Stage 28: Sarria – Portomarín Distance: 22.5km

Sarria

Walk along the Rúa Maior and take a left just as you come to the Convento de la Magdalena.
 
Pass the ruins of the Capela de San Lázaru then cross the road and over the Río Celeiro via the Puente Áspera.
 
Follow the track along the railway line and then cross over the track, then a stream and begin the climb up through woodland.
 
Rejoin the road at Vilei which leads into Barbadello
 

Barbadello

From Barbadelos continue along the road through woodland into Rente which has a couple of bars and a shop
 

Rente

Go through Rente and in less then a kilometre you will reach Peruscallo which has a bar and restaurant.
 
The camino passes through the small hamlets of Cortiñas and Brea passing the 100km to Santiago stone marker into Morgade.
 

Morgade

On the other side of the village we pass a small stone chapel and follow the country lane on the gentle ascent into Ferreiros which has a bar and restaurant.
 

Ferreiros

Continue to Mirallos which has a café/restaurant beside the Iglesia de Santa María.
 

Continue along the road through the hamlets of Pena, Couto and Rozas before arriving in Mercadoiro
 

Mercadoiro

Proceed through Mercadero along the road passing more small hamlets along the way, including Parrocha, until you arrive at Vilachá
 
Continue on the road and then cross the bridge over the Río Miño. On the other side of the bridge climb the steps that were once part of the original mediaeval bridge that crossed the river.
 
The steps take you up through an arch to the Iglesia de Santa María de la Nieves, which was moved here in 1962 to make way for the dam.
 
Take a left if you want to continue on the camino or take a right , past a park and fountain up into the old town of Portomarín.
 

Portomarín

In the 1960s the Río Miño was dammed to create the Belesar reservoir.
 

The old village of Portomarín is now under water.
 
The most historic monuments where moved brick by brick up into the new town.
 
The 12th century Romanesque Iglesia de San Nicolas looks more like a castle than a church and is the work of a student of Mateo, who was the creator of the Pórtico de la Gloria in Santiago Cathedral.
 
It is sometimes called the Iglesia de San Juan or San Xoán because of it’s close connections with the Order of the Knights of Saint John.
 
If you take a look at the external brickwork you can still see numbers on each brick from the time it was moved.