Gontan

June 8 Gontan

We left our small albergue in San Xusto quietly so as not to wake everyone up. This is hard for Stuart because at the best of times he will drop all his change on the floor, knock over a chair, or break a dish. We made it to the road and there was hardly any rain. We started climbing it was quiet and still. The first big city was Lourenza. It is famous for the church of the monestary of San Salvador. We walked through town and continued to climb. About 4k later we came to Mondonedo. In the town center is the Cathedral. In a town of a little over 2000 you can see the presence of the Catholic Church in the history of Galicia. We stopped for coffee at the Pilgrims Bar and a chat with the bar owner. The hardest ascent of the entire northern way through Galicia is between Mondonedo and Gontan our final destination. Only a few hundred meters are flat the rest is either up or down, climbing and descending. We thought the major climb was over once arriving at Lousada. It only got steeper as we past the reminece of a lime kiln. We finally arrived and checked into a modern typically beautiful Galician Alberque. We showered and ran down to the restaurant before it closed. Being Saturday the restaurant closes at 1530 and doesn't reopen. All the stores are closed so to eat we had to hurry. After a very strenuous day, the meal was especially delicious. The albergue was 6€ and the meal 9€.

 

Wordless....

Church of Lourenza

Ordering up croissant and coffee.

The arrow points the way.

True Camino path, always wet on the shoes.

Try to imagine the day.... Mondonedo

Coffee stop. George first one in.

The road. In order George, Joan and Stu trying the hardest.

Overcast, however, beauty never rests.

On the way through the high country.

Getting to the top.

The long day's greatest reward. Shower, food, bed

 

Stu uses MotionX-GPS on the iPhone and is sharing with you the following track:

Tough Day

Name:		Gontan
Date:		Jun 8, 2013 6:35 am
Map: (valid until Dec 5, 2013)		View on Map
Distance:		30.6 kilometers
Elapsed Time:		7:23:43
Avg Speed:		4.1 km/h
Max Speed:		5.9 km/h
Avg Pace:		14' 31" per km
Min Altitude:		40 m
Max Altitude:		557 m
Start Time:		2013-06-08T04:35:20Z
Start Location:
	Latitude:	43º 29' 10" N
	Longitude:	7º 15' 30" W
End Location:
	Latitude:	43º 22' 04" N
	Longitude:	7º 28' 06" W

 

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