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    • Laurie ReynoldsVía Serrana and El Invierno
      2
      Day 19

      A longer route to A Rua

      April 29 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      The day from O Barco had to be either 13 km or 40 km. I was not interested in the 40 option. I had learned on the forum that there was a way to visit an old abandoned estate (Pazo) on the other side of the river, which would also add a little bit of distance. I did some more searching and found that there were several trails on that side of the river that would take me up high, to some waterfalls, and then to a couple of little towns on my way back down to the river. I pieced together some Wikiloc tracks and got a good alternative – 24 km and about 600 m elevation gain.

      It was a combination of two local trails, both very well-maintained and marked. I saw several people out walking, all single women from the nearby villages, and also met a man tending his little patch of grape vines. The waterfalls were quite nice, and the walk along the ridge at the top gave such a different view than what we normally see walking down by the river. I came into town over an ancient pedestrian bridge, and saw that there was a Roman millario right next to it! I am very happy to have done this route, and I arrived in A Rua just in time to have a menú del día with Clare.

      Despite the weather forecast, it was a glorious day, but rain is back in the forecast tomorrow. It looks like the morning will be dry, so I will start out good and early!      Read more

    • Camino invierno
      1121
      Day 3

      Puerte de Domingo nach A Rúa (28 km)

      April 16 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

      Heute ging es für uns nach A Rúa, ein wunderschöner Weg am Fluss entlang, mit vereinzelten kleineren Anstiegen in das umliegende Bergland. Heute zeigte sich die Gastfreundschaft der Menschen in der Nähe des Camino. Wir durften mehrfach Hilfe und Unterstützung aus heiterem Himmel erfahren. So bot uns ein Ehepaar, dass uns auf seinem Weg zum Öffnen ihres Hühnerstalls begegnete, während Friedrich mit schmerzenden Füßen eine Pause eingelegt hatte, an, die Füße bei ihnen daheim unter Wasser abzukühlen. Ein paar Häppchen mit Chorizo und Schinken sowie für jeden zwei Dosen Limonade gab es ebenso ungefragt dazu.
      Diese Einstellung der unbedingten Gastfreundschaft und Offenheit wollen wir auf auf jeden Fall versuchen, mit nach Deutschland zu nehmen. Am Abend kehrten wir in einer kleinen Herberge in A Rúa ein. Auch hier würden wir wieder sehr gut umsorgt. Der Obolus für Herberge, Abendessen und Frühstück war hier für die Reisenden als Spende frei zu wählen. Auch ein spannendes Konzept, dass erfreulicherweise offenbar gut funktioniert.
      Morgen geht es auf die nächste Etappe, mal sehen wie lang diese sein wird.      Read more

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    • Laurie ReynoldsVía Serrana and El Invierno
      31
      Day 18

      To O Barco de Valdeorras

      April 28 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      Nice walk, nothing spectacular, but pretty. It was our first encounter with the Sil River, which merges with the Minho eventually. It is very full these days because of all the rain.

      The camino goes through some abandoned villages, and one real town. There are lots of small family on vineyards. I talked to a couple out and their parcel and they say that they and most of the small owners in this area just grow enough grapes to make their own wine for the year. There are lots of huge industrial vineyards as well, but the Camino didn’t pass by any of them today. Since it was a day on the short side, I left late and didn’t really get into my normal walking mode. Kind of lollygagging and realizing I was feeling tired.

      Three of us had a late lunch and when I got back to the room at about five, I lay down and woke up after midnight. That was probably the longest night uninterrupted stretch of sleep I’ve had since I’ve been here! Maybe it had something to do with the allergy pills I’ve started taking (a regular occurrence when I walk in Spain in the spring), but whatever it is, it’s a strange sensation to wake up at midnight, feeling refreshed, and ready to go!      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsVía Serrana and El Invierno
      311
      Day 17

      Snow and 800 cyclists

      April 27 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      Today I walked from Montes de Valdueza to Las Médulas and then another 8 or 9 km to Puente de Domingo Florez. Wikiloc tells me it was 35 KM and about 900 m elevation gain.

      It had been raining all night, but Pilar had told me that the entire distance was on a “pista forestal” (Forest track). That meant no jagged rocks, no extremely steep elevation, all dirt, and no rivers to ford. As I went from one side of a mountain to another, the weather kept changing. At one high point, it was snowing. About halfway there, I ran into three guys setting up a refreshment stand. They told me I was about to encounter 800 cyclists, all of them completing a 101 km circuit from Ponferrada. There were about 200 walkers, but I was unlikely to see them given that they would be much further behind.

