If you have walked the Invierno, and if you have a good memory for little details, I could really use some help on the section of the guide that deals with Lalin to the albergue in A Laxe.
Here's what the guide says:
The Camino leaves Lalín on the Pontiñas River walk. The path (with both a paved and unpaved option) is accessible at various points throughout the town. If you are unsure, just ask; everyone knows where it is. The name in Spanish is Paseo Fluvial.
To get to the river walk from the town church: Walk down with the church behind you, on the street Rúa Colon. You will come to a plaza with a monolithic monument to Joaquín Loriga, an early 20th century aviator. Go past that square, continue behind the plaza, down hill, till you come to a big playground at the edge of the town. You will be able to join the river walk there, take it to your left.
Near the end you will see a sign on the right that indicates it is the exit to the N-525. Take that exit, go up, then left and past Hostal Camino Santiago. Bar open 24/7 according to their sign.
Continue on the edge of the N- 525, and then get off at the exit for the polígono industrial (industrial park). (You may also find that soon after passing the Hostal Camino Santiago, there is an arrow taking you up through a hamlet and then along the back of the long street that makes up the “parque industrial.” In any event, you will not have a problem getting from that long street to the spot where you cross under the autopista or divided superhighway).
The industrial park is several long blocks, and you will walk on straight for a while. At the second roundabout, where most cars are going left to get onto the autopista, arrows go right and you will be on a crushed rock trail that is on the right side of the autopista. The Camino arrows point you alongside the highway for a short way, then left and under the highway through a tunnel, and then you are in Laxe. Arrows deposit you at the albergue door in
A Laxe 5.9 km
Comments from 2016 pilgrims leave me with the distinct impression that some clarification is needed, but I can't quite figure out how to do it since I haven't been there in almost two years. But I do know that I was never on any scary busy road as sabbott reported, always on the parallel road, which has a lot of industrial warehouses and a fancy four star spa hotel. Here are the comments I've gotten.
@sabbott :Exiting it was tricky. I never found a sewage plant, and the pond is now more of an overgrown wetland. If you go around the end of the pond, you will exit left, not right, onto the axis road that leads you up to the N525 highway.
There things got a bit hairy, as there are no arrows for a long way. I did walk past the Santiago hostal, then along the very busy and scary highway. I crossed it running (must have been a sight what with the poles and backpack) and went up the hill on the road to the right, to the industrial "park".
Directions are a little unclear here for the literal minded, Laurie. You might want to say to walk most of the way around the 2nd roundabout to find the path along the highway. I looked to exit the roundabout on the right side and ended up in a car parts warehouse. A nice man there took pity on me and clarified things.
@Bad Pilgrim :I just rapidly read through your post: exactly the same problems for me leaving Lalín.
Did you turn right to leave the park with the bridges and runners? It was the only arrow I saw. I went through a little wood and then I ended up amongst som houses that were close to the road N525. By accident I stumbled upon a waymarking that took me to the industrial park, where I got lost in exactly the same way as you did. I had to go back to the Hostal Santiago and ask for directions and then I was all right. Oh, Laurie, if you read this, is this clarified in "your" Invierno guide? That place needs special attention...! The roundabout in Sabbott's post above does have a bleak arrow, but it is barely visible. If it was only me I wouldn't mention it but it appears to be confusing to other pilgrims as well.
@sabbott: Yes, Badpilgrim, I also saw those yellow arrows that want to take you off the river walk path and into the woods, but figured I'd better follow Laurie's instructions, and found the asphalt road that takes you up and out of the park. There was an arrow there. No arrows I think from then on, that I could find anyway. I agree, given how dangerous that big road is, it would be good to have clear arrows that lead you across and up to the industrial park, to the 2nd roundabout, then down the hill to the path next to the road that takes you to A Laxe.
HELP HELP HELP!!!!!
