Yes, I have an update!!! I walked the Verde route from Lugo to Sobrado dos Monxes along with just a few other people. It is certainly the way to go if you like being among trees with simple countryside and are craving lots of
solitude. Very few people and pretty much no services in between. You really have to get through both days on your own. There is also nowhere else to stop except Friol and Sobrado which forces you into minimum 25km days. But it’s pretty easy walking, especially compared to earlier Primitivo days. And help is findable if you truly need it.
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View attachment 147209Seems like the person who experienced broken boardwalks last Fall had unfortunate timing because everything has since been repaired - and I did see quite a lot of new boards in place and piles of what was replaced, so I have no doubt it was a pretty hard place to pass through before. It’s right outside Lugo that you’re on boardwalks for a while following a river (which was also my favorite part of the 2 days). Very lovely walking with the river and the trees.
After that it’s primarily forest trails and farm tracks. Some of the tracks are fairly overgrown and many of the farm tracks clearly see way more tractors and cows than pedestrians, but it’s all quite passable (though I think it’d be tough on a rainy day / week). Good days to wear long pants if you have a choice.
The waymarking is nearly 100% helpful and the arrows are actually pretty abundant and intuitive, but there is an occasional spot where the green arrow has been covered by green plants and is easy to miss and once or twice leads you into a fence. Most of the time they are on trees and rocks as there are very few infrastructure elements on which to mark. I recommend having a good map option with you. I used Mapy.cz and it has the Verde route marked pretty well (though occasionally with a slightly different path…I usually followed the arrows rather than my app). It’s also downloadable and I can use it in airplane mode and it will still very accurately track my location on the map.
Another observation was that I was more nervous about dogs as compared to other routes. Some of it was probably negative anticipation / being worried about it beforehand, but I think because they see far fewer pilgrims (or really any other people) day to day, the dogs along this way are more reactive and aggressive. If it hadn't been for closed fences / present owners, I might have had a much worse time.
The last thing I’ll add for those who haven’t yet experienced the last 100km or meeting up with the Frances, I actually rather enjoyed joining all the other pilgrims today when I finally met up with the Frances outside O Pedrouza. Maybe it’s because I’ve had quite a lot of solitude as a solo (slow) walker, but it was surprisingly nice to be around more people all going the same way. I actually decided to embrace the “noise” and listen to music I like in my headphones and felt more motivated to walk than I have the last few days. Prior, I never wanted to “spoil” the silence and/or needed to keep my ears open for traffic while road walking. It was nice to have a little more distraction from tired feet. Just wanted to add that for anyone still not sure which route they want to take - I think the “official” way is what you make of it. Of course I can’t speak to how it feels to be in Melide or Arzua.
But again, if you’re still processing things and are really enjoying solitude still, the Verde route is a lovely option! Plus staying at the monastery in Sobrado was very nice, especially with the collection of well-spirited pilgrims I was glad to share the evening and morning with.
My experience of asking in Lugo was not helpful - they told me at the tourist office I was not allowed to do it!! But I did!
if you took the route.
