Distance: 31.2km (176.5km / 905.2km).
Weather: Morning mist, then sunny.
I wake up too early for breakfast, at least when it comes to the café for the hotel. The waitress in the café we had pointed out as our spot for breakfast, had however waked up too late. When we are outside, there are no signs of life inside. She had said that the café would be open for breakfast when we asked about it yesterday. Kevin and Kari had however been so lucky to get some pastry from the person delivering bread and bakery. I have to wait until the hotel café opens up. On the TV while having breakfast there is a run of oldies, but not necessarily goldies, from the eighties.
Quiet in Monforte de Lemos, when starting out from next to the old bridge Ponte Vella.
As have become the norm, it is another misty morning. It is quite nice to look up at the old castle, barely able to see the contours of the parador, but seeing the lights from the windows glow in the mist. Like faint watching yes.
Parador de Monforte de Lemos with its castle, monastery and tower in the morning mist.
I cannot blame it on the mist, but the waymarking out of Monforte de Lemos is not easy to find. In other words, it follows the meagre standards of waymarking through cities on a Camino. I actually finds the street the Camino takes out of the city just by accident. Before that, I had walked around seeing more of Monforte, which was nice, but not the actual way. A few places suitable for breakfast too.
A pilgrim statue stands facing the weather on a roundabout leaving Monforte de Lemos.
On a weird path outside Monforte de Lemos.
A pilgrim statue resembling the weather-worn statue at Alto San Roque (on the Camino Frances) stands in the middle of a roundabout. I doubt that there is just as much weather here as on that pass. Good thing about fog is that it hides any industrial or boring sections on a walk. Now it is just a road disappearing in front of me, with a faint outline of someone walking ahead of me, not a pilgrim. Farms, houses, buildings, shapes in general passes by as half resemblances of what they really are.
Camino in lifting mist.
The low clouds are lifting when approaching Moreda, revealing the hills in the background.
At one point, the Camino takes a weird turn, venturing behind a building next to the road. The path is wet and sodden, cobwebs blinking with raindrops. Sort of scenic, but it rejoins the road barely 100 metres later. It makes the path feel rather meaningless. Fog also makes you wonder what is hidden behind it, especially when I walk a while with nothing but a road and crippled shapes around me. Am I in the middle of a wide open landscape now, or are there villages on both sides, tall trees? A bright circle in the sky looking far away gives hope of better views.
Kevin in the mist.
The morning mist does lift in the end, as I approach Moreda past pastures with horses grazing and cobwebs on the wooden fences. Kevin and Kari left earlier from Monforte de Lemos, but at the church here I have caught up with them. They had also had some trouble getting out of Monforte. As the fog evaporates, the scenery around is revealed, showing a traditional Galician landscape.
Another scenic wooden path on the Invierno.
With the scenery revealed, it is also clear that the Invierno now resembles more familiar Camino landscapes. Rolling verdant hills and fields with scattered villages and hamlets around, and the Way meandering its way past and through them. I feel at peace, but misses the more undulating hills earlier on the Camino a little bit. Small settlements and farms are not the only thing I pass by, I find myself walking next to a long wall. This is in O Reguengo, where the walls hides a large mansion or pazo. I do get a look at the buildings and the large property though.
Galician landscape and a water trough.
The Camino going on quiet countryside roads past small villages and hamlets.
The walk is on a mixture of scenic forest paths and on relatively quiet rural roads. Sheep are constantly looking curious at me walking by. A horse is walking loose on the quiet road. The walk is pleasant, but I do walk with one goal in mind at the moment. In the distance I can see some vague signs that I am getting closer. I have a feeling that I should walk a little bit off route to get one of the famous views of the Camino Real do Invierno, but I do not know from where. I loose count of all the tiny villages and hamlets the Camino goes by.
Bright woods.
Until Chantada there is nowhere to get food or refreshments, at least according to my guidebook, so I had stocked up on food in Monforte de Lemos (had to wait to after I had breakfast). At the Monasterio de San Pelayo in Diomondi it is high time for lunch, my stomach is not happy with me now. From the old monastery, the Camino begins its descent towards the Río Miño, which has been my highlight in advance for this walk.
The Monasterio de San Pelayo in Diomondi-
On the descent I pass through another sleepy hamlet, a cat sleeps in a flower pot. A cow has one of its legs chained to its head. I do not like that. At all. Besides that, the descent is a wonderful walk down through the woods. It is the most scenic path so far today, but it may be considered quite steep for many. Furter down, after some twists and turns, views opens up between the trees revealing the river and the terraced vineyards that lines up the valleysides. Still a little bit high up, I walk out on an open path where I get an even better view. It is an amazing view, I dare you to try to count the number of terraces you see on the other side, it is not few.
Descent through woods to the crossing of the Río Miño at Belesar.
As the walk today has mostly been rather flat, the path the river takes through the landscape feels like a gash through the landscape. Like when you are walking towards it, you almost cannot see it until you are in front of it. Overlooking the bridge, the path takes me through the village of Belesar. Turns out there is a place here where you can buy food and drinks, just north of the bridge. At the same place where you can take a boat ride on the river from. No boat ride for me today though, only a cup of coffee and a refreshing drink. There is a group getting on a boat as I sit here.
Terraced vineyards are dotting the valleysides over Río Miño.
Kevin and Kari has arrived at the bridge when I begin my journey up again. On the way up I walk between the various terraces of the vineyards, the path spiralling upwards, acquiring more and more views on the way. Cannot help wonder how the wine from here tastes like, I can almost smell wine as I walk. Further in a bridge crosses over the valley, that would be the road. Looking back, and down, I see Belesar with its bridge below and then the vineyards on the other side above it. I pass next to an old mill over a tiny creek, vanishes into a short wooden section and finds myself on the last stretch of road towards Chantada.
View over Río Miño.
Looking down at Belesar with its bridge over the Miño river. With more terraced vineyards above it.
A short visit to the Igrexa de San Salvador de Asma, from where I can look out over Chantada, is the last sight before I enter the town itself. I had not had any expectations of Chantada at all, thinking it to be a rather unnoticeable and forgettable town, but when I enter it I get to know better. At the entrance there is a nice path next to the small Río Asma leading into and past a small park, Parque da Alameda. And the centre of the town turns out to be a pleasurable town with some beautiful old buildings, with nice bay windows and all.
A house in Chantada reflectedi n the Río Asma.
No pilgrim albergues in town, so I check in at Hotel Mogay, which offer discounts for pilgrims. Kevin and Kari does likewise, arriving a little later than I. Time enough to walk a little bit around in the town and on the promenade next to the Asma river. It is a really pleasant town. I meet Kevin and Kari for dinner at Café Bar Piolindo, where the food was so cheap that Kevin did not want to have any money back from me.
Promenade in Chantada.
The views from when crossing the Miño river is one of the trademarks of the Winter Way and it was true to its word. Another pleasant walk in the shade of its more famous route further north. And I was happy to get some time to see a bit of the surprisingly nice Chantada. It does not do anything to lower my expectations for the upcoming days though. I am about four days away from Santiago de Compostela now. Happy Camino days.
Chantada.
<< Monforte de LemosRodeiro >>
No comments:
Post a Comment