Espiritual in winter: walking to Pontecesures instead of boat. My fav day in pics

[surya8]

If you are planning to walk the Espiritual out of season, in winter the boat is still available but that the official price quoted to us this Jan was 150 euros. It seems like other small private fishing boats are not allowed to transport pilgrims there. We had a chat with some of the owners and there are fines for this. Anyway there were 3 of us then in the albergue of Vilanova de Arousa but even splitting the cost between us was a bit too expensive and we all had spare days before Santiago so decided to walk the next stage to Pontecesures. Most people usually take a boat there in the high season. The hospitaliero in Vilanova de Arousa's municipal albergue unfortunately is not very knowledgeable about the route and said it's most probably not marked and is almost all on the main roads. Fortunately for for us that was not the case at all: the route is well marked till Vilagarcia de Arousa, then it becomes sparse at times, but still possible to walk - we did it without maps, internet or any gadgets on us. It is 32km. Also we were pleasantly surpriced that only a short stretch there goes on a busy road at one point, then it heads off to forests and on the paths between the villages along the main road, so most of the way is actually nice to walk. Actually it became my fav day on the Espiritual! Varied landscapes and architectture there, you can have a look here in my blog:

Зима. День 11. День открытий. Espiritual: Vilanova de Arousa - Pontecesures, 32км

Сегодня у нас интересный день. Лодку за 150 евро мы почему-то не захотели брать, так что осталось только топать ногами. А это километров 30 хода, как нам сказал оспитальеро вчера. В общем, вчера он нас несколько припугнул тем, что разметки после Vilagracia de Arousa нет, т.к. два…

anna-camino.livejournal.com

There is a great albergue in Pontecerures: on the Camino, equipped kitchen, warm and spacious, a supermarket neaby.
Bom Caminho!

 

[surya8]

I especially loved the stretch there between/around Catoira and Pontecesures, you can see Torres do Oeste there, the route goes through the fields and forests there, then along the river on the wooden bordwalks. There are not many arrows there but if you go parallel to the river it will lead you to Pontececures eventually. The hospitaliero told us later that's where some pilgrims lose the way sometimes, so make sure you don't go deeper into the woods there.

 

[willydp]

Thanks for the nice road description and pictures. When you are the rabbit, who is the fox?

 

[LesBrass]

Hi - I'm thinking about walking the variente in November/December... did you say that the boat was running throughout winter? I'd really like to take the boat but the 150€ would be too much. But good to know you can walk around.

 

[surya8]

Hi - I'm thinking about walking the variente in November/December... did you say that the boat was running throughout winter? I'd really like to take the boat but the 150€ would be too much. But good to know you can walk around.

yes, there is a boat there in winter as well but the price is for the boat, so if there is no one else apart from you there in the morning it won't be budget.
Here is our day 1 & 2 on the Espiritual in Jan:
Pontevedra - Armenteira: https://anna-camino.livejournal.com/7316.html
Armenteira - Vilanova de Arousa: https://anna-camino.livejournal.com/7537.html
Bom Caminho!