Ourense to Oseira to A Laxe

 

Church at Xunquiera

 

The camino is more river than trail!

I haven't updated this for a couple of days. We arrived quite easily into Ourense - a town of  110,000 people in a river valley. It's one of the biggest in Galicia. It certainly too an age to arrive in the centre. Janet broke the bad news after we'd been walking for an hour through an industrial área that we had another hour to go! 

 

St James - Portico of Glory, Cathedral, Ourense

 

Local cows - a special breed (they probably have webbed hooves!)

 

We all felt like a break from the albergue - me because my hacking cough was making me hyperconscious during nights not to cough and disturb others, so much I wasn't sleeping! So I had a great night's sleep and left early for a place called Oseira. It's an alternative route, a bit longer, but just as authentic. Apparently it was used when conditions got too dangerous or expensive on the other route - for example when the local Lord began charging pilgrims too much.

 

Roman bridge leaving Ourense

 

The other thing of interest there is a Cistercian Monastry that dates back to the 11th century. The albergue is in a huge barrel vaulted room with about 50 bunks. Too many for the 8 of us! It was also freezing cold. We had a tour of the place. It had been mostly built during the 16th century, but one part dates to the 12th. It had been abandoned for a time, used for other things, partly destroyed and now occupied once again by the Cistercians and rebuilt. It's now a tourist destination and the monks live by the tourists and by sales of their liquor: Eucaliptide. A liquor flavoured with eucaliptus! Probably makes you as silly as a koala!

 

 

Part of the Monastery

 

The albergue 

 

The inside at 6.30am!

We were away early - thanks to a gang of Poles who like getting up before dawn! The walk today was up out of the rather damp valley where the monastery is and into a wide more open and, today at least, dry valley. 

 

 

It all seems very fertile - they even have cabbage trees and varigated flaxes growing here! I think most farms are very small scale though. I arrived first at the albergue so got first choice of bed. Woohoo! I've done my washing and had it rained on twice, so now it's hanging inside. Hopefully it'll dry overnight. 

 

 

 

Not far to go...