Camino Real de Invierno // day 10 // Ponte Ulla - Santiago de Compostela

Camino Real de Invierno, day 10 (Camino day 37).
Distance: 26.4km (291.6km / 1020.3km).
Weather: Quite good.

This I have written about several times probably, but the last day on a Camino tend to be an anti-climax. Both by the fact that you now are finished with the walk, usually at the time when you have gotten used to be on the way, and that the last stage usually are the least interesting of them all. However, since I have already arrived in Santiago de Compostela on my walk this time, as I walked the Camino Portugués prior to this Camino, I hope that will take the edge of that anti-climax (and that I have still more Caminos to walk afterwards). On the other side, I am curious about how the walk into Santiago will be on this Camino.

Looking back towards Ponte Ulla and the large railroad bridge in the morning.

Out of Ponte Ulla, the Camino gives you the idea that you will escape the road, but it soon throws you right onto it. At least the morning is nice. There is however a way to escape the walk next to the road, and that is to take the Camino for the pilgrims on horses, the junction where the two routes separate are marked. I did not take the horse route and so had to walk on the hard surface. It might be a little bit longer on the horse route though. Eventually, I got off the road and onto a more quiet and softer path.

Forest path after Ponte Ulla.

Pico Sacro.

When the Camino leaves the road, it leaves it almost for good too, passing through a small village before heading up into the hills above Ponte Ulla. That does not mean that the walk is quiet, it is in a pleasant enough forest, but if you were to take away the trees, you would see the huge quarry on the other side of the hill. There is a lot of noises coming from it. If I took away the trees, I would also be able to see the sunrise.

Capela do Mosteiro de San Sebastián do Pico Sacro.

Santiago de Compostela seen from Pico Sacro.

According to my guidebook it is 17km from Ponte Ulla to Santiago, but I cannot get that to add up. When I arrive at the Albergue de Peregrinos San Pedro de Vilanova, and comparing the time I have used from Ponte Ulla, I believe it to be 17km from the albergue to Santiago. It is a nice looking albergue actually, but you have to carry with you what to eat and drink when staying here.

View from Pico Sacro.

This is also where I have to take a major decision for the day, but at the back of my mind I know the outcome. A board with a map announce the route to get up to the top of Pico Sacro. From here it is about 2.4km up to the Sacred Peak, but if I take some of the other routes that goes to the top on the way down, I can get back to the Camino further ahead. I do not need to go back here after the climb. Decision made, I set off in the direction of the peak, leaving the Camino for a moment.

Calle de la Reina Lupa (the Street of Queen Lupa).

Pico Sacro (Sacred Peak) is tied to the legend of the boat trip the disciples used when carrying the body of St. James to Santiago de Compostela, known as the Translatio route (if doing the spiritual variant of the Camino Portugués, you can take a boat following this route). There are various myths and legends about Pico Sacro and the Apostle. The most famous is the one about the mythical Queen Lupa that when asked for help to carry the body of St. James, sent the disciples to the peak to get a cart. Her hope was that the dragon living on the peak would devour them, as she saw St. James as a threat to her power. The disciples however defeated the dragon and then tamed two wild oxen (by the power of the Apostle) to drive the cart to Santiago.

One of the entrances to the Sacred Peak caves.

Nestled just beneath the summit is the Capela do Mosteiro de San Sebastián do Pico Sacro. This is a small chapel with nice views. The summit of Pico Sacro is interesting in itself too, not just because of the views and that you can see Santiago de Compostela from the top, but that there is a gash in the cliff at the top. This trench bears the name of Calle de la Reina Lupa, or the Street of Queen Lupa, and is 2 metres wide and 6 metres high. There is also a legend tied to this trench, and that it is the entrance to the hall of her palace, another one is that it was made by a giant with the hack of an ax. Also found around the summit are several holes, or entrances to the caves in the peak, the Sacred Peak Caves, which leads to some large quartz caves (according to a signpost). I do not take my chance going down into them however.

A light on the face on a cruceiro.