      When I started down from that point, it turned into a pea soup fog, with an occasional few minutes of rain. But when I got to Las Medulas, it wasn’t raining, and the view was as spectacular as ever.

      I was going to spend the night there, in a little rural hotel, where I have been several times. But when I got there, the grounds were covered with campers and tents and caravans. I decided that even if there were rooms available, it was going to be a late night party. I decided to continue on nine more kilometers. That will make tomorrow a very short day so that’s nice.      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsVía Serrana and El Invierno
      231
      Day 20

      To Quiroga in the rain (28 km and 700 m)

      April 30 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      It wasn’t a totally rainy day, but there were several long-ish periods, so my shoes and feet were soaked most of the day. This is a very nice stage even when it’s raining, way up high with four other paths paralleling below — the river, the train tracks, the national highway, and the local highway. And there I was on top of all of it! The Sil River is dark green, blending in with the greenery all around. With the grey sky, the color palette was fairly reduced—except for billions of bright yellow flower bushes (gorse or broom, I’ve been told they’re called).

      The Camino goes through several little villages— all have at least a few inhabitants, a few renovated homes, and the great majority falling apart. I can’t imagine that there is anything that will bring these places back to life, but maybe the Camino will do it!

      One of my two favorite Sil River horseshoe curves is on this stage, and luckily it wasn’t raining when I got to that spot! I sat and had a few handfuls of trail mix and soaked it in — then the rain started and I really soaked it in.

      I am in a nice place in Quiroga— hair dryer and heat! Now my shoes will dry for sure.

      Looks like rain for the next few days.      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsVía Serrana and El Invierno
      22
      Day 21

      22 km and 700 m to Pobra de Brollón

      May 1 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

      I woke up this morning and saw that once again weather.com predicted clouds and no rain till late afternoon, while the Spanish, weather website aemet.es showed rain all day. I chose to put my faith in weather.com, even though it had let me down yesterday. Both websites showed the same cold temperature, though – 38 F/3C. Another day to put my smartwool socks on my hands. But I would much rather have those warm lambswool gloves that are sitting at home in my Camino box!

      This was a planned short-ish day, because I wanted to have a good chunk of time in Monforte De Lemos tomorrow. I have stayed there two or three times, but always arrived on the late side after a pretty hard walk. It’s a small city with some interesting things to see.

      I had forgotten how beautiful this stage is. Lots of green, lots of flowers, lots of big vistas from up high. No cultural or historical sites, but plenty of natural beauty. And the rain held off until I was about four minutes from my destination.

      There is now an albergue in town, but I learned that the pensión where I had stayed years ago had reopened (its owners closed it when they retired, but their kids have reopened it). Very nice.

      Clare and I have had a good and very filling lunch in La Taberna Vieja, and we are going to stay here till the thunder and rain stop.      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsVía Serrana and El Invierno
      Day 22

      Nice day to Monforte de Lemos

      May 2 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

      It seemed almost like a rest day. The walk was very pretty, and I took a little detour to go to a hill fort that dates to the first or second century, before the Roman arrival. At places like this, I stop and think about things — my life, their life, whether we were similar in any ways. There were many body-shaped rock-lined spaces right below the surface, and I wondered if they were graves.

      We did have one fairly short and not too steep ascent, and we also came across our very first loose dog. He barked, and he did come close, but that was about it. That was the first loose dog we’ve encountered during almost three weeks of walking.

      When we got into town, I went straight to the pharmacy to see if I could get something for my incessant cough. This is very similar to something that has happened to me on two other Caminos— it starts as an allergy and then deteriorates into a bad cough, and I cannot shake it. I showed the pharmacist the name of the medicines that I had been given the last time, and she just pulled them off the shelf and gave them to me. That’s a very different attitude towards prescription medication than what I found in the south of Spain.

      We were in town early, and by noon I had checked into the parador— a splurge I booked months ago. It’s in a 17 C convent right next to the 13 C castle tower. The receptionist was very nice and found me a room that was ready, even though I was hours before check-in. I guess that walking into a parador with a grungy backpack and hiking poles gets you some special treatment, or else it gives staff the incentive to get you out of sight quickly.

      One of the best things about staying in a Parador is that the towels are so huge and thick that you can squeeze all the water out of your hand washed clothes with them.

      Clare and I had a good lunch in a popular local place, while she played around with schedules and accommodations to figure out her next moves. My bet is that I will start out from Monforte alone tomorrow.

      It’s a cold grey dreary day, but at least we didn’t get rain while walking.      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsVía Serrana and El Invierno
      111
      Day 23

      To Chantada — 34 km and 900 m

      Yesterday in Spain ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

      It felt weird leaving this morning, knowing that I would not be meeting up with Clare, since she was heading to Madrid. Time to make a mental adjustment.