Here's what the guide says:
The Camino leaves Lalín on the Pontiñas River walk. The path (with both a paved and unpaved option) is accessible at various points throughout the town. If you are unsure, just ask; everyone knows where it is. The name in Spanish is Paseo Fluvial.
To get to the river walk from the town church: Walk down with the church behind you, on the street Rúa Colon. You will come to a plaza with a monolithic monument to Joaquín Loriga, an early 20th century aviator. Go past that square, continue behind the plaza, down hill, till you come to a big playground at the edge of the town. You will be able to join the river walk there, take it to your left.
Near the end you will see a sign on the right that indicates it is the exit to the N-525. Take that exit, go up, then left and past Hostal Camino Santiago. Bar open 24/7 according to their sign.
Continue on the edge of the N- 525, and then get off at the exit for the polígono industrial (industrial park). (You may also find that soon after passing the Hostal Camino Santiago, there is an arrow taking you up through a hamlet and then along the back of the long street that makes up the “parque industrial.” In any event, you will not have a problem getting from that long street to the spot where you cross under the autopista or divided superhighway).
The industrial park is several long blocks, and you will walk on straight for a while. At the second roundabout, where most cars are going left to get onto the autopista, arrows go right and you will be on a crushed rock trail that is on the right side of the autopista. The Camino arrows point you alongside the highway for a short way, then left and under the highway through a tunnel, and then you are in Laxe. Arrows deposit you at the albergue door in
A Laxe 5.9 km
Comments from 2016 pilgrims leave me with the distinct impression that some clarification is needed, but I can't quite figure out how to do it since I haven't been there in almost two years. But I do know that I was never on any scary busy road as sabbott reported, always on the parallel road, which has a lot of industrial warehouses and a fancy four star spa hotel. Here are the comments I've gotten.
@sabbott :Exiting it was tricky. I never found a sewage plant, and the pond is now more of an overgrown wetland. If you go around the end of the pond, you will exit left, not right, onto the axis road that leads you up to the N525 highway.
There things got a bit hairy, as there are no arrows for a long way. I did walk past the Santiago hostal, then along the very busy and scary highway. I crossed it running (must have been a sight what with the poles and backpack) and went up the hill on the road to the right, to the industrial "park".
Directions are a little unclear here for the literal minded, Laurie. You might want to say to walk most of the way around the 2nd roundabout to find the path along the highway. I looked to exit the roundabout on the right side and ended up in a car parts warehouse. A nice man there took pity on me and clarified things.
@Bad Pilgrim :I just rapidly read through your post: exactly the same problems for me leaving Lalín.
Did you turn right to leave the park with the bridges and runners? It was the only arrow I saw. I went through a little wood and then I ended up amongst som houses that were close to the road N525. By accident I stumbled upon a waymarking that took me to the industrial park, where I got lost in exactly the same way as you did. I had to go back to the Hostal Santiago and ask for directions and then I was all right. Oh, Laurie, if you read this, is this clarified in "your" Invierno guide? That place needs special attention...! The roundabout in Sabbott's post above does have a bleak arrow, but it is barely visible. If it was only me I wouldn't mention it but it appears to be confusing to other pilgrims as well.
@sabbott: Yes, Badpilgrim, I also saw those yellow arrows that want to take you off the river walk path and into the woods, but figured I'd better follow Laurie's instructions, and found the asphalt road that takes you up and out of the park. There was an arrow there. No arrows I think from then on, that I could find anyway. I agree, given how dangerous that big road is, it would be good to have clear arrows that lead you across and up to the industrial park, to the 2nd roundabout, then down the hill to the path next to the road that takes you to A Laxe.
HELP HELP HELP!!!!!
) to N-525. Turn left and across the road is Asador I think. Soon after it (really a few meters) the arrows take you uphill and behind the Poligono Industrial (to your left) and eventually descend to parallel street to N-525 though PI. Proceed to the roundabout and veer right to the underpass to the left under Autovia and you'll in A Laxe. Albergue is to your right.
