Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Confusion leaving Lalin, help needed

peregrina2000

Moderator
Staff member
If you have walked the Invierno, and if you have a good memory for little details, I could really use some help on the section of the guide that deals with Lalin to the albergue in A Laxe.

Here's what the guide says:
The Camino leaves Lalín on the Pontiñas River walk. The path (with both a paved and unpaved option) is accessible at various points throughout the town. If you are unsure, just ask; everyone knows where it is. The name in Spanish is Paseo Fluvial.

To get to the river walk from the town church: Walk down with the church behind you, on the street Rúa Colon. You will come to a plaza with a monolithic monument to Joaquín Loriga, an early 20th century aviator. Go past that square, continue behind the plaza, down hill, till you come to a big playground at the edge of the town. You will be able to join the river walk there, take it to your left.

Near the end you will see a sign on the right that indicates it is the exit to the N-525. Take that exit, go up, then left and past Hostal Camino Santiago. Bar open 24/7 according to their sign.

Continue on the edge of the N- 525, and then get off at the exit for the polígono industrial (industrial park). (You may also find that soon after passing the Hostal Camino Santiago, there is an arrow taking you up through a hamlet and then along the back of the long street that makes up the “parque industrial.” In any event, you will not have a problem getting from that long street to the spot where you cross under the autopista or divided superhighway).

The industrial park is several long blocks, and you will walk on straight for a while. At the second roundabout, where most cars are going left to get onto the autopista, arrows go right and you will be on a crushed rock trail that is on the right side of the autopista. The Camino arrows point you alongside the highway for a short way, then left and under the highway through a tunnel, and then you are in Laxe. Arrows deposit you at the albergue door in

A Laxe 5.9 km


Comments from 2016 pilgrims leave me with the distinct impression that some clarification is needed, but I can't quite figure out how to do it since I haven't been there in almost two years. But I do know that I was never on any scary busy road as sabbott reported, always on the parallel road, which has a lot of industrial warehouses and a fancy four star spa hotel. Here are the comments I've gotten.

@sabbott :Exiting it was tricky. I never found a sewage plant, and the pond is now more of an overgrown wetland. If you go around the end of the pond, you will exit left, not right, onto the axis road that leads you up to the N525 highway.
There things got a bit hairy, as there are no arrows for a long way. I did walk past the Santiago hostal, then along the very busy and scary highway. I crossed it running (must have been a sight what with the poles and backpack) and went up the hill on the road to the right, to the industrial "park".
Directions are a little unclear here for the literal minded, Laurie. You might want to say to walk most of the way around the 2nd roundabout to find the path along the highway. I looked to exit the roundabout on the right side and ended up in a car parts warehouse. A nice man there took pity on me and clarified things.

@Bad Pilgrim :I just rapidly read through your post: exactly the same problems for me leaving Lalín.
Did you turn right to leave the park with the bridges and runners? It was the only arrow I saw. I went through a little wood and then I ended up amongst som houses that were close to the road N525. By accident I stumbled upon a waymarking that took me to the industrial park, where I got lost in exactly the same way as you did. I had to go back to the Hostal Santiago and ask for directions and then I was all right. Oh, Laurie, if you read this, is this clarified in "your" Invierno guide? That place needs special attention...! The roundabout in Sabbott's post above does have a bleak arrow, but it is barely visible. If it was only me I wouldn't mention it but it appears to be confusing to other pilgrims as well.

@sabbott: Yes, Badpilgrim, I also saw those yellow arrows that want to take you off the river walk path and into the woods, but figured I'd better follow Laurie's instructions, and found the asphalt road that takes you up and out of the park. There was an arrow there. No arrows I think from then on, that I could find anyway. I agree, given how dangerous that big road is, it would be good to have clear arrows that lead you across and up to the industrial park, to the 2nd roundabout, then down the hill to the path next to the road that takes you to A Laxe.

HELP HELP HELP!!!!!
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Well, with the help of google maps, I think I may have fgured this out. Here is the best way to describe the route as far as I can tell. Let me know if it does or doesn't make sense to you. With streetview on google maps, you can see it clearly.