      When I left Monforte this morning, I had pretty much made up my mind to stop after about 24 km in a new albergue that has been built inside the 14th century Bishops Palace adjacent to a beautiful 12th century Romanesque church. I’ve never been able to see the inside of the church, and I heard that the hospitalera had the key. On the way, I went to two lookout spots over the Minho River to see my other favorite horseshoe bend. The regional government has spent a lot of money, improving the lookout points, and the views were great, even though it was cloudy.

      When I got to the albergue, had a rest, and visited the church and the albergue facilities, I just couldn’t bring myself to stop walking. It was not raining, there was no one else there, and everything all around was wet, I decided to do the last 8 km into Chantada . This meant descending on a beautiful but slightly wet and slippery trail, crossing the river and then ascending to the top on the other side.

      The Minho Valley is supposedly its own microclimate, and when I crested the top for the last 5 km into Chantada, the gusts of cold wind and strong rain hit me in the face. Just as things were feeling grim, I came upon a group of very joyous Portuguese pilgrims. The time passed quickly, but I was so happy to arrive in my hotel. Hair dryer, heat, towel heating rack— all of those amenities were very much appreciated.      Read more

    • Camino invierno
      Day 6

      Monforte nach Chantada (32 km)

      April 19 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      Heute sind wir mal etwas früher gestartet und haben uns ordentlich in die Schuhe gestemmt, um noch vor der großen Mittagshitze einen möglichst großen Teil des Weges zu schaffen. Das gelang uns auch - nach 23km Fußmarsch über durch Viehauf- und -abtrieb matschige Wege oder solche, die komplette Wasserläufe waren, kamen wir ohne zwischendurch einmal den Rucksack abzusetzen an einer herrlichen Stelle an, wo wir für gute zwei Stunden Siesta halten konnten. Am Wasserhahn eines öffentlichen Gebäudes konnten wir dort die Füße abkühlen und die Schuhe vom schlimmsten Schlamm befreien und trocknen lassen. Wir verbrachten die Zeit auf einer grünen Wiese im Schatten alter Eichen.
      Nach der Siesta haben wir auf den verbleibenden Kilometern noch einmal ordentlich Höhenmeter zurückgelegt, bevor wir endlich unser Ziel Chantada erreichten. Beim Durchlaufen der Stadt zur Herberge stellten wir fest, dass an verschiedenen Orten Bühnen installiert wurden. Nach Ankunft in der Herberge, ausgesprochen modern gestaltet und etwas mehr als andere auf internationale Gäste ausgerichtet, und sehr netten Unterhaltungen mit Neuseeländern begaben wir uns in die Stadt, um unser Abendessen zu finden. Unterdessen füllten sich die Straßen zunehmend mit Menschen. Nachdem wir in der kleinen Pizzeria "Mar" unsere Bestellung aufgegeben hatten, kam Musik durch die Straßen immer näher. "Mekanika Rolling Band", eine kleine Band aus A rúa (vorgestern unser Übernachtungsort), zog mit ihrer fahrenden Bühne durch die Straßen um die Menschen aus den Häusern zu locken. Später am Abend folgt die Band "Union Phenosa". Phenosa ist der hiesige Stromnetzanbieter. Der Mainact des Abends war schließlich auf einer großen Bühne die Band "Orquesta Olympus". Um 0 Uhr starteten sie ihre große Show mit zahlreichen Tanzeinlagen zu eigenen Songs, gecoverten Songs sowie auch international bekannten Songs, deren Texte sie ins Spanische transkribiert haben. Wie wir zwischenzeitlich nachlesen konnten, waren wir heute Abend zufällig ins "Chantada Youth Festival" geraten. Gute Musik, die definitiv immer wieder zum Tanzen anregte - selbst die Füße, die nun die letzten Tage schon knapp 160km hinter sich gebracht haben. Morgen haben wir uns nach den langen Etappen der letzten Tage einen Tag Pause gegönnt.      Read more

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    • Camino Spring 2024
      Day 12

      Walking on a stairway to heaven

      April 20 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 46 °F

      Today was one of the longest days of our walk to date. Almost 18 miles with about 1800 feet of elevation gain. Lydia was a trooper as we walked and walked higher to the village of O Cebreiro. The village was a bit of a change as it was very tourist focused. We learned at checking that there was about 3 feet of snow on the ground less than three weeks ago. Lydia and I had a wonderful pilgrim meal to celebrate our accomplishment and a bottle of wine 🍷. Tomorrow is an easier day heading downhill in preparation for our final week.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Provincia de Lugo, Lugo, Província de Lugo

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