BLOG: Our daily adventures,
Week 26: O Casal to Igresario
July 2nd to 8th
- Day 176: July 2nd: O Casal to Assureira - 14 km
14 km done for a total of 2336+14= 2350 km
- Day 177: July 3rd: Assureira to Castro Laboreiro - 11 km
Another early morning visit from my totem (or totent?) animal.
Casey's standing on a very ancient bridge built by the Romans...still holding on after centuries of pilgrims walking over its massive stones : ponte da cava da velha.
The Portuguese glorifying their watch dogs all over the country with this sculpture on the summit above Castro Laboreiro.
Casey got stuck in the narrow door leading to the Castel...not designed to fit an oversized backpack.
After a good climb up a steep road to reach the village of Castro Laboreiro, we decide to push our ascension to the nearby Castel which stands on the top of the mountain: spectacular view!
Holding the sky with just one finger...
Casey's favorite pose: he always wants to fly like an eagle
The fluffiness of the purple grass is very inviting..could not resist lying down in there...very cosy!
There at the Castel, we met Oscar and Lilli, a couple Swedish/Austrian who are living in Lisbon and on vacation here. After meeting a second time at the village restaurant "A Castrejinha", they invited us to pitch our tent on the property of the Airbnb they were renting: an old chocolate factory built beside a charming river.
11 km done for a total of 2350+11= 2361 km
- Day 178: July 4th: Castro Laboreiro to Capela de San Miguel - 17 km
17 km done for a total of 2361+17= 2378 km
- Day 179: July 5th: Capela de San Miguel to somewhere past Cortegada - 15 km
Casey as a priest worshiping the god of coffee..
15 km done for a total of 2378+15= 2393 km
- Day 180: July 6th: Somewhere past Cortegada to Ribadavia (la charmante) - 14 km
14 km done for a total of 2393+14= 2407 km
- Day 181: July 7th: Ribadavia to Leiro - 12 km
Igrexa de Santo Adrao de Bieite...We found there the shade we needed for our lunch break and a fountain (graveyard perks) necessary to fill up our bottles and impregnate our shirts and hats in order to withstand the overly hot weather.
The camino lead us on a little walk on the medieval bridge de San Clodio. The small village of A Veiga, on the other side, is built harmoniously around massive rocks.
Underneath, the beautiful flowing algae in the rio Avia.
Today we had 36 degrees in the shade...Luckily the rio Avia and its clean water is flowing just beside our trail !! Fresh water salvation was needed...so there we dived !!
In the small village of Leiro at Juan's cafe, we met:
- Oscar the gardener,
- Jose the once baker/now apprentice welder and friend of Manu Chao,
- and Michael the retired German.
And had some good times and broken spanish/german conversations
- Oscar the gardener,
- Jose the once baker/now apprentice welder and friend of Manu Chao,
- and Michael the retired German.
And had some good times and broken spanish/german conversations
We stayed there at the cafe for a while, waiting for the thermometer to drop to an acceptable hiking temperature...still at 19:30, when we left the place, the sun was burning hot...another jump in the river was required.
Casey's literally cooking his beautiful rear on the burning hot granit bench...after one dive in the water, he is already ready for another one.
Michael recommended us a nice and cheap restaurant "o mosteiro" next to a monastery converted into a 4 stars hotel. After a little visit of the monastery, here we are enjoying white wine...the specialty of the area.
Our initials everywhere!
12 km done for a total of 2407+12= 2419 km
- Day 182: July 8th: Leiro to Igresario - 12 km
It was quite the climb to get to the next village after Pazos de Arenteiro and the temperature was still above 30 degrees. We had to stop and take a small break next to Salon's church. A woman living nearby just came out of her house, saw us and went back inside to bring us back a bottle of 1.5L of refrigerated water (heaven) and 2 big pieces of water melon.
A little angel on our path!
A little angel on our path!
We had dinner/picnic in front of the church of Igresario with a beautiful view from the top of the mountains on the valley below and flying birds dancing for us an amazing choreography.
12 km done for a total of 2419+12= 2431 km