Galicia
Green and Celtic, this forested Atlantic land is steeped in mythology, ancient rituals and religion. Galicia is a far cry from many people’s image of Spain; in many ways it has more in common with Wales than Andalucía.
This is part of the diversity of the Iberian Peninsula, where very different landscapes, cultures and identities make up a fascinating jigsaw. Locked away in the north-west corner of Spain, Galicia is a product of its climate; Atlantic storms roll in, ensuring that the grass, ferns and forests stay green and healthy.
Predominantly rural, it is famous for its seafood and white wines (Ribeiro, Albariño, etc); and of course the ‘caminos’ which head from all points of the compass to the holy city of Santiago de Compostela. One of the best is the 10-day Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros, which is covered here.
While the pilgrim trails are often the easiest to follow, there are many other routes for walkers in this region, including a fabulous eight-day hike along the Coast of Death (Costa da Morte) which is also detailed in this section.
Crossing borders on the hikers’ ‘camino’
The Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros is a fantastic walk. The 10-day pilgrim route, which starts in Braga in Portugal and ends in Santiago de Compostela, offers magnificent scenery and a great variety of countryside. Passing through the mountainous border lands,...
Pilgrim practicalities
There are few things you need to do before setting out on the Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros ; not least, getting to Braga in Portugal, which might take some time. Starting in Alicante, there are a few options. I took a high-speed train to Madrid (see...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 1
No-one would say that the first 10km of the Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros are a thing of beauty. It's cityscapes, concrete and roads, some of which have heavy traffic (breathing in petrol, that's not entertainment); with a few quieter interludes in...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 2
It had been raining for 36 hours when I woke at the start of Day 2 and I was worried about flooding on the paths. With the forecast predicting the precipitation would continue all day, I knew my best option would be to stick to minor roads for as much of...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 3
Day 3 was a revelation. The rain stopped at around 10am and I had views. This stage is one of the most scenic of the Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros, with half of the route going through Portugal's only national park, the Peneda-Gerês, which is home to...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 4 (part 1)
After a night in Spain, it's back to Portugal on the fourth stage of the Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros. But it takes a while to get there. My route from the spa village of Os Baños to Castro Laboreiro was approximately 26km, with around 800 metres of...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 4 (part 2)
As I went through the village of A Pereira the rain started again; it was to continue for the next 20 hours, becoming torrential during the afternoon, night and following morning. In the village I passed the old washhouse and shared a greeting with an...
Final frontier; back to Spain (stage 5)
When I was getting ready to start stage 5 of the Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros – which runs from Castro Laboreiro to Cortegada, covering around 29km with 550 metres of ascent – it had been raining very heavily for more than 18 hours. And this was on...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 6 (part 1)
The wide variety of landscapes on the Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros is evident again on this stage, which runs from Cortegada to Pazos de Arenteiro. Rivers dominate the first part of the walk, with the mighty Miño to the fore. Then it's the vineyards...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 6 (part 2)
Bear right at the church in San Cristovo and walk through the village on the lane. Just before arriving at the main road (OU-504) the 'camino' bears to the left; a large yellow arrow points along the lane. The route comes to Rúa Oliveira, marked by a...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 7
This is a relatively short stage of the Camino da Geira e dos Arrieiros but there's a fair bit of uphill walking, with a total of 1,000 metres of height gain over the 20km from Pazos de Arenteiro to Beariz. For the most part, the climbing is steady...
Cross-border ‘camino’; stage 8
It rained all night in Beariz and the forecast was for the precipitation to continue for most of the day as I walked to Codeseda. The only silver lining was that the last two days of my 'camino' were set to be dry and sunny. My aim was to get through...