Distance: 30.5km (236.9km / 965.6km).
Weather: Nice.
This is the last day on the Invierno. At least according to Kevin and Kari, as the Camino joins the Via de la Plata (the Silver Way) at A Laxe. However, I do not agree and although the Via de la Plata is a more major Camino, I still mean it is fair to say that the two Caminos are sharing the last days to Santiago de Compostela. Meaning, I have still three days left of Winter.
In the morning in Rodeiro.
I start walking when dawn is on the way, it has passed dark. Down the street from Hostal Carpinteiras a dog is making a big ruckus. It seems stuck in a loop of its own mind, constantly returning to bark loudly at another dog through a gate after walking away. Otherwise, it is very quiet. The hills in the background are covered by clouds, I can just see the top of the wind turbines on Sierra del Faro jutting up from the clouds. Some of the blades are rotating, disappearing down in the clouds, only to emerge again moments after.
Sierra del Faro almost entirely hidden by the clouds behind Rodeiro.
Walk on a road in the beginning, but fortunately the Camino leaves it for a quiet path not after a very long time. This soon turns out to be a lovely walk, with the only thing breaking the mood a little is the everpresent barbed wire. The Camino then meanders next to a small and quiet river (Arnego), with fallen leaves scattered around. The sun has not risen yet, not that it matters to the birds, but there is still a quietness over the scenery. Serenity some would say, it is one of the best morning walks on the Invierno so far.
A great walk next to the Río Arnego.
Felipe had started after me from Rodeiro, but he will definitely arrive before me in A Laxe, as he is walking way faster than I do. We talk briefly for a while and then he is gone, quickly disappearing from view. I wonder if he get to really see anything of what he goes by.
Sunlight through the mist.
Morning light on the meadows.
The clouds was lying thick around the Sierra del Faro, but here they are only drawn out wisps of mist. They are like thin veils of smoke floating around, making a fairytale scene of everywhere. Through views I see that the clouds also has dispersed from the ridge, and that sunrise is imminent. When it finally rises over Sierra del Faro, the combination of sunlight and floating mist are magical. It seems that the Camino is doing all it can to impress me in the morning today.
Cultural landscape after Rodeiro.
When the sun is full up, I walk to the first hamlet or little village of today. Fresh streaks of cow dung lines up through the hamlet. Sometimes, I do wonder why they do not herd the cows another way around than just in front of their own houses, but I guess this is just the city boy in me speaking. The last of the morning light shines over the rolling fields and acres, a scenic view.
A gently climb on a path between meadows.
With the sun up and the mist gone, most of the magic from the morning are lost. The Camino meanders its way through hamlets, tiny villages and fields. It is easy and pleasant walking, but less exciting. In A Penela there is a large and somewhat strange monument, maybe a museum too, dedicated to a D. Ismael Calvo Gutiérrez. A huge gash in the landscape is passed by, a huge quarry cut up like a Minecraft creation, the side of the hills has been neatly cut up in squares. On the way I have caught up with Kevin and Kari, and we continue on together.
Monument in A Penela.
Mámoas (tumuli) on Coto da Mamuela.
People have been walking in this area a long time ago too. We cross over an old medieval bridge, Ponte Pedroso, to a place literally named as place for people to stay. Now named A Ponte, but it is also known as Mesón, meaning inn. Although, I have been walking through some hamlets and villages, populations are sparse today. Only clear and quiet countryside to walk through. There are no places to buy food until Lalín. In one place, water blocks the whole of the path so that we have to walk around to get across so not to get our feet wet. In order to do so, Kevin has to trample down some barbed wire that makes for another obstacle.
Approaching A Eirexe.
Before we enter Lalín we go through a lovely forest. Lalín is one of the larger towns on the Camino Real de Invierno and it is also proud of being located at kilometre 0 of Galicia, meaning it is the geographic centre of the autonomous community. Despite being about 27km to Lalín from Rodeiro, I had based myself on having lunch here, only eating some small snacks on the way. With the church (Parroquia de Nosa Señora das Dores de Lalín) in view, we sit down at a café for lunch. Kevin and Kari has stayed at the albergue in A Laxe before, when they have walked the Via de la Plata, so they are arguing a little if they should find a place to stay here instead.
Ponte de Pedroso.
They decide upon continuing to A Laxe, but as there is still a couple of kilometres left, they want to start moving sooner than I do. I want to see a little bit of Lalín, and I also need to find an ATM. In the middle of a street crossing I find the Km. 0 marker. Next to it is a pig sculpture, called O Porco. Another quite big monument is located further down, Monumento ao aviador Joaquín Loriga. Lalín would not be a bad place to spend an evening at. Before I continue, I sit down for a cold 1906 at a bar.
Kari walking through the woods on the way to Lalín.
Leaving Lalín, the Camino enters the Paseo Fluvial Río Pontiñas. A park and walkway next to the Pontiñas river. This is a beautiful walk, passing by old mills and stone bridges. The walkway is about 1.5km long, but the Camino leaves it before it reaches it end. I walk to where the walkway ends, at a small dam, which now is almost grown again by thick vegetation.
The Plaza de la Iglesia in Lalín.
The last section before arriving in A Laxe is however not so enticing, downright boring actually. Here, I walk through an industrial area, with a busy and load road never far away. The few sections through woods does not help much either. I am happy to arrive at the concrete Albergue de Peregrinos in A Laxe. From here on, I will share the Way with pilgrims walking the Via de la Plata too.
Km. 0 marker in Lalín.
Lalín, with the O Porco statue and the church in the background (the Km. 0 marker is in the street cross).
Despite being a concrete building, I kind of like the albergue. There are not many other pilgrims here, only a few others. In A Laxe there are no places to eat, and many says that you need to bring food with you if you want to stay here, but Kevin and Kari said that there was a place nearby where you could get dinner. They were however a little bit unsure if it was still open, anyway, we had a backup plan for that. The bar is open, having to walk maybe 500m to get there, I find them sitting outside with a glass of red wine.
Old mills next to the Paseo Fluvial Río Pontiñas.
Over dinner they tell me that Felipe and Miguel also had checked into the albergue, but had changed their minds and got picked up by car from a nearby accommodation. I had seen their names in the entry list, but not them. For dinner I have a salad with asparagues, carrots and eggs as primero, and gratinated pasta as secundo. It was a good dinner. We buy with us a bottle of red wine to bring back to the albergue, which we share in the kitchen, admiring the grey concrete walls.
Paseo Fluvial Río Pontiñas.
Dinner with Kari and Kevin.
Today had the lowest amount of climbs on the Invierno, maybe that is why I did not feel that excited by the stage in overall. It is not always good to compare days with others, today was a pleasant walk (let us forget about the last few kilometres after the lovely Paseo Fluvial Río Pontiñas). Only two days left now.
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