Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros: Caldelas to Campo do Gerês – 30.8 km

It’s our second day of hiking the Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros and Harri has warned me that today will be  challenging in terms of terrain and distance. Excitingly, we will be crossing into Peneda-Gerês national park today.

This morning, in Caldelas, we committed the cardinal sin of going down to breakfast two minutes early. The humourless hotel manager, who clearly attended the Basil Fawlty school of hospitality, waved us away. By the time, we were back at our hotel room, the church bell was chiming eight.

The attitude of many hoteliers towards pilgrims (and hikers generally) never fails to amaze us. So many hotels fail to offer early eating options which mean walkers are forced to skip breakfast completely or forfeit those cooler hours.

Fortunately, breakfast at Corredoura Garden was worth waiting for. There was a huge range of options – and condiments. Mr Humourless kept guard over the buffet at all times, lest some light-fingered pilgrims allowed a single crumb to drop into their laps.

And then we were off. We’re heading to Campo do Gerês today. Out in the morning sunshine, there were pilgrims everywhere although very few seemed to be carrying as much as us. This meant:

• they were weekend hikers
• they were pretty adept at packing their rucksacks
• they were paying to have their luggage transported from place-to-place (not sure this is possible on this caminho)

A tough morning

Unlike yesterday, our route immediately transported us into the beautiful northern Portuguese countryside. It was worryingly hot for what promised to be a tough morning of ascent – around seven kilometres of uphill walking.

Two kilometres in, we passed a derelict building that reeked of former grandeur (there are many such properties in northern Portugal) and emerged onto a narrow shady footpath and then a drystone-walled lane. The abundance of brambles, ivy and ferns suggested it rains a lot here.

One of the issues posed on a pilgrim route is how to go about politely overtaking other hikers – or whether to overtake at all. We were walking along a single-file track and, while they didn’t seem to be moving very quickly, the pilgrims ahead were young and fit. We had overtaken them earlier on, only for the group to overtake us again when I paused to take a photograph. We slowed down to allow them to put some distance between us.

At four kilometres, we were reaping the rewards of our efforts in the form of sweeping and breathtaking views. The surface underfoot had improved and we speeded up, passing the coffee-drinking Portuguese pilgrims who had stopped at a roadside café. Some friendly waves and the overtaking issue was resolved.

We’d noticed some striking structures dotted around the landscape, often close to stone properties, and when we stopped to chat to a couple in a garden, I seized the opportunity to ask about them. It turns out the ubiquitous espigueiro is simply a grain store, which is raised from the ground to keep out water and rodents. The slits in the walls are there for ventilation.

We followed a wide, empty road for several kilometres, enjoying the shade afforded by the towering eucalyptus trees. Our progress hadn’t been too shoddy – we’d averaged 4.9 kilometres an hour for the first eight kilometres.

Geira Roman road

It’s known that medieval pilgrims often followed in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, who built extensive road networks across Portugal and Spain from around the first century AD.

Today we learned that the Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros follows a 318-kilometre Roman route, Geira Viana Romano XV, which linked Bracara Augusta (Braga) and Asturica Augusta (Astorga, Spain). Two thousand years ago, the Romans build stone pillars to mark the road on the ground, and today glass interpretation boards stand alongside them. At 450 metres, we were 24 kilometres from Braga and had another 298 kilometres if we wished to walk to Astorga.

Beer on route

All day, we’ve enjoyed the most spectacular scenery, including stunning views of the valley below. Obviously, there are few facilities on a hike of this nature, so we were delighted when a cyclist shared the happy news of a bar ahead. For the next kilometre, Harri allowed himself to imagine sipping his unexpected beer, but when we arrived at the bar something got lost in translation. I thought I’d ordered a beer and a coca cola zero, but what was presented at our table minutes later was a full-fat coca cola and an alcohol-free beer. Being a good sport, Harri didn’t complain too much, however I could see the disappointment on his face.

Before we left the bar, we refilled our water bottles at a nearby font but resisted washing our feet in the cold water as some of the younger pilgrims were doing (they’d caught us with us again).

It was just after 12 noon and we still had 17km to go when we set off again.

Soggy soil … and mud

Now the signs of a wet climate were unmistakeable. We’d loved the fact that the landscape was so green and lush, but now there were instances of water underfoot. Nothing too deep, but enough to make you balance on strategically placed stones. We faced our first river crossing and I briefly lost Harri amidst a myriad of footpaths in woodland – shouting usually helps!

Gradually the landscape opened up again, revealing the most stunning views. The scenery was not unlike parts of Wales (especially the cow pats), although the villages are not confined to the valleys here.

Despite the excellent breakfast, our stomachs were rumbling. We spotted a magnificent boulder on the horizon and decided to leave the footpath and head over to it. No such luck. Hidden by the thick fern was a previously unnoticed canyon. Thank goodness, we spotted it in time.

Back under the trees, there was more evidence of a wet climate and water running off the mountains: mini waterfalls, small streams and wet soil. These necessitated us crossing from left to right of the track and needing to balance on stones (this is when poles really help). In these soggy conditions, it was inevitable that we would eventually come across mud – real mud of the kind I’d prefer to avoid. Fortunately, somebody had put down roof tiles to assist hikers.

Just when I thought we’d said ‘farewell’ to mud, we encountered another obstacle: an extremely steep, downhill section. In fact, the path just seemed to drop away, although there were some exposed tree roots to cling onto. Harri went down first and then came back for my rucksack so that I could use my much-practised bottom-sliding technique.

Enjoying Covide

I was almost relieved when we joined a two-way proper road which would take us Covide – a village which must have the most photographed signpost in Portugal – one-and-a-half kilometres away.

In the bustling bar, we bumped into the older Portuguese pilgrim from Caldelas. She and another woman in her group had decided not to continue walking to Campo do Gerês but to take a taxi. She was amazing for her age, so we understood her decision, however it’s not something we would do (unless one of us was injured or ill).

Covide is an interesting little place. The bar was busy and yet it was almost entirely surrounded by would-be renovations (with one or two already underway). It wasn’t until we’d meandered around the deserted streets and emerged on wider roads that we realised most of the 343 residents (2011) live in more modern housing a little further away.

Harri had warned me that the last few kilometres would involve a lot of climbing and so it was. Up, up, up we trekked, sometimes on the road and at other times on adjacent footpaths. The exposed, rocky peaks felt within touching distance.

Finally, we turned left, passing a large car park and several wandering cows. There was another footpath and finally we were at the gates of the youth hostel.

Our accommodation

We stayed at the Pousada de Juventude do Gerês (the youth hostel), which was actually quite delightful with the most beautiful views from communal areas and, presumably, some of its bedrooms.

We paid a remarkably low 43,01 euros for a twin room with an en suite in the main building, plus breakfast, perhaps the reason for another car park view.

Cooking our ready noodles proved challenging with no kitchen worktops, just that solo microwave and a kettle, but we survived. Harri was delighted to see cold beers were sold at reception.

Breakfast was the standard bread, cheese, ham and condiments, plus some fruit. Nothing to get excited about but all fresh and edible.

Our route

This stage is mapped at 29.2km with 754 metres of ascent.

Tracking with Outdoor Active, I recorded 30.8km with 643 metres of ascent.

Download the GPX file of our hike here.