told us, so we think after O'Cebreiro she might have gone home. Before it got dark, we went to see the church of Santa Maria, a refurbished IX C. church, and one of the oldest in the Camino. The mass was ending, and the little church was full of young pilgrims from all over the world. The blessing was given in Spanish, Galician and in Polish by a visiting Polish priest. There is a perfect wooden Statue of Sta. Maria from the XI C. and a chalice which has its own little chapel in the church. We went back to the hotel, the temperature having dropped considerably after sunset, so we had a very good night's sleep.




Pilgrim statue Villafranca



Castle at Villafranca



Church of Santiago, Villafranca del Bierzo



Galician "galeria" and S. Nicolas el Real, Villafranca del Bierzo



View of castle from our restaurant table



A poem to The Pilgrim



Green, Gorgeous, Galicia!



Alex, Libia and Francisco



Shining slate roofs of O'Cebreiro



XI C wooden statue



Sta. Maria La Real, O'Cebreiro



Palloza or Celtic dwelling, O'Cebreir