Diomondi to Chantada, and on to Rodeiro, July 18 and 19

Because we hadn't finished the long stage to Chantada the day before, we had only a 10 km walk this day from the lovely B&B in Diomondi.  We enjoyed a very nice and leisurely breakfast, Ian gave us a lift back to the camino, and off we went.  The first part of the day was a descent toward the Rio Mino through forests and vineyards.

Some of the time we were following the stones of an old Roman road.

At the bottom we passed through the small village of Belesar, and then climbed steeply up the other side.

Growing grapes for wine along these hillsides dates to Roman times, as do some of the terraces still in use.  In some places the hillsides are so steep that each terrace has room for only one row of grapes.

Near the top our path took us by an old mill site and across this stream.

Because we arrived early in the day, we had plenty of time to explore around Chantada.  Our hotel room included breakfast, but they don't open until 9, so they packed a "picnic" breakfast for us the night before.  As we headed out of town, we passed this small sculpture tucked into a roadside shrine.

After only a few km on roads we were off onto side lanes and paths, through forests and (mostly) farmland.

We climbed steadily until we reached these hills, where our path became much steeper as we climbed toward the top of the ridge.

As we neared the top, we had great views back over the valley through which we'd been walking.

Near the top, at Alto de Faro, there's a nice spring and picnic area where we stopped for a break.

From there our path followed along the ridge line for several km beneath this long row of windmills.

Eventually we descended the other side of the ridge and meandered our way through farmland and a few small villages to the small town of Rodeiro.  Part way along this stretch, the skies opened up with heavy rain.  A few km from our destination the path was a river of rainwater, so we followed the pavement the rest of the way.

It was after 3:30 by the time we arrived in Rodeiro.  We found one of the two lodging places in town, which had a bar downstairs.  The owner prepared a very nice meal for us and then showed us a room.