Near the end of the river walk, you will see a sign on the right that indicates it is the exit to the N-525. Take that exit, go up, then left and past Hostal Camino Santiago. Bar open 24/7 according to their sign.

Continue on the edge of the N- 525. When you come to the Citroen/Ford building on your right, the N-525 veers slightly left. This is where you leave the N-525. Cross carefully and take the ASCENDING road on the right. It will take you to a four star hotel, the Torre do Deza, looking rather out of place in this industrial area. There is a roundabout in front of the hotel. With the hotel at your back, take the middle of the three possible roads. You will then be on a road going parallel to the N-525, past a seemingly endless stream of warehouses, businesses, showrooms, etc.

The industrial park is several long blocks, and you will walk on straight for a while. At the second roundabout, where most cars are going left to get onto the autopista, and where there are at least four roads converging (google maps shows that this is in front of a business named Construcciones Taboada y Ramos), arrows go to the right. You will soon be on a crushed rock trail that is on the right side of the autopista. The Camino arrows point you alongside the highway for a short way, then left and under the highway through a tunnel, and then you are in Laxe. Arrows deposit you at the albergue door in A Laxe.
 
Near the end of the river walk, you will see a sign on the right that indicates it is the exit to the N-525. Take that exit, go up, then left and past Hostal Camino Santiago. Bar open 24/7 according to their sign.

Ahm, how would one (first timer/ foreigner) know that s/he is approaching the end of Parque Fluvial???
If you take left (gravel) path through PF at some point you have to cross the bridge over the little river and connect with tarmac path (the right-handed one). Then you go left and soon the arrows point to the right (perpedincularly) and after some 50mts the only way to go is to the right just for a few meters and then again to the left and you'll come perpedincularly (oh, I love that word, I just discovered it today ;)) to N-525. Turn left and across the road is Asador I think. Soon after it (really a few meters) the arrows take you uphill and behind the Poligono Industrial (to your left) and eventually descend to parallel street to N-525 though PI. Proceed to the roundabout and veer right to the underpass to the left under Autovia and you'll in A Laxe. Albergue is to your right.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Ahm, how would one (first timer/ foreigner) know that s/he is approaching the end of Parque Fluvial???
If you take left (gravel) path through PF at some point you have to cross the bridge over the little river and connect with tarmac path (the right-handed one). Then you go left and soon the arrows point to the right (perpedincularly) and after some 50mts the only way to go is to the right just for a few meters and then again to the left and you'll come perpedincularly (oh, I love that word, I just discovered it today ;)) to N-525. Turn left and across the road is Asador I think. Soon after it (really a few meters) the arrows take you uphill and behind the Poligono Industrial (to your left) and eventually descend to parallel street to N-525 though PI. Proceed to the roundabout and veer right to the underpass to the left under Autovia and you'll in A Laxe. Albergue is to your right.
As my admittedly imperfect memory tells me, you can see the end of the walk. This map bears that out, you can see where it comes up right against the N-525. I think that the problem may be that the arrow now comes before the sign telling you to exit here for N-525. But I'm not sure about that, so all I'm going to say is to go up at the place where the sign points for the N-525 and you'll. I think our directions coincide after that, I was pretty careful looking at google street view and saw exactly how to get to the tunnel under the autovia, which leads you straight to the A Laxe albergue. Thanks, K1!


http://www.turismo.gal/ficha-recurso?cod_rec=31808&ctre=19
 
Well, what this shows me is that there are in fact two alternative ways. My memory is that I went the same way your tracks went the last time. It takes you through a little residential section and essentially is a loop that puts you on the national road for a longer time than following the exit to the N-525. I will look at this more carefully once I'm in front of a computer.

Do you remember that you were following arrows when you left the river walk and ascended? I can construct directions for the route you (and I probably) took based on your tracks, but I think I will also leave in the one that takes you from the river right to the Hostal Santiago. (That is the way the arrows went the first time I walked the Invierno and it seems much more direct to me).
And maybe a 2017 pilgrim can let us know what's going on now.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Well, what this shows me is that there are in fact two alternative ways. My memory is that I went the same way your tracks went the last time. It takes you through a little residential section and essentially is a loop that puts you on the national road for a longer time than following the exit to the N-525. I will look at this more carefully once I'm in front of a computer.

