up onto the meseta

today the hike leads us from mondoñedo to gontan/abadin. we start the day by heading to a breakfast place right next to the surprisingly large cathedral. despite leaving the albergue shortly after eight (no mint, no chocolate), we are on the camino quite a bit later from almost ten o’clock.

but no problem, since today is a short distance of only some 17 kilometers.

directly from the town we head uphill, from 50m elevation to 550m ultimately. it is a gentle slope today, so everybody is content and happy. maybe also because the sun is out.

we pass by an archeologically interesting little aldea, where according to the placard it states that human settlement goes back to prehistoric times.

from o vilar past lousada we hike higher and higher until we reach the autovía del cantábrico and have a rest at a gas station with truckers, bike pilgrims and others.
the final stretch is no longer steep, we have arrived on the inland meseta of lugo. this year we won’t pass by the town of lugo, but we remember it fondly. we had a very nice farewell dinner with parts of our pilgrims’ family last year, plus it has this massive roman wall around the entire old city. if you have a chance, go visit!

a quick last pit stop at a local artisanal panaderia and another short hop brings us into gontan, where we stay in the municipal albergue.

now off to wash some clothes.