DAY 57 - PUEBLA DE SANABRIA to LUBIÁN - Tuesday 18 June 2024

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It rained in the night and was still raining when we left, so we decided to stick to the quiet road rather than the muddy Camino for the first 11 km.


While we had a second breakfast at Requejo, it stopped raining. We admired the water features of the village - the villages here all seem to have water fountains, and usually flowers too.

We rejoined the Camino on a very green path, sealed at first,  then becoming a dirt track,  and then a series of puddles.  The photographers were delighted! We had a river beside us for some of the way... at other times it seemed as if the river was the path.

Eventually the path brought us out under a railway viaduct. We followed a yellow arrow and our guidebook's instructions down a fence line,  where we were brought to an abrupt halt: the bridge was out.  We had to retrace our steps and follow an alternate route up a long road to get to the pass of Padornelo.

From there it was a short hop down to the village of Padornelo, with its beautiful stone houses.  The church roof was being repaired.  The only bar in town had closed 'for retirement', but we found the truck stop our friends had recommended just out of town. This was packed,  mostly with men by themselves or in groups.  We were quickly given a table and served an excellent menú del día, which included fish soup, the local pickled trout, and chocolate  mousse (well it is our grandson's birthday today... although we probably didn't need an excuse).

Replete, we loosened our belts and headed downhill,  first on the road then a track. There was a narrow channel filled with water running beside the path, which reminded us of the irrigation 'bisses' we had seen in Switzerland last year.

The path took us through the hamlet of Aciberos, where a kind local opened up the reconstructed water mill and the adjacent oven for us, and showed us another of the hamlet's many fountains.

By now the sky was darkening again,  and we hurried down the path. A thunderstorm accompanied us most of the way down the hill to Lubian, another village with beautiful stone houses and fountains.

We checked in to our homestay, with sodden feet but having had a great day. 

Water on the path
The umbrellas were up for the 11 kilometres on the road to Requejo 
Into Requejo and straight to the bar for second breakfast
Requejo
A bit of water on the path on from Requejo
A bit of fun with puddles
A pleasant walk on a waterlogged path
Turned back at a dangerous collapsed bridge
Climbing on the Camino Sanabrés to the Padornelo Pass 
More fun with puddles
The Padornelo Pass - the highest point of the Camino Sanabrés, and of our walk across Spain
Padornelo
Lunch at Padornelo
The Camino Sanabrés down from Padornelo
Aciberos, with its restored (but not functional) water mill
The Camino Sanabrés from Aciberos to Lubián 
Flowers and beehives 
Lubián 
Stormy skies in Lubián
Birds and slug. Probably the wettest stork we've seen so far. 
Day 57 - Map

Day:                               57
Distance:                      31.03 km
Walking time:              6 hrs 34 mins
Elevation gain:            745 meters
Cumulative distance: 1,123.37 km

Comments

  1. Victoria N19 June 2024 at 06:40

    The countryside is looking familiar at last. The damp paths are just normal conditions for Galicia & Asturias with or without cow poo as a garnish. Very envious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aussie Slow Travellers19 June 2024 at 14:30

      Yes, it was quite different yesterday, both the weather and the hills. We're loving the differences!

      Delete
    2. Murray and Sandra16 July 2024 at 11:31

      Eurasian Jay, White Stork, slug , Barn Swallow

      Delete

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