From the top the view is great. As mentioned, I can see Santiago de Compostela with the cathedral clearly in the distance. Around me the landscape are covered in floating wisps of thin clouds, it is beautiful. Given all the legends about the peak and the ties to the Translatio route, I find it strange that the Camino does not go up to the peak. At least the Invierno, more on that later. I was so glad that I took the walk up. In the end, I take the same route down again, returning to the albergue.

Iglesia Santa Maria de Lestedo.

A fountain of dry leaves, but no water.

Down again, a short, but nice walk through woods leads me to a small village with a huge church. The Iglesia Santa Maria de Lestedo also features a nice clock tower, with high and narrow openings revealing the staircase within. With the Pico Sacro watching over me from behind, I continue my journey through the Galician farmland towards Santiago. I arrive at a small place where I find a bar, believing it to be A Susana, which was the first place I was told I would find a place to eat. I do find something to eat here, but it is not in A Susana that I am. I arrive there a little bit later afterwards.

The Camino going through a vines walkway.

Santiago de Compostela gets closer by each step and it is a pleasant walk too. In the distance I can see the hill the Camino Portugués crosses over on its way to Santiago, the Ways are truly converging. Cruceiros, small chapels, old fountains without water filled with autumn leaves, old walkways and pathways underneath vines. And then we arrive at the outskirts of the pilgrim city, once again I have caught up with Kevin and Kari. To them, this entrance to Santiago is well known. To me, this is a new way of arriving. This one is better than the Camino Frances, which I only find nice when you arrive in the old town.

At the entrance to Santiago de Compostela with the spires of the cathedral in plain sight.

Of course, the places I go through in Santiago is familiar, as I have been here before, but the route leading to the Praza do Obradoiro I have not followed as a pilgrim. For the second time I walk into the famous square and it feels great, it feels like home. It is time for the mandatory contemplative moment in front of the cathedral. Looking at the other pilgrims having arrived or arriving. Someone is lying lazily down, a bottle of champagne at her side. Then we go get our Compostelas, my second of this trip. The clerk giving me the Compostela tells me that he has never met anyone before who has done the Camino Real de Invierno. Then we go for a beer before finding our accommodations.

At the Praza do Obradoiro after getting the Compostela for the Camino Real de Invierno.

Actually, I had not planned to stay in Santiago, but taking the bus directly to Muxia after arriving. However, Kevin and Kari has been a great company on the walk and I would like to have one last evening with them. So I will instead take the morning bus to Muxia and start walking right off it. This is also a change of plan, as I had in my early planning thought to go the normal direction of the Camino de Finisterre. Then, since I have done that twice now, one time to Finisterre and onward to Muxia and one time directly to Muxia, I feel going the other direction would be nice. It would make that Camino feel slightly different than before. We agree to meet for dinner later.

An unusual view of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

What I want to do that I never have gotten to do before is to visit the rooftop of the cathedral. There is however only available places for the tours with a Spanish guide, I still sign up. This makes me able to wander more freely around though, not to the liking of the guide, as I cannot understand what she is talking about anyway. It is great seeing the city from this angle, from the centre of Santiago itself. You get to see the details of the spires and towers much closer. Looking down at the squares below is great too. Highly recommended. Later, I watch the sunset next to the Parador.

The Monastery of San Martiño Pinario seen from the roof of the cathedral.

I meet Kevin and Kari for dinner at place where it takes too long to get ordered unfortunately, but the food is quite good. We then talk about the Winter Way and our upcoming plans. The Camino Real de Invierno was a great Camino, and in some ways I find it better than the rest of the Camino Frances from Ponferrada. I found the best part of the Camino to be the first days between Ponferrada and Monforte de Lemos, those were truly wonderful. On the other hand we all agree that we find the route to be a quite modern construction, and do not believe the route we went to be the route the pilgrims would have taken in the old days. It involves a lot more climbing than we thought they would do, especially since we believe there will be snow on the higher passages of the Invierno too, making it probably just as strenous.

Praza das Praterias from the cathedral roof.

