A few days ago, I left Cea and intended to follow the "alternative route" to the Monastery at Oseira, fully understanding that this is not the official route. But it is well marked. About three kms later, we came to a junction with a lot of yellow arrows pointing us to the left. It seemed like the wrong way to go, but there were lots of arrows and I have no directional intuition. So we took the left hand turn. Imagine our surprise when about 15 minutes later, we were back on the N-525 in Cotelas, and only two kms north of Cea.
I am pretty sure that what happened is the following -- there is a new private albergue in Cotelas. on the N-525- The owner there must be unhappy that some peregrinos opt to go off route to take the way to Oseira, and so he does his best to bring them back to Cotelas. Once in Cotelas, the way to Oseira is 7 or 8 km of highway walking, not at all nice.
So the bottom line is, if you are planning to go to Oseira from Cea, once you are on the route, ignore those very insistent signs directing you to take a left hand turn a couple of kms after Cea, or you will wind up back on the "official" camino from Cea to CAStro Dozón.
Hope this makes sense, buen camino, Laurie
I am pretty sure that what happened is the following -- there is a new private albergue in Cotelas. on the N-525- The owner there must be unhappy that some peregrinos opt to go off route to take the way to Oseira, and so he does his best to bring them back to Cotelas. Once in Cotelas, the way to Oseira is 7 or 8 km of highway walking, not at all nice.
So the bottom line is, if you are planning to go to Oseira from Cea, once you are on the route, ignore those very insistent signs directing you to take a left hand turn a couple of kms after Cea, or you will wind up back on the "official" camino from Cea to CAStro Dozón.
Hope this makes sense, buen camino, Laurie