Ribadeo to Santiago de Compostela

Tuesday 27^th October Melide to Santiago de Compostela – 54km

Another early start. Out before 8-00am. Beautiful sunrise streaming in through the industrial windows of the warehouse. There was no real choice other than to go along the main road today unless we wanted a major detour through the hills.

The ride really has little to commend it. We stopped in Arzua to shop and have first breakfast. Later we lunched in a layby. Sounds naff, but actually it was sunny, warm and cheese and wine tasted good. As we were now getting close to Santiago we passed a lot of Camino walkers and some cyclists.

The final part of the route took us up to Monte do Gozo, which on a clear day gives good views over Santiago. There is a large albergue here with its own restaurants, shops, camp site and several hundred beds in small dorms.

However, it’s a fair way out of the town and we wanted to stay in Santiago itself.

As we approached Santiago we were concerned that we may suffer the same disappointment as when we had visited Lourdes, France.

The approach is through busy streets, but finally you come to the old town, with its historic, paved, narrow streets and multitude of original buildings centered around the cathedral.

Santiago is a wonderful place, full of atmosphere and even in October it was very busy. Pilgrims arrive from different directions, from all over the World and gather in the Praza da Obradairo in front of the Cathedral. They rejoice in their safe arrival. Some have come for purely religious reasons, some for the cultural experience and others simply for the challenge. There is a combined and overwhelming sense of relief, satisfaction, achievement and camaraderie that moves one to tears.

We headed for the Oficina de Perigrinos to get the final stamp in our passport and our certificates of completion. Then it was to the Oficina de Tourism to find accommodation. We decided to pay the extra and booked into a pension in the town. We got a nice little double room with its own quite terrace.

So we had done it Inverness to Santiago via Plymouth and Santander 2,600km.

We could now relax for a couple of days before wet set off on the next leg of our journey into Portugal.

Monday 26^th October, Lugo to Melide – 54km

We were out of the albergue before 8-00am and left the town through the roman walls at the Porte de Santiago. It was another misty,still and humid morning.

We left the town on busy main road, up the hill, stopping for first breakfast on the way, but as it was early there were no shops open at all.

We crossed over the main N-540 Lugo to Chantade road, to follow the Camino route along the back lanes through simple villages, where the agriculture was still very traditional. This was the rural Spain that we had been looking for , with age old oak forests, meadows and farms. Traditional buildings, stone walls and churches abounded.

We noticed that the granary stores had changed from the shed on stone stilts to raised stone buildings with ventilated walls.

We rode on and on, but there were no shops, cafes or anywhere that we could buy food or water. It was hot and we were thirsty and hungry. We thought that there would be a shop in the one large village marked on our map but there wasn't. Karen stole some apples from a tree in a garden and then we stopped and emptied our bags of everything edible and drinkable.We sat and feasted on half a bottle of red wine, about 300ml water, some oatcakes which had travelled all the way from England and a couple of muesli bars. While we ate a red kite appeared above us and gave us a spectacular display of flying skills. We rode 37km before we arrived in Palas de Rei, on the main N-547 to Santiago. We immediately bought a litre of water and fell into a local hostelry for their “menu del dia”. Suitably refreshed we carried on along back lanes and main road to reach Melide.

We were told that the albergue was closed for refurbishment and were directed to the Albergue Provisional. After a little hunting around we rolled up to a massive warehouse type building with a roller shutter door open which was obviously the entrance.

We walked into a place that was about two football pitches in size. In the middle were stacked together, about 50 or so bunk beds. We thought “My God are we going to sleep in here?” It quickly dawned that within the warehouse had been built a prefabricated building to form the accommodation. It was very busy as we were now on the main “Route Francais”. There were a number of other walkers with English as a first language for the first time since leaving Santander. It was fun watching the reactions of other pilgims as they arrived at such an unusual albergue, all wondering where on earth they were going to sleep.