We also talk about our upcoming plans. I will go to Muxia tomorrow for the Camino de Finistere. Kevin and Kari are unsure of what they will do. They had planned to travel to Ferrol and then do the Camino Inglés, but the weather report for the upcoming days is abysmal. Plenty of rain seems to come in our direction, heavy showers too by the reports. After so many days in the sun, the storms have finally arrived. I will face some of the rain too, but thankfully not as much as they will if they choose to do the English Way. They consider going to Lisboa instead. At the end we look for a beer and a veterano to celebrate the day.

At the roof of the cathedral.

Catedral de Santiago de Compostela.

I am so excited, tomorrow I start another Camino (my third in a row).

Rua do Campo das Hortas.

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Camino Real de Invierno // day 9 // A Laxe - Ponte Ulla

Camino Real de Invierno, day 9 (Camino day 36).
Distance: 28.3km (265.2km / 993.9km).
Weather: Nice.

There were strange sounds coming from the albergue during the night, I could not reckon what, but it sounded almost like someone trying to get in. The morning left no clues either, I think it was just my sleepy mind playing tricks with me. It is pitch black outside when I leave. Thankfully, the bar in Vilasoa where we had dinner at yesterday is open. You may not find much sustenance in the Spanish breakfasts, but I enjoy that little moment before I go with a café con letche.

Purple sky in the morning after leaving A Laxe.

After Vilasoa, the Camino leaves the road (N-525), but still continues relatively close to it. The light is beautiful in the morning, pale shades of purple are coloring the sky. In the distance there are some ridges rising, some of them dotted with wind turbines. Further behind those ridges will the Camino Portugués be coming up from Portugal, as that is the direction of Pontevedra, it is now some days since I came that same way. The light continues to be beautiful when I walk past acres, tiny farms, churches and briefly passing through Prado. When the sun rises on the sky, it paints the fields I walk next to in warm light. Morning has been wonderful.

Sunrise after Prado.

Río Deza below with a railroad bridge behind.

According to my little leaflet about the Invierno made by the Xunta de Galicia, which in fact is far more useful than the guidebook that I have, I will today come to the medieval bridge of Taboada. Expecting to see an old, but nice, bridge in familiar Galician surroundings, I get something entirely else. And the approach to the bridge gives it all away. Like the Río Miño, the Río Deza cuts through the landscape, although not as dramatic as the Miño. There are no terraced vineyards either, instead thick textures of trees lines up the riversides. Bridges too, large arched bridges, but neither of them is the Taboada bridge.

The path to Ponte Taboada.

Ponte Taboada.

A path leading away from bridge (for the cars) going over the Río Deza is taking me on another nice walk. It leads me towards and underneath the stone arched railroad bridge, eventually putting me on what looks like an old cart track. Walking on the uneven stones of the track I get to the medieval bridge, Ponte Taboada. This old Roman bridge was built in 912, and is almost hidden down in the ravine of the Deza river. It is a scenic spot indeed. To get a better view of the bridge from below, I find a track leading down to the riverside. The track goes past a derelict stone cabin, on the south side of the river. It is beautiful to see the arch of the bridge mirror itself in the river.

Ponte Taboada with reflection in the river.

The rest of the walk to Silleda is a pleasant walk first through the open fields in Taboada, then through a forest path, with the exception of the last part of the walk into the town. I do not find Silleda the most exciting town, but in its defense I cannot say that I spend much time here either. I do go to visit the Castro de Toiriz, just outside Silleda. This is an old Iron Age fort, with two walled enclosures, both grassy. At the top of the small hill there are big rocks scattered about. There is a view from the top, in the distance I can see Pico Sacro, behind it lies Santiago de Compostela, not visible from here of course.

The Camino Real de Invierno to Silleda.

Autumn sunlight.

I loose a little bit of my eagerness after Silleda, finding the Way here less interesting. Then it is more interesting leaving the path for the Muiño de Covian, and old mill lying secluded in some woods, now a small path leads the way to the mill built in 1810. Like Ponte Taboada, a scenic little spot in the woods. The rest of the walk to Bandeira is a more ordinary walk through farmland.

