Sunday 29 Sept Portomarin to Palas de Rei 25 km
The six days of cold rainy weather predicted just a few days back didn't really materialize. Other than the sustained heavy rainfall walking into Sarria a few days before, we saw only short periods of rain and mist, and the overall cooler temperatures was a welcome relief from the previous four weeks of 80 and 90 degree temperatures.
So a little after 7 am we set out on our fourth to last day for the next stop in Palas de Rai, an old military town with a population of about 3,300 people. The route would be a varied one, starting through woodlands uphill on a steady 250 m, though not particularly steep, incline over about 8 km into a tiny little village called Gonzar. There were less than a dozen buildings in this small hamlet, but from their excellent condition , and the renovation ongoing on one of the two albergues, it appeared to be a well to do one. As we strolled in looking for our first coffee of the day there was Cheryl M sitting with a cafe con leche, fried eggs and ham. BONUS, and we quickly ordered a few plates.
Cheryl who hails from Washington DC and was on her second Camino figuring out "whats next", has been walking on and off with Nick and Judy since early on, has become part of the family, and had taken over duties from me reserving the next nights accommodations. She walks her own pace, which is considerably quicker than ours, but we usually manage to connect at the end of the day.
The walk continued uphill for about another eight km to the peak at Sierra Ligonde before starting the decline. On the way we passed through a series of small villages and hamlets (well, not really sure what defines one versus the other but they are all small and all have a church). We met a number of people new to us, including Martin from Ireland who was on his second Camino, walking the last 100 k after dropping his son off for school in Madrid. Martin was a tall stocky friendly guy who worked as a rep for Guinness. It was interesting getting his insights into the Camino, and to why he came back just over a year later. Further down the line I had a nice conversation with brothers from Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Their situation was typical. One of the brothers had made a decision to come on his own, and his brother decided to tag along; not unlike Mary Lou and I , Judy and Nick, Gaye and Rick and so on. Often the person who was not certain they would walk, gets as much or more than the one who originally made the decision.
On the road leading to Ligonde we spotted a fellow pilgrim in full gear carrying two blue bags picking up plastic and trash on the side of the road, something I had been thinking about for weeks, but had never done. Trash is not a big problem along the route, but here does seem to be a few areas where people don't take due care, and if every pilgrim only once during the walk filled a bag there would be no trash. Nick and I offered to carry one of the bags to the next town, and did so. In our discussions we discovered the man was from Spain, but had lived in Toronto for ten years back in the eighties. He knew the City well and was familiar with the area we currently live. Another little Camino coincidence.
The last stop before Palas de Rei is Portos, and as we arrived were greeted at a very small albergue by a group of young people dressed in bright orange vests . They were students from various cities around the world attending a Christian college in London England, volunteering at the albergue on a two week practicum. Most of them had never heard of the Camino before studying it at school. All were happy, helpful and anxious to discuss their reasons for being there, and Nick with his background engaged them. As it was late in the day, and they served only coffee, I quickly moved on to the next cafe and ordered a last beer before the final leg. There is nothing quite as quenching as an ice cold one.
Palas de Rai is built on he mountainside and is a blend of old and new structures, all of which are in excellent shape. It is another of the many former military outposts constructed either to provide a base for or against invading armies, or protection of pilgrims from bandits. There are a fair number of services and stores, which I guess is expected for a Town this size. The last couple of kms seemed to take forever to roll by, but we made it before the rains that were threatening showed. The church at the top of town was in immaculate condition, and had a warm and inviting interior to it. By now it was evident that the prosperity of a Town can be quickly determined by the condition of the church.
The Buen Camino albergue is located at the far side of town right in the middle of the shopping and restaurant area. It is a clean and comfortable three storey building with its own bar and restaurant serving pretty decent food. There are 41 beds spread over three rooms on two floors making for an uncrowded stay. Our evening ended with a big group pelegrino dinner at one of the local restaurants, including the usual cast of charters and a new one, Peter from Hungary. Another fine evening of good food, good wine and good company.
