Camino Sanabrés: Stage 8

• If yesterday we have turned off towards Verín, we will have to leave this town in the same way as we entered it, through the national road 525. We still have a little more than thirty kilometers ahead of us on the asphalt of the national road to Xinzo de Limia. A few kilometres away, we will border the parish of Albarellos, which belongs to the municipality of Monterrei, where, if we needed it, we could turn off, as it has plenty of services such as health centre, ATMs, bars… After a good breakfast, we will cross the Albarellos river to continue on the asphalt of the N-525, following the river parallel to the river and getting closer to the outskirts of Guimarei. From here, we will walk approximately five kilometres to the outskirts of Rebordondo and, in the same way, to Villa del Rey, crossing in this case through the centre of this small village. Trasmiras is the next town we will visit, just a couple of kilometres away, where we will find all kinds of services. Before reaching Xinzo de Limia, we will still have to go around the places of Os Pardieiros, Abavides and finally cross the Limia River in Porto Alto to enter Xinzo, one of the places where the carnival is celebrated with the greatest enthusiasm, presuming to be one of the most extensive celebrations in the whole country, prolonging the festivities for five weeks.
• If we leave from the hostel in A Gudiña, we must go to the Plaza de la Picota, from where we quickly get on the local road. Follow it for a little less than a kilometre and turn off right at the fork to Vilamea, cross the river and set foot on the road again at Soutelo Verde. After crossing this town, we leave again to this road to leave it after a while in search of a track that will lead us to Tamicelas. Just as you pass in front of the chapel, turn left into an uphill track that goes up a little further. At the first junction, we begin to notice how the slope hardens as we approach Mount Requeixada. At a fairly high altitude, we recovered the previous road to Alberguería, a small town that has a hostel and a bar where we can have a drink before continuing with this journey.

After a short rest, we will join a path of soft grass that will take us to a road, which we will cross to continue along the previous path before reaching the local road. There, we cross again with great caution and take another path through Mount Talariño. We climb up its slope to a wooden cross, almost a thousand meters above sea level. Continue on the left, while descending again towards the road and Vilar de Barrio. We cross this town, where we will find a few services, to Bóveda, just two kilometres away, and, a few kilometres away, to Vilar de Gomareite. Here we go out along an asphalted path and continue for a few metres until we turn left onto another path that may be somewhat flooded during the rainy season. We will continue, at least for another three kilometres, to the point where we turn right to enter Bobadela, a typical village in Ourense full of granaries. Surrounded by oak groves, we continue up the hill on the right first, and then to the left, to cross the road and quickly enter the place of Padroso. At the level of a washing place or pylon, we go to the left, passing some steep slopes from here to Cima de Vila, a town that we border on the right and continue along a track in front of us. We come across the road again, crossing it with a ship and, just three kilometres away, we will reach the end of the stage in Xunqueira de Ambía by road.

Bear in mind

In addition to the mileage, this stage is characterized by the ascents to Tamicelas and Alberguería, reaching almost a thousand meters of altitude. It is remarkable the presence of a point of attention to the pilgrim in Soutelo Verde, a perfect place to have breakfast and get strength.

Those who, yesterday, decided to opt for the Verín bypass and did not re-engage with the original route, must continue to Xinzo de Lima, some thirty-five kilometres away and from there to Allariz. Cyclists and people with reduced mobility should take into account the considerable slope to continue on the road if they consider it convenient.