Camino Portugués
21.6 km, 1440 m up and 1539 m down, through 6 places, 3 of which have somewhere to sleep. Where you stop is up to you.
Every place on the path in order, with the distance from Cabaleiro. Most are too small to sleep in — a fountain, a chapel, a bar that may or may not be open — but they are what the day is actually made of.
The camino leaves town along the road but quickly picks up a track as it descends through the hamlet of Fragmoreira. It emerges on a roundabout at the divided highway you have crossed over a few times. Keep to the left as you approach Poio.
A hamlet on the descent from Cabaleiro to Poio. No services.
The camino descends from the Monastery and turns right at the bottom of the hill. Mind the traffic here, there are no barriers and not too many arrows. Follow the road to the first crosswalk and turn left to pick up a smaller country road. Here there is one tricky turn. Shortly after crossing the road keep an eye open for a narrow path that turns upward on your left-hand side, it is right before a small B&B called A Marchanta. Follow it upward, then turn right, and then left at the fork onto a small dirt track. This track leads you to the waterfront and a large park which plays host to all manner of celebrations, do not be surprised to find it full of teenagers hungover from a late night of partying or packed full with caravans. The arrows are not bountiful here but keep the water to your left and cross to the far end of the park where a paved road takes you uphill to join the main road. This road is very busy and parked cars make for plenty of blind spots. Keep to the left as best you can and soon you will arrive at Combarro.
The Variante Espiritual crosses the road and immediately begins its ascent of the Monte Redondo. The climb varies in intensity from extremely steep to gently rolling and back again. Go gently.
From the mirador the camino levels out a bit and follows along a mountain track. It eventually joins a paved road but only for 250m when it crosses the road and begins the descent into Armenteira.
From Armenteira the camino joins a popular (among locals) trail known as the Ruta de la Piedra y del Agua. It follows along a creek, with trails on both sides, as it descends to sea level. Along the way, it passes several dozen abandoned water mills. Note that although you can safely and easily follow both sides of the river, it is the right-hand side that keeps you closer to the mills and the water.
The riverside walk is interrupted by a large highway and associated roundabouts, but no sooner than you pass them do you return to the trail.
As you approach Puente Arnelas you need to follow the arrows that lead you up a steel and wood walkway under the belly of the bridge. At the top, turn right to get up to the road level and follow it into the small village. A short ways on the camino joins the broad Río Umia.
Distance, climb and descent are measured along the GPS track for this camino — 456 recorded points across this span, the same track the app carries. The town-to-town figures in my data put it at 21.8 km.
Esta entidad ha sido beneficiaria de una ayuda del Programa de incentivos a la movilidad eficiente y sostenible (MOVES III), gestionado por la Xunta de Galicia a través del Instituto Enerxético de Galicia (INEGA) en el marco del Real Decreto 266/2021, y cofinanciada por la Unión Europea — NextGenerationEU, dentro del Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.