Information about stage 27: Stage from Sarria to Portomarin
| STAGE 27 |
KM 22.4 |
TIME 05H00′ |
Itinerary
- Km 0. Sarria (All Services)
For a good percentage of walkers, the Rúa Maior de Sarria is kilometer 0 of their pilgrimage to Compostela. In the early hours of the day and, above all, in the summer months, the street would provide more than reliable statistics on the ages, races, nationalities and clothing of the pilgrims heading to Santiago. The initial 2.9 kilometer stretch between Sarria and As Paredes offers an excellent start to the stage. After the Rúa Maior, passing next to the Preventive Prison building , we arrive at the viewpoint over Sarria, adorned with a cruise. About three hundred meters after the viewpoint, the Path joins the Convent of La Magdalena, mainly of Gothic and Renaissance construction and run by the Mercedarian Fathers. The stage descends next to the cemetery wall to the Río Pequeno , a tributary of the Sarria. The medieval Ponte Áspera can be crossed (Km 1.2) . Next to small meadows and private orchards we pass under a viaduct to cross the tracks. After them we cross a stream thanks to a wooden footbridge (2,2) . The water course gives way to a hard slope along the path – surrounded by superb chestnut trees – that goes up to the place of As Paredes (Landmark 109), where a pre-Roman castro of the same name stands. The village appears later.
- km 2.9. as walls
From here, by local track, we approach Vilei where we are greeted by a sculpture in memory of Don Germán Arias. Immediately, on the left, we see the Vilei Km 108 rest area, full of all kinds of vending machines: coffee, soft drinks, snacks, batteries… and a stamp to further decorate the credential.
- km 3.7. Vilei (Hostel. Bar)
Once again along the paved track we progress to the parish of Barbadelo , an information panel directs our attention to the Romanesque church of Santiago , several meters from the Camino. Surrounded by the cemetery, the covers and capitals deserve your attention.
- km 4.5. Barbadelo (Hostels. Bar)
We leave the Barbadelo pilgrims’ hostel on the right hand side and continue along the paved local track to the villages of Rente (Km 5.3) and Mercado da Serra , with a tavern and located at the crossroads of the LU-5709.
- Km 6. Mercado da Serra (Bar-Shop)
When crossing, do not continue along the road but take a tree-lined corridor that appears in front of you. After five minutes we pass a fountain decorated with Pelegrín , the mascot of Xacobeo 93 (Km 6.6) . Seven hundred meters later we arrive next to the gates of the Molino de Marzán , from 1920. In March 2014 the house-shelter of the same name (Km 7.3) was inaugurated . We turn ninety degrees to the right and cross the winter gate, which prevents us from putting our foot in the pool of water. Soon we cross the LU-633 to pass Leiman
- km 8.2. leiman
Then Peruscallo appears , with a bar-bakery and the presence of some granaries (Km 9.2 and Milestone 103). For the moment, we say goodbye to the asphalt to continue along the corridor towards Cortiñas (Km 10 and Milestone 102) and Lavandeira (milestone 101.5) . Between stone walls and chestnut trees we reach Brea (Km 11.5 and Milestone 100.5) to arrive, first at the false landmark of 100 and a few meters later to the real one, crowned with stones and bathed in graffiti. It would be enough to start on foot at this point to obtain the Compostela but the pilgrimage is not a certificate. The destination is the Path itself. A few meters further on is Morgade .
- Km 12. Morgade (Hostel. Bar)
At the exit, a sign welcomes us to the Council of Paradela , which takes over from Sarria. We reach Ferreiros , the first parish of Paradela.
- km 13.1. Ferreiros (Hostels. Bar)
We go down the paved track to the immediate Mirallos (Km 13.6 and Milestone 98). On the left there is a restaurant that Natalia runs and that has 25 beds for pilgrims. The price is a donation and the bar offers breakfast, menus, sandwiches, etc.
- km 13.6. Mirallos (Hostel. Bar)
Next is the Romanesque church of Santa María , which was lowered stone by stone from Ferreiros in 1790. The Camino goes by asphalt from Mirallos to A Pena .
- A Pena (Hostel. Bar)
Later we advance to Couto (Km 14.7) and Rozas (Km 15 and Milestone 97) . It will not be strange to run into a family guiding the cattle from one place to another. Leaving behind the place of Rozas, the marker 96.5 appears. It also means leaving, at least for a section, the paved track to take a slightly sloping path sheltered by oaks and pines. At the first crossroads that appears, we continue to the left. Milestone 95.5 announces the proximity of Moimentos , a village we reached after leaving a wooden cross wrapped with barbed wire on the left and crossing the LU-4203 road (Km 16.4) . In a few minutes we arrived at Mercadoiro .
