Castro Laboreiro sits high, and you feel it as you arrive. The road into the village, and the road out again, runs over uneven old cobblestones, with some steep slopes. Watch where you put your feet.
Looking back, it was a long day, around 8 hours. At Ameijoeira you walk from Spain into Portugal, and your watch goes back an hour. The route keeps climbing, with one stretch of over 300 metres uphill in less than 4 kilometres. It’s hard work, but the higher you go, the quieter it gets. The last stretch stays with you: bare hills, grey boulders and clouds drifting low over the ridge.