We picked up the track this morning at Alto do Mamoa at about 9:30am after a fairly leisurely start to the day. Very breezy and abut overcast early in as we made our through Roxica (stopped for a coffee), Travesa de Ledro and Marcela, which the book says is the highest point on the trip at 710m. We had some company on the road early on – some cows coming back from milking before Roxica and then many more pilgrims after Roxica. To get a Compostela at Santiago, you need to have walked at least 100km, so now we’re inside the 100km radius we are getting more walkers. We passed another set of discarded boots near what I’m calling the peak just before we entered A Coruña province of 720m! We sat outside for a drink and a bocadillo at Meson before we got too cold and moved inside for another round! The afternoon warmed up quickly and we were happy walk past Lago Sobrado to our destination Sobrado dos Monxes, home to a magnificent if less than fully used monastery that was founded in the 10th century. The pathway into Sobrado looks like it has about 4ft walls either side but in fact, like many of the paths we have taken, it is 4ft below the ground level on either side – the cumulative impact of hundreds of years of pilgrims’ footsteps! 19km today and 762kms overall… backpacks back on tomorrow for the walk into Arzúa where we join the Camino Frances.
steelewalking 