STAGE 2, 27 AUGUST: PORTOMARÍN-VENTAS DE NARÓN
Total distance: 12 kilometres.
Group 1: Complete stage
Starting Point:
08:40h. Portomarín (stairway base)
Meeting Point:
2:00 p.m. Ventas de Narón (chapel)
GROUP 2: SECTIONS
– Carry out a 5.4 km section from Cortapezas to Gonzar (Xacobeo Pilgrims Hostel, on the LU-633)
– Fulfil a 3 km section from Castromaior to Ventas de Narón.
– Those who wish may complete the section of Cortapezas to Ventas de Narón, 10.8 km
Meeting Point:
2:00 p.m. Ventas de Narón (chapel)
GROUP 3: SECTIONS
– Carry out a 4.3 km section from Toxibó (Naves de Aviporto) to Gonzar (Xacobeo Pilgrims Hostel, on the LU-633)
– Fulfil a 3 km section from Castromaior to Ventas de Narón.
Meeting Point:
2:00 p.m. Ventas de Narón (chapel)
Second stage and the shortest of our trip. It will take us from Portomarin to Ventas de Narón, for a territory formerly with a large presence of the Order of San Juan de Jerusalén or of Malta, which since the 12th century had in Portomarín one of its main enclaves, fulfilling an essential role in the care of the pilgrims. The towns of Portomarín and Leboreiro (that we will know in our Stage 4) counted on sanjuanistas’ welfare hospitals
In the stage we will have the opportunity to connect with the history of the pilgrimages and even with the populations before the Romanization. It will mean, however, to travel more than 9 km in almost continuous ascent, some of them through isolated forests and stone roads and others more comfortable, paths and county tracks. We continue in the Miño’s River basin but already entering into the Ulla valley, in a region where the native forest and the dedication to agricultural and livestock work still predominates.
The first 2.5 km pass through forests and meadows until the LU633 road, which follows the route of the Camino between Pedrafita and Palas de Rei and that we will border on a large part of the stage along paths designed for pilgrims. The first part is rather lonely and almost without services until Gonzar, just over 7 km from Portomarín. Then the panorama changes and we will cross several towns and villages with small churches, hórreos (raised granaries), cruceiros (calvaries), restored pazos (a type of Galician traditional house, similar to a manor house), and even a surprise that emerges almost from nowhere: Castromaior, one of the most important archaeological sites of the Iron Age of the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
The difficulty of the stage is medium-high, with several important ramps and a slope of approximately 340 m between Portomarín and Ventas de Narón.
MONDAY, AUGUST 27th. PORTOMARÍN – VENTAS DE NARÓN
8:00 a. m. Departure to Portomarín (from the Hotel Méndez Núñez)
8:40 a. m. Start of Stage 2
2:00 p. m. End of Stage. Departure to Samos. Meeting point: Ventas de Narón
3:00 p. m. Arrival in Samos. Free time
4:30 Guided visit to the Monastery of Samos
7:00 p. m. Dinner at Samos. A Veiga Restaurant (Av. Compostela, 61, Samos)
8:30 p. m. Return to Lugo (arrival at 9:15 p. m. approximately)