Ambasmestas

Ambasmestas sits in the province of Leon in the Valcarce valley at the confluence of the rivers Balboa and Valcarce. The Camino runs through the village along the riverside road. The setting is wooded, steep-sided, and noticeably wetter and greener than the meseta further east, with the climate beginning to shift toward the Atlantic patterns of Galicia.

The village name derives from the medieval Spanish ambas mestas, meaning two waters or two confluences, a direct reference to where the two rivers meet just below the village. The parish church and a small handful of houses make up the historic core. The village has been a Camino waypoint since the Middle Ages.

Services in Ambasmestas are limited but functional. There are albergues and bar-restaurants. There is no shop, no pharmacy, and no ATM.