Do you remember that you were following arrows when you left the river walk and ascended? I can construct directions for the route you (and I probably) took based on your tracks, but I think I will also leave in the one that takes you from the river right to the Hostal Santiago. (That is the way the arrows went the first time I walked the Invierno and it seems much more direct to me).
And maybe a 2017 pilgrim can let us know what's going on now.
I'm not 100% sure I followed the arrows. Maybe I just misread the guide where to cross the river and turn right (and with a bit of luck ended up on the N-525). I watched Google Street View just now but couldn't see any arrows. But OTOH photos were taken in 2012. I really remember that church but can't remember the arrows.
It's a mistery to me why would the Camino even at this point turn right towards that church and shortly after that left to the N-525 if you could turn left once off the earth track and go diagonal to the N-525 and end up directly accross the restaurant (https://www.google.si/maps/place/36...6611505!4d-8.1110256!6m1!1e1?hl=sl&authuser=0 - local road on the left and restaurant on the right).

The best would be to just go there and check it out. Or to find a forum member walking Sanabres and persuade her/him that it's better to stay overnight in Lalin than in A Laxe :D
 
I'm not 100% sure I followed the arrows. Maybe I just misread the guide where to cross the river and turn right (and with a bit of luck ended up on the N-525). I watched Google Street View just now but couldn't see any arrows. But OTOH photos were taken in 2012. I really remember that church but can't remember the arrows.
It's a mistery to me why would the Camino even at this point turn right towards that church and shortly after that left to the N-525 if you could turn left once off the earth track and go diagonal to the N-525 and end up directly accross the restaurant (https://www.google.si/maps/place/36500+Lalín,+Pontevedra,+Španija/@42.6698231,-8.1378898,3a,60y,270h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKasGkXymX1kR063O1u8DjQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0xd2fc74a8eb078c9:0x851830bcaa4b3998!8m2!3d42.6611505!4d-8.1110256!6m1!1e1?hl=sl&authuser=0 - local road on the left and restaurant on the right).

The best would be to just go there and check it out. Or to find a forum member walking Sanabres and persuade her/him that it's better to stay overnight in Lalin than in A Laxe :D

Kinky, the advantage of the way you went (and you must have been following arrows, because you otherwise would have never taken that loop) is that you avoid walking on the N/525. You also avoided the Hostal Camiño de Santiago, the 24/7 place on the N-525. It is right at the bottom of the loop of N-525 that your tracks essentially cut across. I've enlarged the map of your tracks. The Hostal Camiño de Santiago is right at the place where the N-525 reaches its lowest dip. "My" route went straight up to the N-525 at the point that your blue route goes to the right and then crosses the N-525.

So, I am going to figure out how to get these two options into words and see what our next Invierno pilgrim has to say about it. Fingers crossed that @chinasky will be able to help us out when he goes by in a few weeks!
Screenshot 2017-01-17 10.10.19.png
 
When you come off that lovely river walk, as KinkyOne says, you go steeply uphill and end up on the N525. You can cross this and walk along the industrial estate until you get to the final roundabout, where you go down and then under the motorway through the tunnel. This takes you to the albergue. No complications at all, although it's a real mix of nice walking and not-so-nice walking.
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Can anyone tell me how I can print out the above map and label the blue line as Kinky's line, and then write in the later point at which the "old camino arrows" used to take you up to the N-525? Or do you think it's best to have the only directions in the guide as being the blue line? It may be a bit more circuituous, but it does avoid the N-525, which @sabbott did have some issues with.
 
When you come off that lovely river walk, as KinkyOne says, you go steeply uphill and end up on the N525. You can cross this and walk along the industrial estate until you get to the final roundabout, where you go down and then under the motorway through the tunnel. This takes you to the albergue. No complications at all, although it's a real mix of nice walking and not-so-nice walking.

