This old photo is only indicative of how old these caminos are; South East is another name for Sanabres. The way, today,took us away from the barely habitable, but beautiful mountains.
This is a useful map of the route.
Into the more populated and arable plains. Albergueria and Vila de Bario, though small have a long and hospitable association with the Camino. Coffee was enjoyed overlooking this fountain, just before exiting Vilar, very tiny for a municipal capital!
Leaving the town, this tiny row of balconies caught my eye.
From here, it was a different Camino and the straight paths took us past freshly ploughed fields, rows of potatoes and beans. The housing stock changed dramatically from the ramshackle, abandoned cottages of the mountain villas, to small areas of ” new builds”. More eye-catching were the irresistible ” horreos”, iconic landmarks in Galicia. I felt my old ” train spotting” instincts …I wanted to snap them all! I’ll spare you with just this selection, taken en route to Xunqueria. look out for the beretta wearing, kindly gentleman.
The fertility of these plains is borne out by the number of natural springs, converted to fountains, in the pueblos. I think the figure atop may be Santiago.
We came across another ” donativo” watering hole, in a small village, again quite unexpectedly, but this time, manned. We were given slices of empanada; went down well with my 1/2 litre of Gasera.
The contrasts in landscape are captured here:
I should also mention the Camino waymarks, which are unique to Galicia – always a welcome sight; sadly, the distances, measured to three decimal points ( to Santiago ), have been vandalised by so- called pilgrims. However, as directions, they are they are immovable. The blue posts appeared warnings…crossing minor, or major roads.
Xunqueria de Amba – beautiful, Romanesque church and cloister . Our Lady of the Reeds. Dating back to Medieval times, was once a pilgrim hospital – you can imagine how sick people would become, given the times and distances. ( I don’t mean sick of ” menu pelegrino” ! ) . This site dates back to the 9 th century.
Casa Tomas was advertised on flyers , all along the Camino; you can imagine our bewilderment , when we reached what appeared to be a burnt out wreck .
This time, we found a reliable source of assistance in the Ayuniamento and were told to proceed a 100 metres or so along the road. Apparently , the Casa Turistique was destroyed by fire and Tomas was able to relocate, thankfully for us.
We found the new location and were pleased with our base, €12.00, each; down the road the inevitable ” menu pelegrinos”. Let you know if there is more than Lomo and chips on the menu, tomorrow. Tapas in Ourense, anyone?
Today’s track has to be https://youtu.be/QVRqTUOz1Tc
Warren Xevon’s ” I Was in the House Till the House Burned Down”
ensuitepilgrim's Blog 
Fascinating buildings.