Camino Francés: Stage 29

Sarria’s main street will welcome you at the beginning of the stage. You will start walking and you will cross an old jailhouse that now is a hostel. Then you will get to a viewpoint where you will find a stone cross. You will also see a fortress with its wall, then it comes to the Convento de la Magdalena convent, but you won’t cross it, because a few metres before you have to turn left to get to a path that will lead you to a bridge called Áspero; it is a medieval bridge that goes over the Celeriro river and that would enable you to continue with your way.

On the other side you will have to walk parallel to the train rail and then you will cross it. Then you will cross a stream through a wooden walkway to get to the hardest part in today’s stage. This part will be calm because you will walk among oak trees that will lead you to As Paredes. After visiting some interesting things in this village you will get a little bit after to Vilei where you will find lots of services where you can buy all the necessary things or even rest for a while. After crossing the village you will find a spring.

Now you will walk to Barbadelo where stop it must due to its Iglesia de Santiago church from the Romanesque. You will cross this village leaving behind its public hostel and you will get to Rente and then to Mercado da Serra; named after the typical market that used to be celebrated there in the Medieval Ages. You will cross it through the LU-5709 and be careful because here, at this point you can get lost. You will go along a cover of trees while you walk until reaching a fountain decorated with Pelegrín, the pet of 1993’s Jacobean year. Lots of establishments put the indications wrong just for you to go through their establishments. Then you will continue among lots of trees. A little bit after you will cross the Molino de Marzán mill where you should turn right to after going through a bridge over a small stream.

You have to cross again the national road LU-633 that will lead you to Leiman and Peruscallo where you can see lots of raised granaries. This path full of oak trees will lead you to Lavandeiro going through Cortiñas. Now you will be accompanied by rock walls that will lead you to Brea where you will find the first marker that indicated the last 100 kilometres to get to Santiago, but this is a fake one because the original is located a few metres after and it is easy to know that is the original one because it is painted and because it full of rocks. This one of the most famous markers in the Way because it indicates the shortest distance that you should walk to obtain Compostela.

Now you will be walking to Morgade where the Fuente del Demonio fountain and the Capilla de la Trinidad chapel are located. According to the legend, pilgrims should leave here a note in which they indicate how the experience of walking to Santiago was. Then you will get to Ferreros a place that will welcome you to Paradela. You will then walk through an asphalted road to Mirallos where you will find another Romanesque monument, the Iglesia de Santa María church. Now is time to get to A Pena going through O Couto and Rozas where you will leave again the asphalt to walk among trees. After a few meters you will turn left to get to Moimentos, Mercadoiro and Moutrás. The way to get to this villages is very easy. Here you will find a wooden cross that for ages has been decorated by pilgrims.

You are now close to Portomarís, you just have to cross Parrocha and Vilachá. The Minho goes through these two villages and a bridge will allow you to enter into Portomarín, this is the end of today’s stage. You will enter through one of the old medieval bridge arches and after passing the Virtual Center of Pilgrim Information, the Pilgrim street will lead us to the village center where we end this stage.

Bear in mind

This is an easy stage and also a short stage. You have to maintain a constant rhythm because the change of pavement could be tiring.

There is no problems or dangerous parts for people with reduced mobility, but they should be careful when it comes to cross the bridges especially in rainy seasons because the footbridge could be slippery.