Castro de Toiriz in Silleda.

In Bandeira I eat lunch at Hotel Victorino Leira Xesbran. The lunch is quite good, but I am a little bit ambiguous regarding their advertisement. Before entering the village, I saw large posters advertising rooms for €10 for pilgrims, which is a good prize. The adverts, however, fails to mention that there is only one room that is available at that prize, but of course, you may be the lucky one. This does not affect me, as I am not staying here. The room was actually occupied when I arrived too.

Igrexa de Santa Eulalia de Silleda.

One other thing my info leaflet told me about was the ruins of the Mosteiro de San Lourenzo de Carboeiro. I want to go there and see it, the problem is that the leaflet makes you think it is right on the Camino, which it is not. Too far to go there on foot, given the time at hand, so I wonder if I should take a taxi to the ruins. I sorely want to. There is one taxi in the village, I find it in the main street. However, the taxi driver is gone. When giving up, I see the taxi driver coming, but he promptly gets into his car and then drives away. To the hotel, where he picks up three people. That was my chance, I shrug and then leaves Bandeira through the other end of the stret. The construction of Mosteiro de San Lourenzo de Carboeiro was completed in 939 and is interesting from a pilgrim perspective as it is influenced by the Compostela artistic movement, in particular by Mestre Mateo and the style he developed in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Read more about the monastery here.

Muiño de Covian.

The Camino continues its restless route through the Galician farmland. Interspersed are the usual hamlets, churches, farms, and some wooden paths through forest. In one forest, there is an old tree seemingly made into a shrine, with a plastic glass attached to its upper frame too. The trees around are reflected in the glass. It is kind of weird.

Bandeira.

I did not find the walk after Silleda that interesting, although it was charming enough. The Camino must have heard my needing and before the descent to Ponte Ulla it throws me a prize. At the top of the hill in front of me I can see a structure of a kind, and I know that I have to walk up to it. It is the Miradoiro do Alto do Castro, and the path up to it winds itself around the hill (Alto do Castro). The views are great, especially down towards Ponte Ulla and the huge railroad bridge below, Pico Sacro at the back. At the top there is a circular stone building with windows, allowing you to see in all directions from within. An almost mandatory detour.

Sunlight and reflected trees.

Ponte Ulla lies all the way down from the hill and the junction from where I left the Camino. The entrance to the village is over yet another historic bridge. Just across there is a bar, Kevin and Kari are sitting outside. They could not get a room at their usual place here, so they had taken a room at Pension Juanito. I saunter my way there too and thankfully, they have a room for me too.

A tree shrine.

Before dinner and everything else, I walk up to the Mirador de Gundián. Here the Río Ulla runs between two tall cliffs on each side and crossing the gap is a beautiful bridge, which the railroad runs on top of. There is also another huge railroadbridge here, having an even larger span than the other. The light is near perfect for the view, painting the old railroad bridge in warm colors. Up above on the other side I can look up at the Alto de Castro. There was a little walk on the road to get up here, but it was all worth it.

View from the Miradoiro do Alto do Castro. Ponte Ulla below, Pico Sacro in the distance.

Miradoiro do Alto do Castro.

It is also fun to think of that this is the same river that I walked next to on the spiritual variant of the Camino Portugués for about eleven days ago, and which also is the river the boat takes (the Translatio route).

Ponte Ulla.

Mirador de Gundián.

Back down in Ponte Ulla, I meet Felipe and Miguel at a bar and joins them for a beer before I go to have dinner together with Kevin and Kari. We share a huge plate of meat. Today has definitely been a walk of bridges. Tomorrow we will arrive in Santiago de Compostela.

The large railroad bridge above Ponte Ulla.

<< A LaxeSantiago de Compostela >>

Camino Real de Invierno // day 8 // Rodeiro - A Laxe

Camino Real de Invierno, day 8 (Camino day 35).
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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