Day 29 - Wine, Water and Gold

 A bit overcast first thing but by 9 ish when we open the curtains it’s all blue skies…. The weather is due to break today but no sign of that so far. More bird watching from the van as a stork flies past and settles on his nest on a pole in the nearby settlement. Cuckoo calling, swallows skimming the water, black kites flying over, fish jumping, frogs peeping up in the shallows, storks fishing, there’s even a cockerel calling in the nearby farm. Lots to see and hear! 

We have breakfast on one of the benches alongside the water very easy place to sit. Would definitely come here again and maybe spend more time just sitting, really, really lovely spot.

We leave about midday. We’re going to head south and join a road that is promoted in a road trip book we have in the van. The minor road we take to join it is absolutely beautiful, really green and has mixed woodland all around. So pleased that we’ve headed inland. People talk about Galicia being a green region but on the coast it’s green with pines and eucalyptus, inland it’s much more varied and this is the right time of year for the lushest bright green colours! 

We pass through a few towns and villages, notably Monforte de Lemos with the huge monastery towering over the town. 

Its not long before we’re in vineyard country, as we come towards the river Sil. There are plenty of bodegas and steep slopes terraced with slate. For a moment it’s like being back in the Rioja region. Close to the point that we reach the river itself there’s a dramatic viewpoint between vines with stunning views up and down the valley. We can see black kites and Spanish swallowtail butterflies and it is gloriously warm and sunny. 

It’s a lovely road running alongside the river with precipitous drops at times,but it’s wide enough and the road surface is good.  Where the road crosses the river there are some boat jettys and we consider taking a boat trip, perfect weather for it and would be interesting to see the gorge from the water but our timing is poor and it’s over two hours til the next one runs so that will go on a ‘to do’ list for some other time.

As we climb back up the gorge on the other side it’s noticeable how much further behind spring is, with many trees here still in bud. 

 We stop Castro Caldelas, on the ‘prettiest villages’ list but our first impressions aren’t great as we drive through the newer part of the village to the aire to ‘recharge’ the van. The aire is not great and doesn’t seem to have a black waste discharge so we turn around and head back to the other side of the village. We are able to park by the shops as it’s lunchtime and find the old part of the town leading to the castle  certainly pretty but nothing on the other villages we’ve seen from the list. It’s the middle of the day and very warm. The thermometer outside the pharmacy reads 30 degrees. 

 We are still in siesta time and the castle is closed so no opportunity to climb its tower but it’s interesting to see its history with later walls built around d it’s original ones after battle damage and some additions that are later still to help its transformation to Manor House. There are certainly do great views to be had at ground level so the 360 degrees lookout from the tower would be something else! 

The road from here is much bigger and faster. There are signs to miradors all the time but we can’t take them all though we stop at Penas de Rome which has an impressive walkway  structure with glass panel at the end and looks down the valley. 

Time for lunch now … or tea even as it’s quite late and very hot so I identify a riverside spot that should be shady just before the Roman bridge at Mouras. It’s a lovely,cool spot close to the river and by a ruined mill with long grass and lots of insects and butterflies. Perfect place for a break, but could make an overnight sometime so we pin it just in case. 

There’s a lot more industry and towns are getting scruffier. At Arua it’s raining a little but not dramatically, though the sky is much cloudier now. The road passes slate processing plants and hydroelectric plants as well as other industry … arguable whether this one deserves its ‘green line’ on the road atlas. There are several dams across the river and we get out at Peñarrubia where the dam is releasing water with a lot of force! 

We are aiming to reach the Roman gold mines today. Stopping briefly to empty our toilet and get some groceries in Barco first. It becomes apparent we aren’t going to make visitor centre before closing time but we might see something before dark. 

There are too options , a mirador and the town so we head for the former. Turns out this may have been a good move as whilst there isn’t expressly a ban on small vans ACs are not permitted on the route so we may have had an issue in daytime. 

From the carpark it’s still a steep uphill climb up an access road for 700m or so to the lookout.. worth the climb though as the light that’s left post sunset gives the landscape a dramatic glow and it’s quite something! We can see rain falling in the distance but dry as a bone here. Seeing the cave in the rock which is closed is difficult… would give a great view, but the upside of being late is that we are one our own. 

Returning back down the hill is a killer on my knee despite zigzagging all the way. The carpark isn’t an ideal stay so despite the failing light we drive the ten mins to the van parking in the village. No one else is here and it’s not level but you can see some great rock formations from the window and it’s quiet. 

There is a lot of flashing in the sky and we can see thunderstorms in the distance but nothing here at all. 

Cumulative Mileage: 1387 

Overnight: Cemetery Car park Las Medulas, P4N 2442

Spending: groceries: €33.40