Before talking about today's walk I must mention last night's dinner. It was really good though a bit more expensive because of the choices we made. We tried a Ribeira Sacra red, which was interesting. It was marketed as a fine wine but seemed quite young on the tongue. Local chorizo and typical Galician creamy cheese formed part of a shared plate. We also had a small serving of freshly grilled langousines. They were delicious, as was the revuelto (scrambled eggs) with garlic shoots and prawns. For the main course I went simple with a pinch moruno (barbecued spiced pork) and salad, but the other two both opted for a beautifully cooked roast salt cod with sauté potatoes and a lovely mixture of onion, green pepper and olive oil. I don't usually go for puddings but there was local requesón (similar up ricotta) with local really dark honey - could have been from the beehives we passed near Lubián!
This morning our host, who was pleased to serve us dinner the night before sent us off in the way with complimentary bocadillos of Iberic ham. Very generous of him! Leaving A Gudiña we had to make sure we took the correct Camino route. In A Gudiña there is a bifurcation allowing pilgrims to choose a lower end longer way through Verin, or the shorter but more challenging route through Laza. The latter saves about 30km, so we took the shorter route. Now that we are in Galicia, the way-marking pillars indicate the number of metres to the shrine of St James. It was great to see the number now well below 200km!
As we ascended out of A Gudiña we immediately climbed to about 1000 metres, around which height we walked most of the day. As soon as we reached this height, as well as looking back for a final time on the Canda pass through which we walked yesterday, we also had around us views over to the north of the largest peaks of Southern Galicia and to the south the hills and mountains that cross the border into Portugal. For 20km of today's route there were no sizeable villages but only Vendas, or hamlets. They were, successively, Venda do Espino where I spoke to a lady about the weather, from which we got the first view of the reservoir, the Embalse das Portas; Venda da Teresa, where a little yappy dog followed us to the village limit; Venda da Capella, whose high speed train station seemed to have given little status or facilities; Venda de Bonaño, where we stopped to eat our ham sandwiches while taking in the extensive view.
From Bonaño we took first the roadside, then a path which took us uphill by a gravel path, and finally a steep shale path which brought us down from height to the village of Campobecerros. From above this looks very quaint and almost Alpine. Here we stepped back in time, getting a drink at the bar, but where the lady running the bar was very helpful and kind. We didn't venture to the bar which serves food having already had the bocadillo. The reviews suggest this was a wise move. So after a couple of drinks we left the village, walking uphill to regain some of the height lost before.
In no time we were in another village called Portocamba, after the river which flows nearby, the River Camba. This village has the most extensive range of abandoned buildings and houses. After a good sit down in the part of the village that is still living, we set out along the final part of today's walk. The wonderful scenery continued but the features were not entirely ancient and aesthetic. The new high speed rail line has created its own engineering wonders.
Finally we arrived at As Eiras, a hamlet where some of the houses had been transformed, with great investment, into a beautiful casa rural. It is such a peaceful place and the food that Natalia prepared for us was delicious. After such a long day of walking tiredness overtakes, so I'll leave you with some photos from the day.
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