Descent to Cee

[L B]

From what I have read it is a very steep descent, I walk without poles so I'm worried and maybe even considering taking a taxi and somehow skipping it but I'm not willing to give up more than 5km to a taxi ride, is there a cafe or something right before that descent? And to those who have done it - is it really that bad? I'd love to see a picture if anyone has one.

 

[Via2010]

Hi,

do not worry to much. I walked without poles this June and I had a severe knee injury this winter.

It is going down at about 10% with some little tricky stones on the trail. So walk slowly and you should be ok.

There is no cafe or bar before the decent (it is at least a stretch of about 10 km with no bars and so on) but there is a chapel with a picknick-place and a fountain (Capilla de San Pedro Mártir) just before you are going downhill. There you might call a taxi if you deem it necessary.

Once you have entered Cee, there is a nice bar at the corner.

Here you can see the map and the profile ("ver perfil de etapa")
Olveiroa-Corcubion (Gronze)

BC
Alexandra

 

[andonius]

I agree with Via2010. It's not a difficult descent. Just take it easy.
I have those two pictures of last year. They don't give you a good idea of the degrees, but you can see it's a good path. The first one is a little chapel almost at the end of the descent and the second is the beggining of the descent. The town you see in the back is Corcubión, just 1km far from Cee at tke other side of the bay.

 

[KinkyOne]

From what I have read it is a very steep descent, I walk without poles so I'm worried and maybe even considering taking a taxi and somehow skipping it but I'm not willing to give up more than 5km to a taxi ride, is there a cafe or something right before that descent? And to those who have done it - is it really that bad? I'd love to see a picture if anyone has one.

Don't worry. I walked it this year for the third time and they (municipality I guess) resurfaced it with tinier gravel that was on this descend in previous years. Much nicer now but you should still be cautious as your foot could slip. If my companion with two hip replacements and me with both knees badly damaged years ago could do it so will you

Buen Camino!

 

[Theatregal]

Slow and steady. It's a good path.

 

[L B]

Thank you all for the replies!

 

[Tincatinker]

I was assured by locals that the fuente at the Capilla de San Pedro Mártir was sovereign for the feet. So give them a good soak, (and dry them very thoroughly!) and they will serve you well on that slope. My memory is of a steepish but not precipitous track that had suffered from water erosion, so lots of gullies and loose rocks. Just concentrate on where you are placing your feet and stop moving while you enjoy the amazing views. If the junta have resurfaced it, well no problem. And next spring they can collect all the gravel from the bottom of the hill and cart it back up again

 

[David Tallan]

I walked it at the end of my Camino in 2016 and I can say with certainty that I encountered a lot worse on earlier stages of my Camino. You don't say where you are starting your Camino, but if you are doing the Frances and not starting in Sarria, chances are you will have faced a lot worse before then.

 

[Pelegrin]

I was assured by locals that the fuente at the Capilla de San Pedro Mártir was sovereign for the feet. So give them a good soak, (and dry them very thoroughly!) and they will serve you well on that slope. My memory is of a steepish but not precipitous track that had suffered from water erosion, so lots of gullies and loose rocks. Just concentrate on where you are placing your feet and stop moving while you enjoy the amazing views. If the junta have resurfaced it, well no problem. And next spring they can collect all the gravel from the bottom of the hill and cart it back up again

Say Xunta please……. Xunta de Galicia vs Junta de Castilla León.

Oh my God I dared to correct a moderator

 

[Kiwi-family]

Going down was worse than going back up again two days later, but neither were bad!

 

[IngridF]

From what I have read it is a very steep descent, I walk without poles so I'm worried and maybe even considering taking a taxi and somehow skipping it but I'm not willing to give up more than 5km to a taxi ride, is there a cafe or something right before that descent? And to those who have done it - is it really that bad? I'd love to see a picture if anyone has one.

Create your own switchbacks and walk down like a slalom/zigzag.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

I was assured by locals that the fuente at the Capilla de San Pedro Mártir was sovereign for the feet. So give them a good soak, (and dry them very thoroughly!) and they will serve you well on that slope. My memory is of a steepish but not precipitous track that had suffered from water erosion, so lots of gullies and loose rocks. Just concentrate on where you are placing your feet and stop moving while you enjoy the amazing views. If the junta have resurfaced it, well no problem. And next spring they can collect all the gravel from the bottom of the hill and cart it back up again

I found S. Pedro Martir and its fountain to be a quiet, beautiful and mysteriously uplifting spot! Did the mandatory foot soak, prayed the Angelus, enjoyed a sip of Don Simon..... Then pushed off down the hill to Cee w/o a bit of difficulty....

Go, and do thou likewise.

 

[Pia Valbak Schmidt]

From what I have read it is a very steep descent, I walk without poles so I'm worried and maybe even considering taking a taxi and somehow skipping it but I'm not willing to give up more than 5km to a taxi ride, is there a cafe or something right before that descent? And to those who have done it - is it really that bad? I'd love to see a picture if anyone has one.

If you go slow, no problem Buen Camino

 

[domigee]

I was assured by locals that the fuente at the Capilla de San Pedro Mártir was sovereign for the feet. So give them a good soak, (and dry them very thoroughly!) and they will serve you well on that slope. My memory is of a steepish but not precipitous track that had suffered from water erosion, so lots of gullies and loose rocks. Just concentrate on where you are placing your feet and stop moving while you enjoy the amazing views. If the junta have resurfaced it, well no problem. And next spring they can collect all the gravel from the bottom of the hill and cart it back up again

Yes, they re-surfaced the path, no more rocks.... Just a wide, gravel covered ‘pilgrim motorway’

 

[Csutak]

Hi L. B.

