A ponte de Áspera

Áspera Bridge, image from Wikimedia Commons

When leaving Sarria to continue to Portomarín, pilgrims have to cross A ponte da Áspera, a medieval bridge. This bridge crosses the Celeiro River to continue the French Way in stage 28 of this route.

Part of the medieval legacy of Sarria

A ponte da Áspera collects two periods between its stones. It conserves three semicircular arches of Romanesque invoice, built in granite. The rest of the bridge is later, since it was very deteriorated, and dates from the 18th century, in the middle of the Modern Age. This late addition is built in slate.

This bridge that leads to Barbadelo, the next stop on this stage of the Camino de Santiago, is one of the seven emblematic points of the Camino chosen for a rehabilitation project. The vegetation is cleared periodically so as not to leave the image of an abandoned Sarria in the imagination of the pilgrims. A ponte da Áspera hides a lot of history to let it go unnoticed among the brambles and ferns.

The beginning of the stage

The stage between Sarria and Portomarín is the first for many pilgrims, who begin their journey to Compostela there. For those pilgrims who already have many kilometers behind them, after Ponte de Áspera there is a rest area and we leave the asphalt to go into the mountain, which can be muddy depending on the time of year.