- km 16.8. Mercadoiro (Hostel. Bar)
The itinerary then leads to the next Moutrás , where there is a food, drink, parapharmacy and craft shop .
- km 17.1. Moutrás (Peter Pank Store)
After a slope and paved tracks we descend to Parrocha (Km 18.7) and Vilachá , the last village on the Camino belonging to Paradela, where the South African Gordon Bell opened a hostel in the spring of 2014. In 2016 he also opened ‘Los Andantes’ , a vegetarian bar restaurant
- Km 20. Vilachá (Hostel. Vegetarian bar-restaurant)
A sharp descent brings us closer to the Miño river , dammed by Belesar (Landmark 90). The bridge, more than 350 meters long, brings us closer to the Portomarín with its white facades and gray roofs. The entrance to the town is through one of the arches of the old Roman-medieval bridge , rebuilt to accommodate a staircase and place a small chapel. We went up it and passing the Virtual Pilgrim Information Center we headed to the center of town. In the public shelter, although the distance traveled today may seem infinitely greater, we covered the 22.4 kilometers of the stage.
- Km 22.4 Portomarín (All Services)
Difficulties
- Leg-breaking stage: The stage, apparently, does not involve any difficulty. Affordable mileage and comforting scenery. However, the first 13 kilometers to Ferreiros, where there are more false flats and short slopes than descents; the impossibility of maintaining a constant rhythm due to the undulating orography and the frequent change of ground, make this day something more than a mere rural walk.
Observations
- The distance markers always precede the place, parish or capital of the municipality that they announce. In Galicia there are so many places that losing the exact location during the stages is a frequent occurrence.
- From Sarria to Santiago de Compostela we have divided the route into 5 stages, although it is possible to shorten it to 4. Sarria – Gonzar (30.4 km); Gonzar-Melide (31.8 km); Melide – Pedrouzo (33.1 km) and Pedrouzo – Santiago de Compostela (20 km). They are not easy stages and the first three are best taken easy, covering at least 20 kilometers in the morning.
- About thirteen kilometers after Sarria, in Ferreiros, we will go through the 100 kilometer marker, it is near the Ferreiros hostel, formerly this marker was a couple of kilometers before, in A Brea, but in 2016 it was located in the current situation according to some meticulous measurements ordered by management.
- Today there are no supply problems. There are plenty of bars and restaurants in the villages that the route of the stage crosses.
- For those pilgrims who wish to continue beyond Portomarin, they have two hostels in Gonzar, eight kilometers later. It is not necessary to enter Portomarin if you are not going to use any of its services.
What to see, what to do
- BARBADELO: Santiago de Barbadelo is a parish of the Council of Sarria located between leafy forests. The church of Santiago de Barbadelo is a beautiful example of the Galician Romanesque style. It has a square-shaped tower and a doorway full of medieval symbols and iconography. Of this delicate portico, the human figure stands out with the arms in a cross on the tympanum and the game of birds, animals and men on the capitals of the double pair of columns. The adjoining farmhouse is called Mosteiro – contraction of monastery – in allusion to an ancient institution annexed to Samos.
- FERREIROS: The parish of Ferreiros, already in the Paradela Council, is a humble town where blacksmiths nailed the pilgrims’ shoes and shod their horses. The church of Santa María de Ferreiros , which was lowered stone by stone around 1790 to the immediate Mirallos, is a modest temple but with an interesting Romanesque doorway, which rests on two lion-headed mochetes. It also offers a baroque belfry at the top of its façade.
- PORTOMARÍN: Portomarín, capital of the Town Hall of the same name, is located on the right bank of the Miño River. The population is accessed by the staircase seated on the arches of the old medieval bridge, where the chapel of the Virgen de las Nieves was also placed . The old city, made up of two neighborhoods, San Nicolás and San Pedro, is submerged in the Belesar reservoir . The village had been rebuilt again in 1960 on a safe hillside. Portomarín was an important transit point in the Middle Ages with a large bridge and a hospital; everything was under the waters of the Miño. The grandiose church-fortress of San Nicolás, erected by the monk-knights of the order of Saint John of Jerusalem in the 12th century, was dismantled stone by stone to be rebuilt in the square of the new settlement. Due to its monumentality, richness of elements and sculptural sumptuousness, it constitutes one of the most interesting examples of the Lugo Romanesque. The Romanesque façade of the church of San Pedro , which was also moved to one end of the town (next to the 17th century Pazo de Berbetoros) is beautifully made. The Pazo del Conde da Maza , from the 16th century, and the Pazo dos Pimentales were also raised to their current location. Portomarín, in addition to many hostels, offers all the services. You shouldn’t leave the town without trying the almond cake similar to the one in Santiago.