Day 4: Fão - Castelo do Neivo (15.6km)


May 25, 2019         
61km completed, 201km to go          Route Map

A bridge to cross on leaving Fão
Today was supposed to be easier than yesterday but that was based on my assumption that we would not be climbing a hill until after Vigo. We started walking in warm sunshine at 7:40am,  having opted to forego breakfast which didn't start until 8:30. Early on we had to cross a long metal bridge built in the late 19th century. That took us to the outskirts of Esposende where we took time to have breakfast. A generous serving of fresh orange juice, a buttered roll and a coffee cost just €3.40 each.

As we were about to leave the restaurant we hurriedly decided to order a couple of filled baguettes for lunch. That turned out to  be a mistake as we waited for at least 20 minutes before the baguettes were ready. When we eventually resumed walking we continued through the town before going back to the sea front and another boardwalk. After a few kilometres we turned inland and climbed a bit of a hill. Eventually we turned north again and for the next two hours or so we seemed be walking on cobble stones through villages that have been connected up with expensive looking modern detached houses. We passed a couple of schools with a variety of translations of "Bom Camino" on display. The second one included "Go n'éirí an bóthar leat".
Good wishes from a school on the Camino
After the houses petered out we walked on a dirt track between two stone walls, one two metres high and the other four metres. The lower one gave way to hedging but the higher continued until we took a left turn down a tarred road. A short time later we were back on a dirt track which led us to a narrow uneven wooded path on the side of a river gorge. We could hear the flow of the rapids down below us and eventually we had to cross the river using an unguarded flagstone bridge.

We were now close to our albergue but had to climb steeply for at least 500 metres on a dirt track and later a cobble stone road. The 20-bed albergue is now full. The hospitalera here assigns beds and keeps a few lower bunks for senior citizens and we qualified easily. In fact, when signing in we had to state our age and now that the list is complete we are the two oldest.

Space was found elsewhere for the woman who is walking with her dog. As you can see from the photograph she is equipped to carry the dog when it's tired. Total weight of backpack, dog and dog cage is 18.5 kilos. We are each carrying about seven kilos.

We asked the hospitalera about Sunday Mass and without hesitation she told us that we could have a lift to the 8:00pm evening Mass if we were at the door at 7:50. We entered the Church at 7:55 and it was already packed. We were out again just after 9:00 and didn't wait for the street procession that was about to begin.


A wayside chapel

Another pleasant forest path
The flagstone bridge

Delighted to have a travelling companion


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