You arrive in O Castro and can still feel the day in your calves. No wonder: there’s more than 500 metres of climbing in it, spread over almost 6 hours of walking. It’s a route that keeps going up and down, through the green Galician hill country.
What makes this stage special is the Cistercian monastery of Oseira. The route passes right by it, and that makes the day about more than just kilometres. Want to keep it shorter? There’s a direct road via Piñor, which skips the monastery. That’s a fair choice if your legs are complaining. But if you can manage it, walk past Oseira. You won’t forget a place like that in a hurry.