Sep 11, Friol to Sobrado
26.3 km, 6 hrs 20 min
A good nights sleep and we were heading out on the 2nd day of the Camino Verde. This is an unofficial route and is not marked by the very obvious shells and yellow arrows. Instead, one is walking trails through forest and field with very little road and always on the watch for green arrows painted on trees, sign posts, sometimes rocks on the ground. It required all of us to keep a look out whenever we came upon intersections to make sure we headed the correct way. What is nice about this route is one avoids the crowd of the Camino Frances for another 2 days.
Eucalyptus Plantation
It was so exciting to spot not just one but 4 foxes on our early morning walk! The first crossed the road ahead of us and only Doug and I saw it. But then Doug spotted one in a field 15 minutes later. As we paused to look we realized it was 2 full grown foxes with black bushy tails and at least 1 kit. They played in the field for a few minutes, too far away for our cameras but still an exciting thing for us to see.
At times we paused to pick blackberries on the side of the track. Much smaller than the ones growing wild on the Island but still sweet and tasty. Nearing the four hour mark we were in a lovely pine forest (natural, not plantation) and found a spot for another picnic lunch. There were few bars or cafes on our green route.
We eventually came to a small town, stopped at the bar for a cold drink, a radler tasted great! And another hour we arrived in Sobrado at the Monastery.
This is an amazing church, construction beginning in the 900’s. We have rooms that feel like they are in the basement, dark, more bunk beds not very many plugs for electronics 😜.
We cooked our own dinner tonight and enjoyed it in the large kitchen/eating area. Then we got to go inside the Cathedral that is under renovation. Simply astounding to be allowed to look inside!
