Sobrado to Arzua

We set off from the monastery along the Norte, through pleasant countryside (and some roads), pausing only foŕ coffee and chats, and two bags of cherries. We considered taking a shortcut to avoid the Frances, but were unsure about finding accommodation, so stayed on the main way. Stopping for a drink, we found a group of Americans and two Dutch to chat to.

It would have been possible to take a signposted variant from Boimorto to Lavacolla via Orxal, but we couldn't find anywhere to stay on the route, and 28km extra would have been too much for us!

We continued on to Arzua, where we were amazed by the throngs of people. We eventually found the hostel we had hoped to stay in, but it had a group of 92 school children in it, so we had to take a double room, which turned out to be very acceptable. The hostel itself was strange, having two distinct sections, and it appeared that the one we wanted was at the back of one that had taken it over, separated by a courtyard with a wall of washing machines behind sliding screens.
We wandered around the town, found a restaurant serving hamburgers (totally unlike McDonalds, in case you're wondering), chatted to a Dutch couple and a French couple, and retired to bed.