Cea to A Laxe

I was up and away quite early having had a really good night's sleep, and by the time I got to O Castro, it was a bit foggy, and the fog persisted almost all the way to A Laxe so I didn't get many photographs. The walk was good, quite pleasant and I didn't have to look at the map much as I remembered the way from two years earlier. The path was a mix of tarmac, grass, gravel, and earthen paths with only a few short steep ascents.

I was glad that the cafe in Botos was open as I was ready for a coffee and tostada, I felt much refreshed after that. It seemed like not time at all before I wa sin A Laxe but I went straight to Ma Jose's restaurant for an ice cold beer as the albergue was only a short walk away.

On the last part of the walk I came across a farmer moving some cows, he was behind them driving them forward, and he was going to have to cross the road with them. At the same time, a car was coming along the road at extremely high speed, the cows were out of the drivers line of sight so I ran into the road frantically waving my arms to warn the driver, who slammed on his brakes and managed to stop before hitting a cow, I had leapt out of his way. He carried on once the cows had crossed, and the farmer came over to thank me. It wa sa close call.

The albergue was exactly as I remembered it, which is to say it looks like a prison, all dull grey brick walls, it is as if the architect was enthralled by the brutalist architecture of the mid 20th century, but actually it's an ok albergue. I got my washing done asap (they have a washing machine and a dryer) and got it hung out on the line. I walked along to the petrol station over 1km away and got some supplies as they also have a little grocery store. Once I sorted out my now dry washing I went up to Ma Jose's and had a nice meal, then back for a quiet night in. If there is nothing to do in Cea there is even less to do in A Laxe.

The lady from New Zealand that I had met in Ourense arrived, I had passed her on the road earlier, and we had a chat and I told her about the facilities and where to get dinner. Another pilgrim had turned up claiming to have walked from Ourense, but that sounded false to me, I know that there are some folks that walk long distances, but that would be a walk of over 55 km including the steep climb out of Ourense. I calculated that, even on a reasonably flat path, that would be about 12 hours walking without rest stops. Sometimes you get a gut instinct about a person, and this person gave me a bad vibe. I made sure all my valuables were on my person and that my bag was properly squared away.Read more