You can/will find a stick if you feel you need it.
It is not steeper than many other parts, it's just with stones.

 

[caminka]

usually the stones are the culprits, not the gradient. the last time I was there I had no problems (but I don't recollect the size of the stones/gravel). the time before that I took a bit of a slide - it may have been the view that drew my eye, instead of the route - but managed to catch myself before anything unlucky happened.

just go slow, watch where you place your feet, and stop if you want to admire the view. you'll be fine.

 

[Tincatinker]

Yes, they re-surfaced the path, no more rocks.... Just a wide, gravel covered ‘pilgrim motorway’
View attachment 45877View attachment 45878

Ah, the Auto-pista Peregrino. Now we can all get to the souvenir T-shirt stall in double-quick time. Queue nicely now pilgrims!

 

[KinkyOne]

Yep, now there's a pilgrim autopista

These five in attachment were taken in 2016 when they started the works. On the third photo Cabo Finisterre can be seen in the distance. Just on the last one is actually final descend to Cee although as already mentioned you see the Corcubion across the bay at this point.

 

[Pelegrin]

I found S. Pedro Martir and its fountain to be a quiet, beautiful and mysteriously uplifting spot! Did the mandatory foot soak, prayed the Angelus, enjoyed a sip of Don Simon..... Then pushed off down the hill to Cee w/o a bit of difficulty....

Go and do likewise.

I read on Internet that the fountain is also good for rheuma and warts and is considered as fonte santa (holy fountain) according to Galician traditions that come from prechristian religions.

 

[caminka]

Yep, now there's a pilgrim autopista

I do understand that the increasing numbers of pilgrims mean the wear on the routes is increasing too and that the maintenance is necessary - it's just that we who've seen the pretty old routes before that have this longing for them...

 

[KinkyOne]

I do understand that the increasing numbers of pilgrims mean the wear on the routes is increasing too and that the maintenance is necessary - it's just that we who've seen the pretty old routes before that have this longing for them...

Maybe the numbers are part of the reason but for example in our Alps they don't repair the routes with "new" material like smaller gravel. It is what is there that the maintenance crews (sorry for not using English expression but me and @caminka are both from Slovenia: markacisti) are using. In this case the material was brought from some other place.

I also remember certain stretches I walked two or three times that were resurfaced with asphalt. On flat terrain!!! I just hope Camino (especially Frances) won't turn into a 800km "walk in a park". I'm also sure this kind of "improvement" is done by people that never walked whole (what's that???) Camino and don't know how feet are feeling walking on asphalt after 20 or 30 or 40 kilometers that day. I think it's more like "there is EU money, let's spend it" scheme. Respectively.

But yes, now the descend to Cee is a bit more leveled and safer, that's a fact

 

[gittiharre]

From what I have read it is a very steep descent, I walk without poles so I'm worried and maybe even considering taking a taxi and somehow skipping it but I'm not willing to give up more than 5km to a taxi ride, is there a cafe or something right before that descent? And to those who have done it - is it really that bad? I'd love to see a picture if anyone has one.

It's not really bad. No cafe. The path is good. Just go slowly.

 

[gittiharre]

 

[David Tallan]

I do understand that the increasing numbers of pilgrims mean the wear on the routes is increasing too and that the maintenance is necessary - it's just that we who've seen the pretty old routes before that have this longing for them...

Those of us who have descended on the "pretty old routes" down from the Alto de Perdon or down to Molinaseca and felt (or destroyed) our knees all the way aren't all longing for them when faced with a nicely graveled path.

 

[Rhysmike]

From what I have read it is a very steep descent, I walk without poles so I'm worried and maybe even considering taking a taxi and somehow skipping it but I'm not willing to give up more than 5km to a taxi ride, is there a cafe or something right before that descent? And to those who have done it - is it really that bad? I'd love to see a picture if anyone has one.

Have a look at the video around 6:30 on ... it’s not that bad. My wife did it in 2016 only months after a knee operation.

 

[Rhysmike]

Have a look at the video around 6:30 on ... it’s not that bad. My wife did it in 2016 only months after a knee operation.

... sorry, around 6 minutes in

 

[caminka]

Maybe the numbers are part of the reason but for example in our Alps they don't repair the routes with "new" material like smaller gravel. It is what is there that the maintenance crews (sorry for not using English expression but me and caminka are both from Slovenia: markacisti) are using. In this case the material was brought from some other place.

now that you mention it, it may be that the 'foreign' gravel is what bothers me the most, it looks so out of place.

Those of us who have descended on the "pretty old routes" down from the Alto de Perdon or down to Molinaseca and felt (or destroyed) our knees all the way aren't all longing for them when faced with a nicely graveled path.

omg, they resurfacted the descent to molinaseca?! that was one of the most beautiful parts of CF I even remember from my very first camino when I mostly walked in my own haze!
and I know it's stony and steep and can be dangerous (especially if wet), but there should also be some such parts of a camino, imo, to overcome them.

 

[Pelegrin]

Have a look at the video around 6:30 on ... it’s not that bad. My wife did it in 2016 only months after a knee operation.

Nice video.
At the begining you shot a big horreo on the right (longer than the horreo on the left), that means that his/her owner was rich and stored more corn than his/her neighbour.

 

[David Tallan]

now that you mention it, it may be that the 'foreign' gravel is what bothers me the most, it looks so out of place.

omg, they resurfacted the descent to molinaseca?! that was one of the most beautiful parts of CF I even remember from my very first camino when I mostly walked in my own haze!
and I know it's stony and steep and can be dangerous (especially if wet), but there should also be some such parts of a camino, imo, to overcome them.

It was still stony and steep and dangerous when I did the descent. Personally, such experiences just make me appreciate the gravel more.