PRACTICAL INFORMATION FOR THIS SECOND STAGE:
SLEEPING IN LAS MÉDULAS:
Casa Socorro is closed down (hopefully just temporarily) due to family illness.
The new albergue turístico (La Senda) showed no signs of life at 11 o’clock in the morning last October, but it is functioning, apparently, with an Italian guy and his partner running it.
The Hotel Medulio is pretty basic and, in my view, overpriced.
The Complejo Rural Agoga is fine, but it’s not cheap!
SLEEPING IN ORELLÁN:
There are one or two Casas Rurales in Orellán village. O Palleiro is excellent, and the food there is good too.
EATING/DRINKING IN LAS MÉDULAS:
You need to realise that Las Médulas is a tourist site, but not many people actually spend the night there. Finding a place to eat on a Sunday lunchtime in summer is difficult, due to the masses of people who make their way up there and want to have lunch before going home. In the evenings, Las Médulas becomes a bit of a ghost town (village), with few people about. Therefore, it might be complicated to find too many places open for food, especially outside the summer period.
These are some of the places that you will find in the village:
Bar Tapería O Camiño Real (closed on Wednesdays?): my favourite place!
Mesón Durandarte (closed on Tuesdays?)
Cafetería Restaurante Mari Fe (closed on Thursdays?)
Casa de Comidas Arcadio Travieso (no information?)
Restaurante Agoga (no information)
Hotel Medulio (open daily)
Don’t expect to find much open before 11 o’clock on a normal working day.
ARRIVING IN PUENTE DE DOMINGO FLÓREZ:
For some strange reason the official camino sends you all the way around the town and adds quite some distance to the stage. My suggestion is to turn right along Calle el Toral; this takes you past the main square and brings you out just opposite Bar El Cruce.
SLEEPING IN PUENTE DE DOMINGO FLÓREZ:
The only place is Hostal (NOT Hotel) La Torre, at the end of town, but convenient for the next day’s stage. Reduced prices for pilgrims, and you’ll probably be put up in the annex.
EATING/DRINKING IN PUENTE DE DOMINGO FLÓREZ:
Apart from the hostal bar and restaurant (a decent menu del día), you also have the extremely pilgrim-friendly Bar El Cruce in town.
Café Los Arcos in Calle el Toral has closed down.
There are three decent places to eat/drink near the Día supermarket on Calle Chao do Marco:
Restaurante Thais is closed, as they function as a pub at night and haven’t been able to obtain a licence to open.
El Bom Vita, just round the corner, does a menu del día and has a large terrace.
Mesón La Colmena, in the street parallel to Restaurante Thais, has a nice garden terrace, and does excellent free pinchos. They also have a fairly large number of ‘raciones’ available.
As far as supermarkets are concerned, the biggest one is Día, very close to the hostal on Calle Chao do Marco. There are others (Coviran in Calle el Toral, and Claudio, close to Bar El Cruce).