It was stiflingly hot last night in the albergue and even packing my bag, had me sweating like I was climbing O Cebreiro on the Camino Frances!
It was a relief to be out walking in the cool sea air, it was also overcast. Perfecto! We crossed the bridge in to Ponte Sampoio, which was a quaint little village. From there we joined a forest track that took us up and over to a neighbouring valley.
By 10.30am we arrived in Pontevedra, that didn’t have much going for it. Only nice thing was the church, it was mostly new buildings, no historical ones.
The route out follows the railway line and to the point where I start the Espiritual Way. I had to say goodbye to my walking companion, Daniel, if all goes to plan, I’ll meet everyone in Santiago on Sunday.
The Espiritual goes up and over a hill similar to this morning, arriving at Cidrás. This is another quaint little village with narrow winding streets that sharply ascend the side of Mt. Castrove.
This began a very intense climb for the next hour or so. The Sun was at it’s zenith and there was no shade. Once at the top and 5km to go, I ran out of water.
It was a long descent in to Armenteira where at the bottom was an oasis, a bar! I dumped my bag outside and ordered a water and a coke, that I pretty much absorbed instantly.
It was only a short walk to the albergue where I had a cold shower to cool off. At 7pm there was a pilgrim blessing at the monastery that I checked out; got a special stamp for attending!
It was a long day, covering 34km and the climb to get to Armenteira was brutal, but it was worth the experience and the cold drink at the end!
Stu's Camino 