Cea clock tower The above photo should have been included in yesterday's post, but it seemed relevant once I'd breakfasted (is this a word?) on several slabs of toast made with the local bread. Delicious.  And eating them slowly ensured that it was light enough to walk when I was done It was a very … Continue reading Via de la plata day 42: Cea to Botos, 28.6km →

The funky bridge taken from the famous bridge! Technically the destination is named San Cristobal de Cea, but it's not often used. And my guidebook's recommended night stop was Osiera, where the albergue is housed in an out building of the monastery. But it was another 10 km off the direct route, and my feet … Continue reading Via de la plata day 41: Ourense to Cea, 22.8 km →

After a promising start walking from the town into a valley and up the other side in oak forests, it all went pear shaped for the next 28 km. All roads, minimal scenery other than the above photo. Ourense is the biggest town since Salamanca, and the extended entrance was via the industrial suburbs. The … Continue reading Via de la Plata day 40: Ambia to Ourense, 22.9  km →

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 →