Evening Activities in Arzua

[Colin B]

Hello,

Walked the Camino Primitivo solo a few years ago and possibly putting together a student trip for this summer. One thing I was trying to figure out was an evening activity in Arzua - allowing students ample free time at night never ends well. When I passed through it was very quick, I only stayed for lunch and did not see much of the town.

Is there anything I could lead the students too for a night walking tour - historical sights, fountains, old buildings? Maybe a museum that stays open late or even a movie theater?

Thank you!!!

 

[Dave]

Hi Colin,

Congrats on the potential student trip! I've been leading high schoolers on the Camino and other routes over the last ten+ years. It's a great joy and an awesome experience for the students. I hear where you're coming from on the evening concerns, and it's something I have in mind when leading other trips. It has never really been an issue on pilgrimage, though. Walk them hard enough during the day and they're tired at night!

I don't have any good suggestions for evening activities in Arzúa. It's a pleasant spot, but unless you're there during one of its festivals, I don't know that there will be anything notable to do. If you're concerned about this, though, one option you might consider is staying after Arzúa. When my group last walked the Camino Francés, we stayed in the Albergue Camiño das Ocas, located about an hour after Arzúa, in pretty much the middle of nowhere. We had a nice leisurely afternoon in town, eating lunch and hitting the supermarket, and then carried food to cook dinner together in the albergue that night. Worked out well!

Dave

 

[Jan_D]

How's your Spanish? You might find some suggestions here:
http://concellodearzua.com - if you navigate the site you can find links to festivals, events, museums, etc... Otherwise, if you're feeling especially motivated, you could write to them and ask if there's anything happening the night of your arrival!

 

[scruffy1]

• You did good, Arzua is not one of my favorite places along the Camino. Too...well, one should not disparge the Camino, order in a case of beer and too many pizzas and have a good time together.

 

[peregrina2000]

I think Dave's suggestion is a great one. Arzua is big enough to have a lot of bars where students (at least of the underage American variety) can get in a lot of trouble, but not big enough to have much to see or do. If you're set on staying in Arzua, maybe you could organize some kind of community service activity in conjunction with the mayor's office, because the students may otherwise have a lot of empty hours and we all know the saying about idle hands. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Hello,

Walked the Camino Primitivo solo a few years ago and possibly putting together a student trip for this summer. One thing I was trying to figure out was an evening activity in Arzua - allowing students ample free time at night never ends well. When I passed through it was very quick, I only stayed for lunch and did not see much of the town.

Is there anything I could lead the students too for a night walking tour - historical sights, fountains, old buildings? Maybe a museum that stays open late or even a movie theater?

Thank you!!!

there really is nothing to do in arzúa, and less in the evening. spanish kids hang out, and drink, and stare into their mobiles, or wander around shopping malls (none in arzúa). your closest cinemas are also in santiago.

likewsie, there really is no historical quarter either. arzúa did a great job of tearing down anything remotely historic in the last 30 years. as for the famed cheese factories, they are not that engaging (and closed in the evening). in any case, if you are walking in the summer months (july and august) there will be many other spanish (and foreign) pilgrims their age...

good luck and buen camino

 

[mspath]

You might consider staying in Ribadixo da Baxio which is just 2.8 k east of Arzua. It is a very picturesque site on the banks of a river. See this Gronze list for possible albergues. http://www.gronze.com/galicia/coruna/ribadixo-da-baixo

Good luck and Buen camino!