May 25th - Miño to Betanzos

Setting off from the O Cantiño our first stop was for breakfast in town, then to the supermarket and panaderia to collect some food for our mid-morning snack. Today was the day when we met a number of pilgrims. First were 5 Italians who we met as we were all leaving Miño. Later we met 3 others, who also overtook us, and who we saw again later in Betanzos.

As it is possible to avoid the road for a time we did so and followed the boarded walk to Ponte de Porco, with views across the ría. We then passed over the motorway which itself passes over the Rio Lambre at a height of 598mts above sea level. At the top of the hill is a picnic area which was a good place to stop and have our bread and lomo curado.

Further on the Cafe Naveda was open so we stopped for a drink and Terry tried again to contact our hotel for the night (Palacete Betanzos) without success. Phoning the tourist office he learnt that this hotel closed towards the end of 2014 and the Garelos is now the only hotel in Betanzos. With a poor phone signal he did manage to get through to them and make a reservation, but it had to be a triple room as that was all that was available. There are other places to stay but we wanted the certainty of having the 2 nights we needed so were happy to accept the triple.

This was another day with a mix of road and track through woods and villages and the hottest day so far. Our water only just held out and we needed our rehydration drink after siesta. Arriving in Betanzos at 13.30 we went to the tourist office to check where the Hotel Garelos was, then having booked in we went back to the main plaza for lunch. After siesta we organised our laundry which was sent off to be washed, then walked around town for a short time. The Garelos, another friendly place, was full - next morning there were at least 22 other pilgrims at breakfast, most of them with a large Spanish group.

Ponte de Porco

above Ponte de Lambre

Mid-morning snack

Hilltop view

An old house

Grassy track