Day 37: Lubián to A Gudiño

Today was a hard day on the Camino. Although the distance was 23km - a fairly normal Camino day's walk - the terrain and weather in the early stage made it quite a slog.

Waking up this morning in Lubián I was surprised by the fact that it was raining. It hadn't been forecast and I hadn't expected it. It was fairly gentle rain, accompanied by the must you get from low lying cloud. On setting out descending to the Camino from our lodging, the rain got suddenly rather heavier. So rainwear become necessary as we walked the two kilometres to the shrine Church of Our Lady of Tuiza. The present church dates from the eighteenth century, in the sober Spanish baroque style. It was, of course, locked. The effort had been made to open a chapel to the side of the church to make the image of Our Lady visible, but the lack of light meant we could not see anything really.

The next 4km are some of the toughest on this Camino. Over the course of the 4km we ascended 300 metres. It was made more pleasant by being beautiful woodland surrounded by mountains, though the rain made it less comfortable. This was a better route than the roadside walking yesterday. The pathway on today's route was difficult in parts as pathways had turned into streams and were covered in part by leaf mulch and mud. The last part of the ascent was the hardest and I had to employ my high intensity intervals of 100 steps followed by a rest to get to the top.

At the top, the Portela da Canda, we passed from the region of Castilla-León into Galicia; from the province of Zamora into the province of Ourense. From the mountain pass, the descent was immediately easier and such a relief. We soon reached the village of A Canda and, after a further few kilometres, the village of Vilavella where we found the Bar ON where we managed to get some croquettes and empanadillas and beer. It was a welcome respite, especially as the ascent to the pass had been more arduous and time consuming than had been planned.

The rest of the day consisted of three walks between the villages which separated Vilavella and A Gudiña. Firstly from Vilavella to O Pereiro along green lanes. Then a longer section between O Pereiro and O Canizo, which took us on a climb through an area which resembled (according to Andy) the northern Peak District. From here we could look back and see the pass we had come through. Finally to A Gudiña following the approach roads to the town through its industrial area. On arrival in the town of A Gudiña we found a bar - the Bar del Peregrino (Pilgrims' Bar) - where we had very necessary drinks. The only other customers were two Guardia Civil police officers having a break from work. The day had been so taxing, even though interesting and beautiful, that we had to get a lift the last kilometer to our hotel for the night.