43. Puebla de Sanabria to Lubián

Today, was a good day. I left the albergue in Puebla at about 6.30, the lights of the old town on the hill glowing warm and bright.

There were sections of road walking in the stage but also many glorious sections ‘off grid’.

I was never far from the sound of running water and the song of the birds. 

Early on, this woman pulled alongside me on her bike. It turns out she is from Australia - she rides and her husband walks. I bumped into her again at the next café and she kindly opened the little tomato and olive oil sachets for my toast as my hands were still too cold to tear the tops off.

The first half of the stage was relatively flat.

The terrain is feeling more and more Galician, even though, at this point, I have not officially entered Galicia.

And then the climbing began. I think this may have been the longest and most relentless climb of the Camino so far. That’s a waterfall in the picture below.

Thankfully, it was through the most glorious country. 

Towards the top of the hill there was a nice little rest stop in this village. Just as I was leaving to walk, Fernando arrived. Here he is enjoying a cool drink and a bocadillo. 

There were still over eight kilometres to go to Lubián from this point and far. Far from a grind, it was a really beautiful path.

The municiple albergue was almost the first building in Lubián. It’s been extended since I was here five years ago, but it seems there will be less pilgrims sleeping here tonight. So far there are only five of us and it can accommodate twenty. For the privilege of staying here we pay three euros each!

Lubián is an old stone pueblo set on the side of a steep hill at about 1040 metres altitude. At the last census (2018) it had 302 inhabitants. Apparently, it is one of the few bilingual communities in the Province of Zamora, its residents habitually speaking both Spanish and Galego.

In winter it gets pretty cold here as is evident in this photo I found on the internet. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but not snow, thankfully!!

Buen Camino 

Neil 🤍👣