Reset search
Search this area

Spain Tríacastela

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
  • TravelerThe Beauty of Moving Slowly
    2
    Day 32–34

    Triacastela to Sarria

    May 18 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Hola Everyone,

    Another beautiful day as I departed Triacastela for Sarria. There are two ways to get to the last main stop, one is along the river valley through Samos but it is alongside a highway for a lot of the way and is much longer. On the other hand, there is the chance of seeing the fabulous monastery there, depending on tour availability and your time of arrival. The alternative route is shorter but hillier and, in my opinion, much more scenic so that was my path for the day.

    The first six or seven kms of the route form a steady climb but the way is through a couple of small villages and along woodland pathways and back-country roads for most of the day. The countryside is certainly changing and as I looked out over small-holding dairy acreage I remembered back to the meseta that stretched off into the distance across endless fields of wheat. I also took advantage of my last day of relative peace and filled my head with the ear food presented by the birds that were obviously there but largely invisible in the thickets and trees that surrounded me.

    As I came down from San Xil, I reached Fontearcuda where there is a great donativo food stop Tierra Da Luz – Earth Gives Light. It was buzzing with pilgrims who were taking a break and there was a real energy about the place. Donativos, as the name suggests, are food stops and alburgues where you make a donation of your choosing for the service that is provided to you. I found out later that this donativo is owned and run by a guy from NSW so there is a real Aussie presence along The Way over the last few days.

    As I came down through Pintin I could see Sarria in the distance and, before long, I was into the city limits and back in suburbia. After I found my accomm, I found a laundromat to do my washing and had a look around. This morning is my rest day and after a late, leisurely breakfast I wandered through the old town where I will exit Sarria tomorrow.

    I’ll be interested to see how things change along The Way tomorrow with the influx of pilgrims who start at Sarria. This morning I saw a group of 30-40 school kids who were setting off and the noise and chatter made me think that will be the sound of my Camino for the next week. I can’t believe that I have only five more sections until I walk into Santiago so I need to make the most of my time.

    Buen Camino everyone.

    Click below for today’s video clip. You will notice that Guiroy is using a lot of celtic music in the Galicia videos and there is a real presence of celtic music, iconography and other cultural signs along The Way in this area. This video is also along the Samos route which is the alternative to my path for the day.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKjwAwmnF3Q&amp…

    Distance today: 17 kms
    Total distance travelled so far: 648 kms    Read more

  • TravelerChris’s Camino
    2
    122
    Day 38

    Pintin

    May 17 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    About 7miles today, so shorter than normal. But my legs were very tired. Seemed to have many many steep descents. Some of the prettiest little valleys though. Also paths that were in shaded troughs with mossy sides.

    I am on the “main” trail. There is an alternate “through Samos” that did not work out due to my accommodations. Samos route is supposed to be really pretty. But this main route was very pretty. So not sure I “missed out” on much, besides a very cool monastery.    Read more

  • TravelerChris’s Camino
    2
    Day 38

    To Triacastela

    May 17 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    After my ~8km horse rides, I had another ~21k to walk. Thankfully, no saddle soreness or leg issues. But this was a tough walk for me anyway. A few short very steep inclines. Then a descent that lasted too long! About 1800ft. My feet and legs were complaining, but all seems fine now. The views coming down into Galicia were beautiful.Read more

  • TravelerThe Beauty of Moving Slowly
    111
    Day 30–31

    Villafranca to O Cebreiro

    May 16 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I arrived in Villafranca yesterday with mixed feelings about the place as a result of my last visit. What a difference another visit has made. Great accommodation, handily situated, and with a husband and wife team who enjoyed welcoming people to their hotel. I had a great stop over this time around.

    The challenging side to my visit, however, was that today presented me with the longest walk so far, together with one of the steepest climbs on the Camino. From the minute I left the hotel, I was on a gradual incline for the first 20 kilometres and then the steep ascent to O Cebreiro. To give you an idea, I covered the first 20kms in four hours, and the next 9kms in another three and a half hours.

    On the plus side, the weather was clear and crisp as I set out just before 7a.m. The moon was still visible and the cloud cover was low as I walked alongside the Valcarce river as it tumbled along in the opposite direction. I’ve been really impressed in the health of the rivers that I have seen so far. After a stop at Ambasmestas for a coffee, I was on the road again to the small village of Herrerías that lies at the bottom of the climb.

