Category: Ponte Campaña

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Ponte Campańa to Arzúa

23.5 km and 5:39 (see map).

The albergue at Ponte Campańa, soon after dawn. A nice place to stay and the communal evening meal last night was first rate too (included vegetables).

So, the day started dry and ended wet. The showers kicked in an hour or so into the walk then gradually got heavier, becoming solid rain for the last hour into Arzúa. It was still good walking though through the villages, farmland and along the forest paths (there were even a few small stands of plantation eucalypts – a reminder of home). There wasn’t much flat walking – mostly it was up and down and up and down and up …

Wifi seems pretty good at the albergue I’m in at Arzúa (I scored the last available bed in the dorm) so I’ll try getting some photos up.

Early in the day’s walk.

These structures are a common sight along the Camino in Galicia. They’re called hórreo and are used to dry corn, store vegetables, etc.

The path through one of the villages en route.

There are now increasing numbers of walkers on the Camino as Santiago de Compostela gets closer.

Typical forest path.

Typical Spanish camper.

Melide was the largest town passed today.

Heading into Ribadisa da Baixo, the last town before Arzùa (3 km down the road).

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Gonzar to Ponte Campaña

21.3 km and 4.59 (see map).

A damp start to the day – low cloud and light misty rain, but not cold.

It’s good walking in the gloom through the fields, along the forest paths and through the many small villages and dairy farms.

Most of the cows are housed in sheds; it’s unusual to see any in the fields. And there’s a constant reminder of the nature of the agricultural activity in the area – the smell of freshly cut hay and the pungent-but-not-altogether-unpleasant aroma of silage.

The weather started to improve later in the morning, with the sun out at Palas de Rei, the largest town on the route today. I had my credencial stamped at the cathedral, grabbed a cup of tea and a pastry, and headed off for a few km to find an albergue for the night. There aren’t many albergues along the initial section of the 29 km stretch from Palas de Rei to Arzúa and I’d heard it might be difficult to get a bed so I opted to stop at the first albergue that had room. There’s not much other than the albergue at Ponte Campaña; in fact that’s all there is. €10 a night for a bunk bed and €10 for dinner. Good value. (Ponte Campaña is about 3.5 km on from Palas de Rei and 1.3 km from Casanova. It’s 26 km to Arzúa, which is where I’ll head tomorrow.)