Day 8 - Pazos de Arenteiro to Beariz

Leaving Pazos with plenty of water, one was warned about a relatively tough climb ahead. The first kilometre wasn't too bad but then one came to the village of Salon. It was just wow. I'm not sure of the gradient but it was dramatic, maybe about 1 in 5. After the village one keeps climbing so in all one has about 4km of steady ascent.

Solon ahead - the start of the climb

Although sunny, there was plenty of shade so this was not a tough ascent. The path up on the top of the hill was ok and indeed very pretty. There was one moment when I looked back and realised that I had been walking along the edge of a very sharp drop but I hadn't noticed at the time so I guess that's ok.

There are no open cafes or bars on this 20km stage but the owner of Pazos had kindly rung ahead to some mysterious contact in the mid-point village of Feas. He said that he had never met them but they sounded nice. I had no contact details but trusted I would be able to find them. Arriving in Feas there was a brightly coloured umbrella out in the street which I guessed was a welcome sign. Sure enough, a fast-talking woman appeared wearing a camino badge and gestured for me to come in. I walked through a building site and into what looked like someone's kitchen. Four women then prepared a great lunch including enchiladas - one of them was Mexican - all talking simultaneously. It was great fun and a real camino experience.

The wonderful welcoming committee at Feas

After Feas there was yet another hill to climb but a little treat was the sign to a Mirador - the best view in the world was promised. Unfortunately the 100m turned out to be wildly untrue so I never made it to the Mirador as I gave up after a few hundred metres.

That being said, one didn't really need the hyperbole. The view with endless ranges of hills gave a good sense of just why this camino is not the easiest.

It was about 10km to Beariz, in more empty countryside. At one of the crosses just outside the town, people had started the process of adding small stones. I decide that what it really needed was a large stone.

Before

After - much improved

Beariz is a small village but has a chemist, bank and bar. The plan for today was to get a taxi back to Pazos, sleep there, and then come back and restart from Beariz the following day. There was a small donativo in Beariz but I didn't fancy that. The taxi driver - the only taxi driver - who lived in Beariz was unfortunately waiting for someone at Santiago airport but the owner at Pazos managed to find an alternative. Cafe Bar Beariz provided me with beer until the taxi arrived.