    From there, I climbed up through a chestnut forest before reaching open country just before La Faba, about halfway up the mountain. Even though the climb was difficult, the views once I was out in the open country were stunning. Just before reaching my destination for the day, I crossed into Galicia, the last of the Spanish autonomous communities that I have travelled through and there is a strong Celtic history evident in this region. I’ve been very lucky with the weather again this year, and to reach O Cebreiro in the afternoon sunshine was a relief, considering what sort of weather could present at this altitude.

    O Cebreiro is quite a unique place and most of the activity occurs in a small area between the main hostel and the 9thC church of Santa Maria Real which is the oldest extant church on the Pilgrim Way. It is also the resting place for Father Sampedro, the parish priest who brought the yellow arrows to the Camino and which I have been following since leaving St Jean Pied de Port four weeks ago.

    Tonight I attended one of the nicest pilgrim masses along The Way, and tomorrow I’m off to Triacastela which will be a little easier than today’s climb.

    Today’s clip takes you from Cacabelos which is a little short of my stop at Villafranca through to Trabadelo, and then on to O Cebreiro where I stayed overnight.

    Cacabelos to Trabadelo
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAEN3u1E6AM&amp…

    Trabadelo to O Cebreiro
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_ut0s4mxPE&amp…

    Ultreia et Suseia (look it up….)

    Distance today: 29 kms
    Total distance travelled so far: 610 kms    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    13
    Day 25

    Triacastela - Vilei (Barbadelo)

    May 16 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Start nach einer erneuten Stärkung in der Bar Complexo Xacobeo um 7.00 Uhr
    nach dem Verpassen der richtigen Abzweigung müssen wir die 7 km längere Variante gehen, die sich aber als eine der schönsten Wegstrecken des bisherigen Caminos entpuppt
    oft entlang eines Flusses, schöne Waldwege, einsame Dörfer und wunderbare Landschaften - pilgern wie man sich's vorstellt
    Frühstück in Samos Mittagspause in Sarria
    Übernachtung in noblen Bungalow im Casa Barbadelo
    29,7 km vormittags noch tw. dunstig nachmittags sonnig    Read more

    See translation
  • TravelerSpring 2025 Camino
    Day 33

    Blackout!

    April 28 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    So, the bed race, day one, turned out well. We started in the dark, around 6:30 and had a beautiful walk. We cruised into Portomarín plenty early and were actually the first to arrive at the municipal albergue. E needed to wait two hours for it to actually open. As time went on a good number of us formed a happy line on the benches in front, with people taking turns making beer runs to the restaurant across the way. Very convivial!

    However, once we got to our beds and of course immediately plugged in our phones - nothing. Hmm. Turns out nearly all of Spain had no power, along with parts of France and Portugal. Oh no! We couldn’t charge our phones and internet then disappeared. We went out looking for food and had drinks and a great cheese plate since there was no hot food. We also stood in a queue at the supermercado where they let several people at a time into the dark store. We had to take a picture of the item and its price for each thing we selected so they knew what to charge us. I won’t lie - there was an urge to hoard!
    It was still out this morning and we were so happy h to eventually find a cafe with a gas stove because - coffee!! A couple hours later as we approached yet another bar e saw someone paying for something with a card. Gasp! Power was back! We immediately ordered hamburgers.
    Which we needed, because we agreed we would get up even earlier this morning because the bed situation looked even worse. After some drama though it all worked out, and we even all went and had half hour massages that felt amazing! Tomorrow we have beds reserved. And, presumably, electricity. It will seem so relaxed!    Read more

  • TravelerSpring 2025 Camino
    Day 32

    The (bed) race is on

    April 27 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 5 °C

    So, I continued walking with Morne’ and Alejandro today. It was an often beautiful walk, very sunny and it only really got warm late in the day.

    We stopped at an incredibly nice oasis, which is a donation based stop with all sorts of food and beverages, sweet art,, a little yoga area and just a very positive, hippy vibe. Reminded me of Birdsfoot!
    We then had a looong, leisurely lunch in Sarria before a final push to our current stopping point, Barbadelo.. It wasn’t a long walk, just over 22 Km, but what with their ongoing injuries and our enjoyment of a good lunch we made that walk last! That will not be the script tomorrow.

