Planning for the Geira — GO FOR IT!!!

[David Tallan]

it's a logistical nightmare getting to Lobios or Entrimo from my home city of Salamanca

It won't be a logistical nightmare for me this autumn, but I'm sure it will take a lot longer!

 

[Charrito]

I noticed San Xes is not in the book that Wendy translated. Maybe it is considered too far off the Camino? Laurie suggests it is a ways out of town.

Just two kms out of town. Easy stage from Cortegada, so a nice stroll out there after lunch.

 

[peregrina2000]

I noticed San Xes is not in the book that Wendy translated. Maybe it is considered too far off the Camino? Laurie suggests it is a ways out of town.

Just two kms out of town. Easy stage from Cortegada, so a nice stroll out there after lunch.

I’m surprised that San Xes was omitted from that book. It is, according to googlemaps, 2.4 km from the center of town. An afternoon stroll is one way to do it, but you can also just head straight there when you get to town. If you’ve slept in Cortegada, as you likely will, the total is still under 20 km. I wanted to have the whole afternoon for poking around Ribadavia, as well as a nice lunch, so going to the church on the way in worked best for me.

 

[Charrito]

I finished my fourth complete Geira from Braga a couple of weeks ago (another five times from Ribadavia!), but I don't have much more to say about the route to add to what I've already posted.

Before leaving I had the pleasure of meeting up with @gracethepilgrim in Salamanca, before she set off first on the Camino Torres and then onto the Geira. What a lovely lady! I was also in touch by phone with another nice lady, @Peacewalker, who started out from Braga. Hopefully, I was able to give them both useful information. A pity that the weather spoiled a few of the beautiful stages on this marvellous camino.

I walked the first part, from Braga to Ribadavia, with my wife, but then she had to get back to Salamanca for work. However, two good friends drove up to Ribadavia (they walked with me from Braga to Ribadavia last September) and the three of us carried on from there.

@gracethepilgrim tells me that she'll be recounting her experiences here in the forum, and I hope that @Peacewalker will also have things to say.

The numbers of pilgrims walking this route is going up and up, so for those of you who still have doubts GO FOR IT!!!

 

[gracethepilgrim]

@gracethepilgrim tells me that she'll be recounting her experiences here in the forum

Peter I'm getting close. I've just posted my Torres notes and now onto the Geira notes.
It's slow going as I get immersed in the wonderful memories

 

[Charrito]

Hi, Grace! I'm really looking forward to reading your notes about the Geira.

 

[gracethepilgrim]

Hi, Grace! I'm really looking forward to reading your notes about the Geira.

Here you go
grace’s Geira

 

[Charrito]

Charrito, do you have recommendations on those nice tapas places in Soutelo? I think there were at least two (on the main drag on the Camino towards leaving town) and I just picked one, which was fine, but you always seem to have good backstories and favorite dishes.

Laurie, you might want to consider moving this to the other thread (Go FOR IT!!!) so as not to interfere with David's account.

Here we go with ALL the bars, cafés and restaurants in Soutelo de Montes, starting from the beginning of town:

On the right you have Bar Restaurante San Roque (rooms above the Pensión Millenium further along). They do a fairly basic menu del día and have two terraces, one by the side and another behind in the garden.

On the left you have Hotel Restaurante Millenium (Rosa and Pepe). Pretty decent and cheap rooms above the bar and a good menu del día. It's more of a pensión than a hotel.

Just in front of the Millenium is Café Bar Don Carlos. I'm not their greatest fan, but they do have nice bocadillos of jamón.

On the right you have Café Bar Pastelería Ade Puri, with nice cakes.

Opposite the Pastelería is Bar O Lagar. Excellent hot tapas if you're there at the right time. A nice inside area with views over the hills.

Just past O Lagar is the Bar Pan de Soutelo. Enormous free tapas of jamón and excellent pizzas.

Diagonally opposite Pan de Soutelo is the Pan de Soutelo Kalis. Great tapas and enormous pizzas, with gluten-free options.

Next to Kalis is the well-known Os Carteiros. On Sundays the pulpera sets up her stall there; you pay for it and they bring it to your table.

ALL these places have stamps (some of the Camino Miñoto Ribeiro).

Before you ask, I've been in them all!!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I've been in them all!!

I wonder if Kinky1 was possibly with you at some of these establishments.

 

[peregrina2000]

I wonder if Kinky1 was possibly with you at some of these establishments.

If my memory is correct, Kinky and Charrito have gotten together, but I don’t remember the details.

 

[Charrito]

I wonder if Kinky1 was possibly with you at some of these establishments.

Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!!! He's never been on this camino, but I have shared a few glasses with him on other occasions!

I've been through Soutelo 12 or 13 times (twice in my car), so I certainly didn't enter all these establishments on the same day!

 

[Charrito]

If my memory is correct, Kinky and Charrito have gotten together, but I don’t remember the details.

We also met in Zagreb a few years ago. A great Christmas Market and a lot of beers and gluhwein!!

 

[adam lapp]

Day 3 — Campo de Gerês to Lobios (24.5 km).

Surely this day meets the standard of “etapa reina.” The rising sun around the reservoir was beautiful. I sat there for a long while, which is possible because the stage is a gentle one, less than 25 km and about 350 m elevation.

No cars, no people, just water, forests, Roman milestones, and some horses! I remember stopping at a very nice picnic spot near some old mills.

Campo do Geres - Lobios

Campo do Geres - Lobios Hiking trail in Campo do Gerez, Braga (Portugal). Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. 5***** day. Around the reservoir and then alongside the river through a forest. Once in Spain the dissent is largely through a scrub forest, but after Baños it gets...

www.wikiloc.com

I stayed at a little hotel right on the main drag in Lobios - I think the name was Hotel Lusitano Lobios. This little town has bars and supermarkets. A very good place to eat is the bar across the street from the hotel. I met a group of girlfriends from Miami tooling around the area, and spent a nice couple of hours with them for a big meal and lots of gabbing. Based on googlemaps, I think the name is Grill Luma, but I’ve added some pics to see if Charrito’s memory is better than mine. There are more than a few dining options here, so I may have missed a standout, but I was drawn there by the friendly women who insisted I sit and stay. The place was jammed with “locals,” and I had some excellent padrón peppers (which is the standard by which I judge places in Galicia).

Just completed this hike today…simply amazing! Beautiful lakes, mountains, and the waterfalls were gorgeous.