Lobios to Castro Laboreiro (21 km)

Short in kilometers maybe, but the 800 m of elevation gain took me some time. It was a day full of surprises for me, because I really had no idea what to expect. Some friends wrote a day by day account when they walked about a year ago, but I only read their posts after I’ve done my walk. So it’s really one surprise after the next.

I left around sunrise, and the first 10 or 11 km went from village to village on a mixture of roads and nice off-road trails, but then after a little place called A Pereira I emerged from one of those green tunnels (trees all around and moss-covered stone walls on both sides) and I was in a totally different landscape. I was on a big flat plain with rocky peaks on three sides. Amazing.

Then back to walking by rivers, through some scrub forests, and then —surprise— a beautiful Roman bridge. It was there I took off my shoes, ate a cheese sandwich, and just wondered what this place was like when the Romans were here.

The last 5K were a pretty steep ascent on a road in the sun. Guaranteed to wipe you out. But as always, a shower works a miracle. Around four, I decided to follow the path up to the castle. I’ve been to a lot of castles, I’ve climbed around a lot of castles, and this one was pretty much in ruins, but its position was one of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. The views were pretty amazing. Built in the 10th century, it went back and forth between Spanish and Portuguese hands until finally Portugal won the last battle.

This little town has three hotels, and there are lots of groups of walkers and “ramblers.” I’ve talked to some British and French people, quite the international crowd. Tomorrow back to Spain!Read more