Day 8: A Guarda - Viladesuso (17km)

May 29, 2019
127km completed, 145km to go             Route Map

We left the albergue at 7:10am but as we are now on Spanish time the sun was still very low and it was quite cool. A Guarda is built on the side of a hill and we were near the top so it was a relatively easy start walking down to the sea.
We stayed close to the rocky shoreline, at times walking over rocks, before being sent up a steep hill. Just before it came to a highway we turned left on to an old farm track and walked along the side of the hill, roughly parallel to the sea, sometimes going up a little and at other times down, sometimes in trees, sometimes between little abandoned fields, bounded by dry stone walls that no longer have a farmer to repair them. A couple of times we were walking on a cycleway attached to the highway and, of course, we regularly returned to walk close to the sea.
After about 5km we reached a much anticipated cafe for breakfast. The cafe turned out to be a bit of a shed attached to a tent, with any tables and chairs out on the grass. That was fine given the bright sunshine, and the coffee was good. It came with a madeleine and cost just one euro. At the cafe we again met up with Janice from Stirling. I didn't recognise her at first as I assumed she would be 40km ahead. It turned out she had been troubled by blisters and had rested for a day.
The monastery at Oia
We continued through the same varied terrain until we reached the attractive seaside village of Oia. We enjoyed a light lunch here. Along the way we had seen signs for the monastery at Oia and hoped to visit it. We did, but only as far as the door. It was confiscated by the state back in the 19th century. Portuguese Jesuits occupied it for a time in the early part of the 20th century. During the Spanish Civil War it was used as a concentration camp to house Republican prisoners. It is now privately owned and seemingly empty.
We headed on another three or four kilometres to Viladesuso where we stayed in a very fine privately-owned hostel. Once again there was no need for sleeping bags as sheets and blankets were provided. Gerry from Dublin was with us again as was Joanna from Berlin who we met the previous night.
Hotel Glasgow
Our albergue is across the road from Hotel Glasgow. We had to go into the bar to find out how it got its name. The owner worked as a chef in Glasgow some 40 years ago and came home to open a restaurant. It expanded and is now a fine hotel. 




For the number of kilometres to Santiago I am now using the waymarkers rather than subtracting those completed from the original total of 262km.
The rocky shoreline

Main street, Oia

Dry stone walls that no longer have a farmer to repair them

You know you are in Galicia when you see horeos - the staircase is a modern addition

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