Os Baños
Caminho da Geira e dos Arrieiros
Os Baños takes its name from the hot springs that have drawn visitors since Roman times. The town has public hot spring rock pools in the Río Caldo that runs through it — a memorable soak after the mountain crossing. There's a restaurant and a bar but no shop. PR As Termas is a camino-friendly budget hotel on the main road between the bar and the restaurant.
Shortly before the village, the camino passes the Mansio Romana de Aquis Originis — the remains of a Roman bathing complex that proves this has been a rest stop for travelers for two thousand years.
The Mansio Romana de Aquis Originis was a Roman inn and bathing establishment on the Via XVIII, positioned to take advantage of the natural hot springs. The name "Aquis Originis" — waters of origin — speaks to the importance Romans placed on thermal springs. The modern village continues this tradition with its public hot spring pools.
Leaving Os Baños, the quickest way is to continue on the road past the restaurant, rejoining the tracks at Vilameá about one kilometer later. The more atmospheric way is to return to the tracks where you left them and walk through the forest on stretches of Roman road past a moss-covered cruzeiro.
Shortly after Vilameá, take the left dirt road at the fork to the mill and bridge. Cross the bridge and soon afterward take the left fork away from the river — not the right one that follows the river's course. The small arrow pointing left is easy to miss, and an X for another hiking route complicates matters.