Lugo to Friol

O Camiño Verde, the Green Camino, is a crossover from Lugo on the Primitivo, to Sobrado dos Monxes on the Norte, through a tranquil and beautiful rural area, mainly on farm and forest tracks, waymarked with green arrows.

We woke early, and had a quick breakfast in our room, before tip-toeing out of the hostel. (We had a private room, and never did discover if any other pilgrims were staying in the dormitory) After an initial argument - Sue wanted to follow the green arrows and Angus wanted to dive through a hole in the hedge and along a narrow track in the undergrowth- we found a pleasant path beside the river. This continued past small waterfalls and former water mills, partly on raised walkways.

We kept following the green arrows, sometimes accompanied by yellow and pink arrows, and in general the way was well marked. The countryside was very empty, and we saw more dogs and cows than people, and of course several closed churches. This area also had a fascinating feature - little rectangular storage houses, usually on stone "mushrooms" to keep the rats out, and topped with a cross and a spear head.

We found ourselves travelling on paths between ancient walls spaced wide apart, probably for driving cattle but in some cases so overgrown we had to push through gorse and clamber over trees. We worked our way via roads and paths to the unique third century Roman sanctuary of Santa Eulalia de Bóveda containing some original frescoes, which was much smaller and didn't have the museum we expected.

After a long haul over the hills with wide views, and trudging through muddy moorland, we arrived at Friol to the sounds of bagpipes, where there was a concert in progress in the town square.