The Camino de Invierno

Day 11 Lalin to Ponte Ulla/Outeiro

Monday 6th May 2019

Lalin to Silleda

Distance	Time		Elevation in meters
Km	Elapsed Hrs-Mins	Moving Hrs-Mins	Gain	Loss	Min	Max
16.32	5H24	3H23	251	285	359	527

 

Courtesy of www.gronze.com

Courtesy of www.gronze.com

Turning right along the road in front of Hostal Caracas I looked for Camino signs. I did not see any, but there was a walking sign to Rio Pontiñas which I followed. I knew that the camino ran along the river so thought this was a safe bet.

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I soon picked up my first yellow arrow on the path adjacent to the river

Crossing the river

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The path goes behind this huge hotel (Hotel Spa Norat Torre do Deza) and comes out in a carpark. Because there are lots of cars parked there the camino mojon is not readily visible, but the path continues straight across the car park and along a grassy verge between industrial buildings. OK once you know!

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Look out for this mojon in the car park!

The path goes across this grassy verge towards the gap in the trees

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Through an industrial area

Never miss a welcoming bench for a short rest!

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The path drops down to the right alongside this major road

And then passes under the road

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The albergue.... unfortunately it was not open at the time so I could not get a sellos or check it out

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A short stretch along a busy road follows, before the path goes off to the left by the building in the distance

Bar-Restaurant Ma José

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This is better..... away from the big roads of Lalin

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I spoke to soon..... another short section along the road, but not so busy this time

Not far to go to Ponte Taboada

The road bridge. I found myself thinking, wouldn't it be nice to walk across there instead
of the big descent to Puente Taboada and the climb the other side!

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Nice to get the weight off my back for a few minutes!

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The bridge of Taboada Viejo, mistakenly called Roman, is a Romanesque bridge that belonged to the royal road that linked the cities of Santiago and Orense. It replaced previous bridges built on the same point, probably made of wood, from which it took the name (Pons Tabulata) It was not used when the layout of the road was modified in the second half of the 19th century and the new Taboada bridge was built , its location is relatively complicated today for those who want to visit it. The only utility that it serves today is as passage to the pilgrims of the Vía de la Plata. The bridge, made of ashlar masonry, was made with a single arch, of half a point and remarkable height, built on two rocks that narrow the river bed to reduce it to about eleven meters. The key of the arch is located about nine meters above the water level. A double ramp almost three meters wide, made with stone slabs, and a sill composed of two courses of ashlars of the same material complete its design. Its construction, well executed, is very austere. The only details are observed in the aforementioned sill, whose ashlars, tongue and groove with each other to give more strength to the work, were topped by chamfering their edges. In the center of the bridge, the right parapet offers a small highlight as a landmark. At the entrances to the bridge, at the beginning of both ramps, some drains were made in the parapets, at ground level, to avoid the accumulation of water during the rains.

(Stock photo)

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Looking back at the bridge

After the bridge I got quite excited.... a taberna where I could get a cup of coffee. Alas, like
many other places I had passed on my travels.... it was closed!

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At the back of the building was a water fountain, so I had to make do with filling up my water bottle.

Then, out of nowhere, I came across two things I was not expecting..... a beautiful church AND another pilgrim!

The church is Iglesia de Santiago de Taboada.

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Another bench.... a chance not to be missed

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Approaching Silleda

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At this point I had a decision to make. It was 1-30 p.m. and because of the pain in my right knee I had only walked 16 kilometers in five and a half hours; the distance for the day to Ponte Ulla was between 33 and 35 km; this was because I had stopped at lalin instead of A Laxe. Also, I had a booking at Pazo de Galegos which was closer to Outeiro than it was to Ponte Ulla. It was obvious to me that I had to take a taxi. The question was, should I take it from Silleda or from the next place, Bandeira, which was 7.1 km from Silleda. I had a coffee next to the church and did "google images" for Bandeira just to see what the place was like and whether I would be likely to get a taxi there easily. In the end I decided that it would be better to get a taxi from Silleda, which was a bigger place. Even so, I had to wait about 40 minutes to get a taxi outside the coffee shop, where the taxi rank was. With just one more day left to get to Santiago I thought that it was better to try and rest my knee rather than trying to be heroic! I was soon swishing along in a rather posh Mercedes taxi, and made a grand entrance at Pazo de Galegos. The proprietor Manolo (Manuel) sympathised with my dilemma, and told me of a couple who had done 40 kilometers to reach Pazo de Galegos and were wrecked the following day. That made me feel better!

Accommodation

Pazo de Galegos

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The small chapel in the grounds of Pazo de Galegos

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Pazo de Galegos has its own vineyard, and I enjoyed a nice bottle of their albariño wine with dinner.... "a golden yellow with lime glints. Fruity aromas, like apple and peach. Mellow and well balanced. The aftertaste reminds notes of apple".

I asked for breakfast at 8 a.m. but manolo recommended 8:10 a.m, as the fresh bread would be delivered by then. Fresh Bread! I take back all I have said about bread in Spain, particularly bocadillos!