Day 57 Laza - Xunqueira de Ambia

When we set off this morning from Laza we were still undecided which way to go.  The first decision we took was to walk to Albergueria directly on the OU-113 avoiding an extremely steep climb had we goine via Tamicelas.  Mind you, the climb to Albergueria was anything but easy.  We travelled some 12 kms going from 1500 feet to 3000 feet!  I tell you, our legs felt like jelly at the end of that climb.

The severity of the climb was tempered by the beauty of the scenery, looking down on the valleys below.  The very small village of Albergueria boasts one of the best known bars in all of the Camino.  Every pilgrim who passes that way marks a scallop shell with their name and date etc. and the shell is then pinned to the walls/celiling etc.

The whole bar  is full of these shells!  Ana Maria and I duly prepared ours and it is now there for posterity as a record that we passed that way on 14th June 2010!

On the outskirts of Albergueria we took to the path again but soon had to abandon it as it was far too muddy.  We therefore carried on for another 3 kms on the road\until we came to a spot marked by a large cross.  From here the path descended quite steeply down the side of the mountain trying to find the shortest route to the village of Vilar de Barrios below.  As we entered the village we were followed by Nina who had been hard on our heels for most of the morning.

Then came time for the second decision of the day.  Did we stay there or did we carry on to Xunqueira de Ambia.  Doing the latter would mean a total walk for the day of over 22 miles.  Notwithstanding that our legs were still wobbling and my left foot was still painful, we decided we would rest for a while and then continue to Xunqueira.  It was a good decision!  The weather was lovely for a change with the sun shining but with a fairly cold wind blowing!

This second part of our journey today took us via a series of small villages each sporting a variety of "Horreos"  old storage huts very typical of Galicia.  From the brow of the hills we could see below the plains of Antela, in years gone by the largest fresh water lake in Spain before being dried out for agricultural use.

We once more descended to the plains via a very steep and uncomfortable path, following which we had to cross to the opposite side some 5 kms away to be faced with another very steep climb to the top of the hills.  The views from the top were truly amazing and worth the effort!

From there we went cross country through very pretty narrow lanes, most of which were extremely muddy although we were able to find alternative routes to keep us going all the way to Xunqueira.  We entered the village at 4.45p.m having taken a total of nine gruelling hours.

Tonight we are at the local Albergue, a very modern building, with 20 beds.  For the first time ever, we are on our own as no other pilgrims have turned up, so we can have first choice of everything!  The village boasts a very fine Monastery but unfortunately it was closed like so many of the churches and other religious buildings along the Camino.

Our trek today puts us within striking distance of the town of Ourense, which we want to reach tomorrow before 2.00p.m. as we have another parcel from James to collect, this time with replacement socks for me.  Once we reach Ourense there will only be another 110 kms left to Santiago, one of our major destinations.