Twenty five kilometres makes for a long day on the Camino. There are are people who do 30 or more on a daily basis, but they are few and far between, at least based on those we ran into over the weeks. Of course there are a number of things that contribute to the difficulty of the day: weather, path surface, average grade; but distance in the end seemed to be the biggest factor for our little troop. The difference between 23 km our preferred distance, and 25 km, doesn't seem like much at first blush, only 30 minutes walk time and 2,000 m, but believe me it does matter. Today would reinforce that.
The six days of cold rainy weather predicted just a few days back didn't really materialize. Other than the sustained heavy rainfall walking into Sarria a few days before, we saw only short periods of rain and mist, and the overall cooler temperatures was a welcome relief from the previous four weeks of 80 and 90 degree temperatures.
Cheryl who hails from Washington DC and was on her second Camino figuring out "whats next", has been walking on and off with Nick and Judy since early on, has become part of the family, and had taken over duties from me reserving the next nights accommodations. She walks her own pace, which is considerably quicker than ours, but we usually manage to connect at the end of the day.The walk continued uphill for about another eight km to the peak at Sierra Ligonde before starting the decline. On the way we passed through a series of small villages and hamlets (well, not really sure what defines one versus the other but they are all small and all have a church). We met a number of people new to us, including Martin from Ireland who was on his second Camino, walking the last 100 k after dropping his son off for school in Madrid. Martin was a tall stocky friendly guy who worked as a rep for Guinness. It was interesting getting his insights into the Camino, and to why he came back just over a year later. Further down the line I had a nice conversation with brothers from Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Their situation was typical. One of the brothers had made a decision to come on his own, and his brother decided to tag along; not unlike Mary Lou and I , Judy and Nick, Gaye and Rick and so on. Often the person who was not certain they would walk, gets as much or more than the one who originally made the decision.
On the road leading to Ligonde we spotted a fellow pilgrim in full gear carrying two blue bags picking up plastic and trash on the side of the road, something I had been thinking about for weeks, but had never done. Trash is not a big problem along the route, but here does seem to be a few areas where people don't take due care, and if every pilgrim only once during the walk filled a bag there would be no trash. Nick and I offered to carry one of the bags to the next town, and did so. In our discussions we discovered the man was from Spain, but had lived in Toronto for ten years back in the eighties. He knew the City well and was familiar with the area we currently live. Another little Camino coincidence.
The last stop before Palas de Rei is Portos, and as we arrived were greeted at a very small albergue by a group of young people dressed in bright orange vests . They were students from various cities around the world attending a Christian college in London England, volunteering at the albergue on a two week practicum. Most of them had never heard of the Camino before studying it at school. All were happy, helpful and anxious to discuss their reasons for being there, and Nick with his background engaged them. As it was late in the day, and they served only coffee, I quickly moved on to the next cafe and ordered a last beer before the final leg. There is nothing quite as quenching as an ice cold one.
Palas de Rai is built on he mountainside and is a blend of old and new structures, all of which are in excellent shape. It is another of the many former military outposts constructed either to provide a base for or against invading armies, or protection of pilgrims from bandits. There are a fair number of services and stores, which I guess is expected for a Town this size. The last couple of kms seemed to take forever to roll by, but we made it before the rains that were threatening showed. The church at the top of town was in immaculate condition, and had a warm and inviting interior to it. By now it was evident that the prosperity of a Town can be quickly determined by the condition of the church.The Buen Camino albergue is located at the far side of town right in the middle of the shopping and restaurant area. It is a clean and comfortable three storey building with its own bar and restaurant serving pretty decent food. There are 41 beds spread over three rooms on two floors making for an uncrowded stay. Our evening ended with a big group pelegrino dinner at one of the local restaurants, including the usual cast of charters and a new one, Peter from Hungary. Another fine evening of good food, good wine and good company.
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