After a rest day to recharge physically and mentally, we continued our Camino Primitivo and on Day 10 (of walking) we went from Lugo to Ferreira, taking a detour to visit the Roman sanctuary at Santa Eulalia de Bóveda, which I totally would recommend to everyone!
Route overview and statistics
| Distance 28.2 km | Average speed 5.0 kph |
| Maximum altitude 619 m | Ascent 543 m |
| Minimum altitude 362 m | Descent 411 m |
We left Lugo in the morning after a hearty breakfast at one of the many bakeries opened from 7AM. Mommy had been warned that food option was limited in this route, what a surprise!
We were now 2 days behind the bulk of our original Camino family – they had leapfrogged us in the beginning in Salas, and pushed on after Lugo. Even our Czech friend who took it easy in Tineo to nurse an aching leg (he had started with Camino Madrid, so he had been walking for a while) had managed to catch up by walking longer stages to Castro then Castroverde, and thereby saving a day! But our German friend who started on Camino del Norte had pain on her foot and so she was walking shorter distances and was behind us by a couple of days, and a father-and-son duo had finished their Camino in Lugo after walking Camino del Norte, and taken the bus to Santiago.
We were somewhat adopted by “Kevin’s group” after Hospitales, but because we took a rest day in Lugo, we were now behind them as well! So with Santiago closer than ever, and with new pilgrims starting in Lugo, and more pilgrims to be encountered along Camino Francés, we doubted that we would make new “Camino family”.
But I have the best one here, Mommy!
San Vicente do Burgo
We followed the Camino markers to exit Lugo starting from the Cathedral until we arrived at Rio Minho and this beautifully restored footbridge with a young Roman soldier (est 2015!). After this we began the gentle climb out of Lugo, walking past large beautiful suburban houses.
We arrived at the “beginning” of the LU-P-2901 (Spanish way of naming national roads, LU for Lugo, P for Paradela, previously AS for Asturias), and we would walk along this highway for another twenty or so kilometres until Ferreira! Luckily this stretch of national highway has a sidewalk for peregrinos and peRRegrinas like me.
After 10 km walking we arrived in the hamlet San Vicente do Burgo. We could hear party song which apparently was coming out of the garden of someone’s house. It did work to lift up our mood!
Here you can find a rest stop with a vending machine and sello for your credential called Casa Zapateiro. Remember, from today onwards, you will need to get a minimum of 2 stamps per day if you wish to obtain a Compostela in Santiago.
We also took a short walk to visit the church in this village. For a small village, this 18th century Baroque church certainly has quite an elaborate façade! I also attracted the attention of some local cows, they were pretty friendly here, perhaps because shepherds still use dogs to help them? We had a terrible experience with cows in Wales…
Santa Eulalia de Bóveda
Less than 2 km after leaving Burgo, we arrived at another detour on the right to visit the Roman sanctuary of Santa Eulalia de Bóveda. This detour is well marked on the road and it is a circular route so we would rejoin the Camino further along this LU-P-2901 (we would have taken it just to skip part of the LU-P-2901!). Even if you have skipped previous detours to visit churches/dolmens etc, this one is a must see!
The parish of Santa Eulalia de Bóveda is a small hamlet with an area of 5.5 sq km and 64 inhabitants in 2013 (probably even fewer now?), further divided into 5 villages. We met Alfonso who managed the tourist information centre for the sanctuary and he gave us a guided tour!
Note: this Roman sanctuary is open from Tuesday to Friday from 10AM to 3PM and Saturdays from 10AM to 2PM.
We were very impressed!
The sanctuary dates back to the 2nd century AD and was originally used as a temple dedicated to the worship of water and fertility. Later, in the 4th century, a Christian church dedicated to the martyr Santa Eulalia was superimposed on top of the temple. The church features a distinctive cylindrical shape, which is unique among Romanesque buildings in Spain.
One of the most interesting features of the sanctuary is its decorative elements. The interior walls are covered with paintings on stucco, in several colours, that represent vases, flowers, birds and other animals. The decorative motives in the paintings are characteristic of the late Roman art. The sculptural decoration on the exterior wall depicted symbols of family union – man, woman, children.
On our way back to rejoin the Camino, we stopped at the 12th century Romanesque Church of Saint Michael of Bacurín for some picnic lunch. The crocus flowers were blooming and I had a good sniff around!
San Roman/San Romao da Retorta
From Bacurín it was another 5 km walk to San Román/San Romao da Retorta. On the way here I met another furry friend, Momo is a Belgian Malinois who has been taking her Mommy on a big European tour, they’ve been walking for 6 months! And yes, we were sitting outside a cafe, since Cafe Zapateiro in Burgo, this was the first cafe, 9km later.
In this village we saw a Roman milliarium, this one was just a copy of the original (kept in a museum in Astorga), which was indeed found on the Roman road on which we were walking. This is indeed an ancient path!
A few hundred metres from the Roman milliarium there is a private albergue, Albergue O Cándido, which has colourful tables and chairs outside and sometimes serve food and drinks.
Ferreira
From San Romao, it was another 7 km until we reached Ferreira. The Camino markings were clear, the track was mostly gravel/dirt path.
Accommodation and cost
Here we have 2 private albergues which are both dog friendly! Spoilt for choice.
Albergue Ponte Ferreira (€15/dorm bed) used to be owned and run by a Dutch couple who were previous pilgrims and yes they also walked with their dog. It was a favourite among pilgrims for their kindness and generosity and their vegetarian communal meal. Unfortunately they announced at the beginning of 2023 that they had sold their business and the albergue is now under new management.
Albergue A Nave de Ferreira is also another great albergue, it’s a barn conversion and they have dormitory as well as private en-suite rooms. Again, a small, basic, but everything a pilgrim needs-kind of private rooms. A dormitory bed cost €16/18, single room €32/35, and double €42/45. In high season they have a bar that serves drinks and snacks, but the bar was closed in October, so we head to Cantina Ferreira, right next to the albergue for food. Guess what? We were (still) on the LU-P-2901, KM 25.
If you decide to carry on towards As Seixas (another 5.5 km), there is a private albergue next to the municipal one, Albergue A Toqueira (€15 dorm, €41+ private) which is also dog friendly.
Reflection on day 10
Mommy had been very excited to visit the Roman sanctuary. So we were glad that we could visit the place and even had a guided tour, ¡muchas gracias Alfonso! To my dear readers, we highly recommend this detour!
We had thought that there would be more people on the road. We did meet a group of pilgrims at the vending machine Casa Zapateiro, none of them took the detour to Bóveda. We then met Momo and her Mommy (!) but they were planning to camp and because it was a lovely day, they kept going beyond Ferreira. The next few days would be wet wet wet so they wanted to make the most of the lovely weather. They had mostly camped and every few days her Mom would book a nice room where she could have a shower and they could sleep on nice comfy bed.
Mommy thought that we were now way behind our Camino friends, but guess who we met at our abergue? The Portuguese ladies!!
Tomorrow Mommy is planning to do something crazy, so we better get a good night sleep.