    This is because now that we are past Sarria, the pilgrim population has exploded. We should have anticipated this but underestimated the situation. After much calling around (SO nice, to have a native Spanish speaker on our team) we had to add acknowledge that our next destination is filled, leaving only the option of getting there in time to snag a bed at the municipal, which does not take reservations. This plan will likely be shared by any number of other hapless pilgrims as well. So that will be exciting! We did manage to get the rest of the nights figured out up to but not including Santiago, so that’s a relief. How am I at this point already??    Read more

  • TravelerThe Beauty of Moving Slowly
    1
    Day 31–32

    O Cebreiro to Triacastela

    May 17 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    The weather at O Cebreiro can be very changeable and, because it is on an exposed ridge, you can experience some challenging days. Today, however, it was all good, the weather gods are smiling on me again. It was a crisp start to the day, again, but there was barely a cloud in the sky and the sun was gradually warming up the valleys and ridges as I went along.

    It is a pretty simple equation today. An undulating path with some challenging climbs for the first half of the day, and then it’s all downhill to Triacastela. The first point of interest I came to was the pilgrim statue on Alto de San Roque. I really like this piece of work and I’ve been here when the wind has been blowing hard, making the statue all the more lifelike. Today was a day to imagine what it could be like.

    After some sharp climbs and descents, I reached Alto do Poio. This is the highest point of the day and there is a small café where you can break up the walk. I took a coffee and put my feet up for a few minutes. Then, it was on to the second half of the day which was, happily, all downhill to Triacastela. The last short stage is along a narrow, wooded country lane and it provides a beautiful entry into Triacastela and a restful end to the day. All in all, a good recovery day after the climb to O Cebreiro.

    Click on the link below for today’s video clip.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHmHtlr19B4&amp…

    Distance today: 21kms
    Total distance travelled so far: 631 kms    Read more

  • TravelerCamino Frances
    111
    Day 24–25

    Las Herrerías - Triacastella

    May 15 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    um 6.00 Uhr aus dem Schlafsaal geschlichen und zur letzten Bergwertung angetreten
    längerer Anstieg über La Faba nach O Cebreiro
    Wechsel von Castillien/Leon nach Galizien
    Frühstück und Besichtigung der schönen Kirche in O Cebreiro (1300 Santo Milagro und Pfr. Valiña als Erfinder des gelben Pfeils)
    über San Roque zum höchsten Punkt Alto de Poio 1337m
    ab jetzt nur noch bergab bis Triacastela
    29,7 km bei feinem Wanderwetter, wobei die angekündigte tolle Fernsicht leider dem Nebel zum Opfer fiel
    die im Führer beschriebenen sehr schweren Anstiege können einem echten Wälder nur ein müdes Lächeln entlocken
    die Krönung war die Carlose I. mit Günter    Read more

    See translation
  • TravelerCamino De Santiago (Francés)
    Day 29–30

    Sarria

    May 5 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    After two trains to Leon and then two buses, I finally arrived in Sarria. Sarria is the starting point for many pilgrims, especially those who want to obtain the Compostela and do not have the time to walk the whole way. 114 km away from Santiago, the city is the oficial mark to complete the required 100 km for the certificate. Because of this, it seems to have developed to meet the needs of pilgrims, with hostels, some bars, ATMs galore, pharmacies, and grocery stores.
    The old quarters are cute but small, just a couple of narrow streets going up the hill, with the church as the center point.
    I left Leon with the usual dark, ominous clouds lingering in the sky. But there is actually nothing ominous about the Camino. There is only what comes, and pilgrims make the best of it and keep walking… or take a bus, like I saw many do today when the hills were just too much and the legs were giving in.
    The hostel is one of the best I have seen so far, so I am happy and thankful for the beautiful kitchen and eating areas, the huge TV to watch some news while drinking tea, the hot shower, and the privacy of my bed (with curtains and all).
    Tonight, I just want to believe that my foot will be strong enough to endure the next six days on the road.

    Sarria: Stayed at Hostel Andaina    Read more

Get your own travel profile

Free

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2025© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice