Day 48 – Vilarino to Penasillas Videos

Today, I thought it was going to be about 24 kilometres. It actually turned out to be 28. I made the very simple mistake of thinking that I had booked a hotel in Penasillas wherein in fact I had booked one 2 kilometres short of that village. So, arriving in the village, I realised my mistake and I walked back, but never mind. It was a glorious day and I was again very lucky with the weather.

Today was a fairly tough day. A fair amount of road walking still, but an amazing walk down into the valley to Belesar, which is on the Miño river. This was a descent that I had been somewhat nervous about because in the guidebooks it said it’s very steep, its very steep down and very steep back up, and to be careful not to slip on the cobblestones. But because I was so lucky with the weather, it was all dry and it was a nice cool day. I actually had a wonderful walk and the sight walking down into the river valley was absolutely stunning, both the walk down and the walk back up.

Belesar on the Río Miño, with the Camino de Invierno winding through the steep terraced vineyards of the Ribeira Sacra.

Morning reflections on the Río Miño at Belesar, one of the many beautiful spots on the Camino Invierno

So, after the walk back up, because it was a little bit of a longer walking day for me today, I decided I would stop in Chantada for a little bit of a snack. I found a wonderful café. There were lots of cafes and restaurants and places to stay. It was a really nice town, but I found a wonderful cafe that had a superb homemade tortilla. That fuelled me for the rest of the day, which was walking gradually uphill towards Penasillas.

Camino Second Breakfast – Good for Energy!

I ended up staying at the Hotel/Albergue Vilaseco, which, as I now know, is 2 kilometres short of Penasillas.

Hotel – Albergue Vilaseco, a very welcome overnight stop in the countryside before the climb towards Monte Faro

It’s a wonderful hotel. They’re having a quiet week and I was the only guest. It’s very new. The owner showed me the rooms and suggested I stay on the top floor Albergue as it was empty tonight!

I found myself with a dormitory room all to myself.  The attic is like an albergue and it has three large dormitories and wonderful bathroom facilities and so on. And I said to him “but I booked a private room and private bathroom” and he said “but no one else is staying here. Why not have one of these beds for €20 instead of paying 50 or 60 for a private room?” So, I thought that makes sense. So, I do have a private room it just has eight beds in it. They provided a wonderful meal, which was actually 4 courses. Incredible meal. And then I sat with the owner after the meal and we had a chat about the Camino and the region and so on In English). All in all, it has been a fantastic day. Another great day on the Camino Invierno.

Hotel – Albergue Vilaseco – Dorm Room

Hotel – Albergue Vilaseco – Male Bathroom

Hotel – Albergue Vilaseco – Dinner

Hotel – Albergue Vilaseco – Breakfast