173 – Camino Season 2 Episode 3 – Kacenka on the road

There is really not much to say about this last stretch of this year’s stage of Ruta de la Plata. At this point, the region is so neglected and so abandoned that many villages don’t even have a bar. Tragic. That doesn’t mean that the route is boring. Not at all. You just need to take extra care to stay fed. And hydrated, obviously.

We are very close to the Portuguese border; the landscape becomes more dramatic as we approach the mountain range of Sierra de la Culebra. The path will lead you through thick forests, around reservoirs, through tiny villages with stone houses and ancient churches (that very often look like the only building not completely left to rot). It’s all very desolate and outstandingly beautiful.

Rionegro del Puente – Mombuey – Entrepeñas – Asturianos

Palacios de Sanabria – Otero de Sanabria – Triufé

Last stretch of the road

Puebla de Sanabria is situated on the cliff above the confluence of rivers Tera and Castro and was rightly named one of the most beautiful towns in Spain. It is very charming, there are medieval walls, a XV century castle, various churches, stone-paved narrow streets lot ancient palaces, breathtaking views over the two valleys and the mountains. Puebla de Sanabria is only tiny, less than 1.500 inhabitants, nonetheless there is a recently built fast train station, probably to facilitate a future connection with Portugal, once the Portuguese stop being dicks about connecting the railway networks. There is a lot to see in the area too: Lake Sanabria (the largest natural lake in Spain), Iberian wolf sanctuary, countless hiking trails in the mountains, but all these things shall remain outstanding until the next visit. Even though AVE now gets you to Sanabria in two hours from Madrid, it is impossible to rent a car around here, so if you want to explore, you need to drive from elsewhere (probably Zamora).