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Alternative between O Barco and the Dam through Arnado

C

Charrito

Veteran Member
I imagine, Bad PIlgrim, that you'll be walking along the River Sil for the next couple of days. I don't know whether you've tried another of my alternatives: from O Barco to A Rúa you can cross the pedestrian bridge in town (they refer to it as the 'Pasarela del Malecón') and then turn right and walk along the south side of the river. You pass through the small hamlet of Arnado, with its lovely, but abandoned castle/pazo, and then down on the opposite side of Villamartín, before eventually arriving at the Presa de Valencia do Sil. Cross here and you're back on the camino.

Buen Camino!
 
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I am in O Barco now! In a cafetería - where else... I will be at the bridge in 10 minutes. But something happened to my foot this morning so I don't know if I dare go exploring today. Otherwise I certainly would go over the bridge. I will try to stand up from the chair in a couple of minutes and then check what my foot feels like... To be continued.
 
It's not too difficult, just a short climb after Arnado. Well worth it for the views down over the river, and it's a bit more interesting than the usual route through Villamartín.

I hope your foot is ok. Where are you staying tonight? A Rúa?
 
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The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Oh! I had looked at the map ahead of time and thought it looks a tad shorter. But I chickened out.
BP if you're still considering, here's a sreenshot of a route as far as where you'd turn back across the river; it looks easy (blue line), and slightly less pavement tga on the other side:

The only thing I wonder about is if (and where) this syncs with the 'new entry to A Rua that avoids that awful stretch of highway with the drop-off and blind curve.

@Charrito ?
 
After crossing the dam you turn left and go uphill a bit. At the top, BEFORE that nasty stretch along the road, there's an alternative route to take you into A Rúa.
 
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Charrito said:
After crossing the damn you turn left and go uphill a bit. At the top, BEFORE that nasty stretch along the road, there's an alternative route to take you into A Rúa.
Click to expand...
It's well signposted, with a map of the two alternatives. You need to take the underpass under the N-120.
 
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I walked this route this morning. As far as i could see there were no arrows or mojóns. Then again i left in the dark!!! I was able to use a trail on mapy.cz which was very helpful. I still managed to go wrong at this point pictured as i didn't have the zoom on the map correctly, i didn't spot the vineyard track (between the 2 roads shown) and instead took the road around the industrial estate. Didn't realise until the map showed continuing straight when there was no option on the road! So nothing for it but to double back.



It was a very nice route though as its my first time i don't know the route through Villamartin. It was nice to walk though Arnado and through Penouta and then finally I crossed the river at the dam and then saw my first mojón of the day.
 
So glad to have more forum feedback on this alternative. I’ve clicked on the thumbnail to enlarge it, and I’m having trouble seeing any vineyard track — are you saying that at this point you just go straight ahead and there is a trail somewhere in that clump of three bushes?

I know you’re walking now, @SioCamino, but when you are back home and with time, any more info you could give on that route (GPS tracks would be great!) would be much appreciated.

As someone who always has a return to the Invierno in the back of her mind, I did a little more poking.

There seems to be a popular local route that goes in a circle from Barco to Correixas and back. One part of that circle passes some pretty waterfalls (Cascada De Fervenza A Pincheira). From O Barco to Correxais via the waterfall is about 8.5 km.

O BARCO - ARNADO - CORREXAIS - CASCADA de FERVENZA 'A PINCHEIRA' - O BARCO 01/01/16

O BARCO - ARNADO - CORREXAIS - CASCADA de FERVENZA 'A PINCHEIRA' - O BARCO 01/01/16 Hiking trail in O Barco de Valdeorras, Galicia (España). Download its GPS track and follow the itinerary on a map. Había que comenzar el año nuevo bien y nada mejor para hacerlo que, el mismísimo día 01/01/2016...
www.wikiloc.com

I can’t find any tracks from Correxias to the dam at Valencia do Sil, but google maps shows a 4.5 km walk.

The official camino from Barco to the dam is about 10 by my rough calculations, but since it is such a short dayto A Rúa, adding another 3 kms with the added treat of a waterfall and an abandoned pazo would seem like a great solution!

@Charrito and others who may have walked this, would love your reaction to my pasted together suggestion.
 
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Whether you walk on the north of the river or the south it's a pretty short stage from O Barco to A Rúa, so this detour that you suggest, Laurie, looks marvellous. Thanks for the info: I'll be on this some time this autumn, but first of all I'm off on the Geira from Braga, once at the beginning of September with my wife, and then at the end of the month with two good friends from Salamanca!
 

I’m pretty sure i’ll be back on the Invierno next year and I’m wondering if anyone on the forum ever did this little detour?

The pazo and the waterfalls look like a very nice detour that won’t add much to the kms.

@SioCamino, I am pretty sure from your posts that you went to the Pazo but not to the waterfalls, is that right?
 
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