But Charrito, I am now pretty certain that the guide describes a different route than Kinky's tracks. The first time I walked the Invierno, I know that the arrow took me up to the N-525 at the point that leads to the front of the Hostal Camiño de Santiago, it's a sign that says "salida para N-525 or something like that." Kinky's tracks are consistent with what I remember happening the second time, I was sent up on "back roads" and went down with the polígono industrial on my left rather than on my right as it was the first time. So I think the instructions either have to clarify the two options or just put in one of the options. Maybe for this edition I'll use both options and ask for help on clarification from this year's pilgrims.

Opinions on that?
 
I just remember going pretty steeply uphill from the end of the river walk. I might have missed a Camino sign, but I knew that I had to follow the N-525, so I crossed over and walked along the front of the polígono industrial. There may well be another way round the back.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Yes, Laurie, I don't think I would do that loop if it weren't for the arrows.
And soon after that Restaurant on N-525, after the white house (Street View link), arrows pointed right uphill. For this I'm 100% sure. When I think about that I have to agree with you that they want to minimize walking on N-525 hence the loop and walking on the service road at the back of poligono industrial. I also remember that from that backroad I descended to poligono at a huge hotel, turn right and then exactly as Charrito explained. That was really easy but I can only remember one or two very faded arrows though the poligono.
Sorry, I can't help you with maps and graphics. I'm a real noob here :D
 
Based on Charrito and K1's comments, this is what I propose. Comments welcome!

[Note to peregrinos: In 2016, several pilgrims had trouble after leaving the river walk. After consultation with KinkyOne’s 2015 tracks, https://www.endomondo.com/users/16690154/workouts/380806628 , the 2016 version of the guide, and google street view, I have decided to put in what I think are two perfectly fine options for getting from the River Walk to the A Laxe albergue. I believe that Option 1 is now the official camino route. Updates from 2017 pilgrims would be very much appreciated.]

OPTION 1 – For those of you who enjoy GPS tracks, take a look at KinkyOne’s tracks for this section. I BELIEVE, but am not sure, that his route follows the arrows, which have changed at least once in the last few years. So, assuming there is an arrow to take you off the river walk, Option 1 follows it. You do NOT go straight up to the N-525, but rather turn right and parallel the N-525 for a short distance. Cross the N-525 and turn left. You will be on a “back road,” not the N-525, and you will now have the national highway on your left. This secondary road will take you (with the polígono industrial on your left) to the roundabut with the Torre do Deza Hotel, which is where you will join up with Option 2. This option has the advantage of not taking you onto the shoulder of the busy N-525.

OPTION 2 – Stay on the river walk beyond the arrow. Near the end of the river walk, you will see a sign on the right that indicates it is the exit to the N-525. Take that exit, go up, then left and past Hostal Camiño Santiago. Bar open 24/7 according to their sign. Continue on the edge of the N- 525. When you come to the Citroen/Ford building on your right, the N-525 veers slightly left. This is where you leave the N-525, Take the ASCENDING road on the right, and it will take you to a four star hotel, the Torre do Deza, looking rather out of place in this industrial area. There is a roundabout in front of the hotel.


BOTH ROUTES PICK UP HERE, AT THE HOTEL TORRE DO DEZA. With the hotel at your back, take the middle of the three possible roads. You will then be on a road going parallel to the N-525, past a seemingly endless stream of warehouses, businesses, showrooms, etc.

The industrial park is several more long blocks, and you will walk on straight for a while. At the second roundabout, where most cars are going left to get onto the autopista, and where there are at least four roads converging (google maps shows that this is in front of a business named Construcciones Taboada y Ramos), arrows go to the right. You will soon be on a crushed rock trail that is on the right side of the autopista. The Camino arrows point you alongside the highway for a short way, then left and under the highway through a tunnel, and then you are in Laxe. Arrows deposit you at the albergue door in

A Laxe 5.9 km
 
Based on Charrito and K1's comments, this is what I propose. Comments welcome!

