Climbing out of the misty valley The guide had this as two stages, but in the interests of my compressed itinerary, I combined them. Even if one wasn't compressing, there doesn't seem much sense in doing an 11 km stage, especially when you need to leave the albergue at 0800, and the suggested destination has … Continue reading Via de la plata day 39: Laza to Xunqueira de Ambía, 32.6 km →

I guess I was a bit premature on the via summary. On our second to last night on the Costa Brava, it occurred to me to try and change my flight home so that I could finish the walk. Of course it helps that we have a superstar travel agent. Ashleigh O'Connor of First in … Continue reading Via de la Plata day 38 →

I'm writing this on the high speed train to Madrid. We are on our way to Barcelona as Susan's never been there. And hopefully it will be sunnier and warmer there than in Galicia! Susan has been soldiering on with a bad ankle. She took two taxi days in the hope that it would recover … Continue reading Via de la Plata on hold →

Welcome to Galicia The forecast was grim, but we hoped to make it to the top of the pass before the rain arrived. As it turned out, we almost made it to the destination before we needed to impersonate road cones. The pass was an interesting climb - 329 metres over 3.5 km ( about … Continue reading Via de la plata day 37: Lubian to A Gudiña, 24 km →

What storm? A beautiful, calm morning, although brisk. The locals advised that the official path would be unusable due to the rain so the first hour was a solid uphill climb to the Padornelo Pass at 1365m. It was a great day for cafe hopping, with the bar beside the albergue open for the breakfast … Continue reading Via de la Plata day 36: Requejo de Sanabria to  Lubian, 17.4 km →

Everyone sheltering from the storm in the first bar. Yeesh, what a day. The northwest of Spain was to be battered by the remnants of hurricane Kirk, with local winds forecast to have gusts of 89 km/h. The bar in the first village was packed with all the local workers trying to avoid working in … Continue reading Via de la Plata day 35: Asturianos to Requejo de Sanabria, 27.7 km →

The romanesque bell tower of the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Mombuey, originally built in the 13th C and declared a national monument in 1931. Taken in the misty morning, hence the photo quality! After a couple of ankle rolls yesterday, Susan's ankle was a bit swollen so she took a taxi … Continue reading Via de la Plata day 34: Rionegro to Asturianos, 25.7 km →

Dressed for the weather A day that would have been perfect if it wasn't for the weather or the distance! Most of the day was walking through forests or scrubby trees - the forests along the riverside and the scrubby forest away from the river. Much of the upper areas have suffered from fires, which … Continue reading Via de la plata day 33: Santa Marta to Rionegro del Quente, 27.7 km →

Slim pickings in the photo department due to the rain, so maybe this cast iron down pipe is appropriate! Breakfast was at 0700, but due to the paranoia surrounding getting a bed at the next town, most people were gone before first light. The only accommodation in Santa Marta de Tera is the municipal albergue, … Continue reading Via de la Plata day 32: Tabara to Santa Marta de Tera, 20.7 km →