STAGE 5, 30 AUGUST: RIBADISO-SANTA IRENE
Total distance: 18 kilometres.
GROUP 1: COMPLETE STAGE
Starting point:
09:00 h Ribadiso (Fluvial Beach).
Meeting point:
3:30 p.m. Santa Irene (Rest Area).
GROUP 2: SECTIONS
– Fulfil a 3 km section from Arzúa (Pension Restaurant O Retiro) to Preguntoño.
– Perform a 5.4 km section from Calzada to Salceda (Casa Verde -Green House-, on the N-547).
– Carry out a 1.5 km section from O Empalme to Santa Irene (Rest Area).
Meeting point:
3:30 p.m. Santa Irene (Rest Area).
GROUP 3: SECTIONS
– Perform a 3 km section from Arzúa (Pension Restaurant O Retiro) to Preguntoño.
– Fulfil a 1.5 km section from O Empalme to Santa Irene (Rest Area).
Meeting point:
3:30 p.m. Santa Irene (Rest Area).
The fifth stage will leave us almost at the gates of Santiago. We will go from Ribadiso to Santa Irene in a day that many describe as a leg breaking because of the continuous rise and descent of hills. We will cross Arzúa, 40 km to Compostela, the last large town before arriving and with an important Jacobean past.
From here we will notice a greater population density. There are already few sections without farms, housing or restaurants and bars. The autochthonous forest continues reducing in favour of the eucalyptus. We will walk surrounded by vegetation, by roads and local paths to escape the N-547, which meander continuously on our side. The bad news is that we will have to cross it several times, in cases by underground passages and in others at grade. We warn seriously about the danger when crossing it !. It is a road with a lot of traffic and although the points are marked with signposts of danger, there are no zebra crossings and not all the drivers reduce the march.
In return, we will have several occasions of feeling truly pilgrims, uniting our spirit with those who preceded us. The signals, memories and votive offerings of the walkers are increasing, possibly because they already feel the proximity of the city of the Apostle and the end of their Camino. It is a bittersweet feeling most of them refer: joy for being near to Compostela and sadness because they already notice the end of the adventure. In these last kilometres, there is also a greater density of pilgrims. They are now concentrated in the localities that we cross, already waiting for their entrance into the city.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30th. RIBADISO – SANTA IRENE
8:30 a. m. Pick up at hotels (Pazo Brandeso, Pazo Santa María)
8:50 a. m. Departure to Ribadiso (from A Paínza). Pick up at Hotel Suiza
9:00 a. m. Start of Stage 5
4:30 p. m. End of Stage. Departure to Arzúa. Meeting point: Santa Irene
4:50 p. m. Arrival in Arzúa. Distribution in hotels
7:00 p. m. Pick up at hotels
7:30 p. m. Dinner at A Paínza
9:00 p. m. Distribution in hotels