[Note to peregrinos: In 2016, several pilgrims had trouble after leaving the river walk. After consultation with KinkyOne’s 2015 tracks, https://www.endomondo.com/users/16690154/workouts/380806628 , the 2016 version of the guide, and google street view, I have decided to put in what I think are two perfectly fine options for getting from the River Walk to the A Laxe albergue. I believe that Option 1 is now the official camino route. Updates from 2017 pilgrims would be very much appreciated.]

OPTION 1 – For those of you who enjoy GPS tracks, take a look at KinkyOne’s tracks for this section. I BELIEVE, but am not sure, that his route follows the arrows, which have changed at least once in the last few years. So, assuming there is an arrow to take you off the river walk, Option 1 follows it. You do NOT go straight up to the N-525, but rather turn right and parallel the N-525 for a short distance. Cross the N-525 and turn left. You will be on a “back road,” not the N-525, and you will now have the national highway on your left. This secondary road will take you (with the polígono industrial on your left) to the roundabut with the Torre do Deza Hotel, which is where you will join up with Option 2. This option has the advantage of not taking you onto the shoulder of the busy N-525.

OPTION 2 – Stay on the river walk beyond the arrow. Near the end of the river walk, you will see a sign on the right that indicates it is the exit to the N-525. Take that exit, go up, then left and past Hostal Camiño Santiago. Bar open 24/7 according to their sign. Continue on the edge of the N- 525. When you come to the Citroen/Ford building on your right, the N-525 veers slightly left. This is where you leave the N-525, Take the ASCENDING road on the right, and it will take you to a four star hotel, the Torre do Deza, looking rather out of place in this industrial area. There is a roundabout in front of the hotel.


BOTH ROUTES PICK UP HERE, AT THE HOTEL TORRE DO DEZA. With the hotel at your back, take the middle of the three possible roads. You will then be on a road going parallel to the N-525, past a seemingly endless stream of warehouses, businesses, showrooms, etc.

The industrial park is several more long blocks, and you will walk on straight for a while. At the second roundabout, where most cars are going left to get onto the autopista, and where there are at least four roads converging (google maps shows that this is in front of a business named Construcciones Taboada y Ramos), arrows go to the right. You will soon be on a crushed rock trail that is on the right side of the autopista. The Camino arrows point you alongside the highway for a short way, then left and under the highway through a tunnel, and then you are in Laxe. Arrows deposit you at the albergue door in

A Laxe 5.9 km
Perfect!

Useful photos here:
http://www.independentrip.com/camino-de-santiago/camino-de-invierno/etapa-13-rodeiro-a-laxe
 
Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
Hi, here my experience leaving Lalin last 26 of january. I've stayed in a private albergue near the ajuntamento/mall, just in the outside of the town and i went out the city walking the park/river Path. It was raining, very dark and i've to thank the gps tracks that i downloaded and taken with me because it has been quite hard. I haven't seen a single arrow until the end of the trail along the river, when you have to turn right and leave it. It was fine to avoid traffic and cars, mostly because, after the park, you have to walk a lot of km on tamrac and closed to really busy roads. i'm here if you need more details
 
I will try to figure out where you went by comparing your tracks to Kinky's. Can you post the tracks from the point at which you crossed the N-515 till you got to the albergue in A Laxe? Do you remember going in front of a fancy 4 star hotel in that industrial park?

Thanks so much, chinasky -- and one last question -- did you love the Invierno as much as we do?
 
I have compared Kinky and chinasky´s tracks and it looks like they took the same turn-off from the river walk. Good news for pilgrims, because it means that there must be good signage now.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I will try to figure out where you went by comparing your tracks to Kinky's. Can you post the tracks from the point at which you crossed the N-515 till you got to the albergue in A Laxe? Do you remember going in front of a fancy 4 star hotel in that industrial park?

Here's the track between the end of the walk in the park and the albergue in A Laxe. I remember very clearly that i've passed near a fancy hotel in the industrial park, maybe in its backyard.

Thanks so much, chinasky -- and one last question -- did you love the Invierno as much as we do?
I've loved every single step of the camino de Invierno. I've loved the people i met along the way and, over all, i've really appreciated the incontaminate state of this camino, pure as a camino as to be...
 

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Similar threads

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top