There were two dorms. A large one with about 50 beds and small one with only seven beds. We thankfully were put into the small one. We had no snorers and air conditioning. It was probably the best night we had had in a dorm.

The kitchen was fantastically fitted out, but no pots, pans or utensils. Fortunately we had our own. We shopped and ate a light meal before bed.

Sunday 25^th October Taramundi to Lugo – 65km

Our original thoughts were to go to Lugo through the mountains, but it was obvious this would take us at least two days, so we decided to pick up the main N-640 that runs south from Vegadeo to Lugo.

When we got up it was very low cloud, damp and misty, but at least there was no wind. It was very warm and humid. Karen was feeling much better and her fears of getting flu were unfounded. Despite the poor weather, the ride was enjoyable, being initially all downhill to A Pontenova on the main road, where the Sunday market was just starting up. As it was early Sunday, there was very little traffic on the main road, which had recently been resurfaced. It was a dream to ride on, but it was another long (10km) gradual climb to approximately 580 meters. The humidity made it uncomfortable, but it was compensated by the scenery.

Just after we crested the pass, a police car drove slowly towards us, passed us and then turned around. It crawled passed us and looked to be pulling into the hard shoulder about 20 meters away. Our hearts sank as we thought some trouble might be brewing. We were relieved when it pulled away before we got there.

We flew down the hill into the town of Meira. There was a local car rally starting from the town square. Fortunately they were not going our way, and we carried on out of the town.

From here the traffic increased and the road was long, straight and continuous ups and downs, so the ride was less pleasant. Even then, we could pull off the road into a field have lunch and doze in the sun for half an hour.

We got to Lugo and made the climb up into the old walled citadel surrounding the cathedral.

The roman walls are impressive; high, wide and completely intact. We walked around in the warm evening. Lugo lies on the river Mino which eventually flows to the Atlantic Ocean and forms the border between Spanish Galicia and Northern Portugal.

We booked into the albergue, which was within the citadel walls. It was a very modern albergue and only 3 euros each, but it didn’t have anywhere to put bikes. We had to lock them to a bike stand outside in the street which was a worry, (but thankfully an unfounded one).

We had dinner in a simple, local restaurant where we ate a delicious Dorado fish and patatas.

Saturday 24^th October Ribadeo to Taramundi – 30km

During the night the wind had got up and we would have a strong southerly, warm, head wind to our next destination. Karen had planned a route to take us through the mountain town of Taramundi, which according to the guide book was a beautiful, untouched rural part of Spain, and on to Lugo, a total of 90km.

When we got up her throat and cold were no better. However, we packed and set off riding along the side of the Eo estuary which could have been a Scottish Loch. It is beautiful. The view across to the old town of Castropol was stunning. At the end of the estuary we reached Vegadeo. Here we stopped to shop, and have breakfast. It was a typical busy Saturday morning with everyone rushing around doing their shopping. There was also a vintage car rally in the square.

We bought a new map for the final part of our journey through Spain and then set off out of town up the valley to Bres. It was a long slow climb, made doubly hard by the strong head wind. Karen was struggling due to her cold. The guide book talked of a simple little road to Taramundi with cows and mule carts, but since writing it had been replaced a by a broad, well surfaced modern road. There was still little traffic and apart from the strong wind and Karen’s health, it was an enjoyable ride.

We finally arrived in Taramundi. It was about 3-00 when we arrived and it was obvious that Karen could not cycle much further feeling as she was. With the help of a local café girl, we found that the only accommodation open were the three hotels in the town. One of them had apartments at 36 euros. We took one. It was great. It had a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. Although it was a little more expensive, it meant we could cook our own food and as it had a washing machine we could do our washing at no extra cost. For Karen it was just what she needed, a warm bath and a good night’s sleep. We were also pleased that we were not camping as it rained overnight.

We were a bit disappointed with Taramundi. It was still a lovely mountain town, but it is now a tourist hot spot with a lot of Artisan gift shops, etc.