After a buffet breakfast in Portomarin, we were on the road by 7:45. Today's hike was a lot like yesterday's - no big hills, great weather. I think we slowed down
a bit, we didn't get in until 2:45 PM.
We met Nestor again today, Lil's new friend from the Canary Islands.
He was walking with Marcos and Gabi, who are also both from the Canary Islands. We ended up walking and talking with them for several kilometers. I noticed a TMB tattoo on the back of Nestor's leg and asked him what it was for.
Nestor had participated in the Tour du Mont Blanc race - he completed the entire circuit in 36 hours - that is the same route that Melanie and I took 11 days to complete!
Gabi said she lived in Venezuela for 4 years before moving back to the Canary Islands. Now she owns three restaurants. The scenery was much the same - fields and pastures, interspersed with some tree farms. I was starting to find it monotonous - the pilgrims who walk all 33 stages of the Camino must
have a lot of mental fortitude to keep going day after day. We have met some pilgrims who said they have done 8 or more complete Caminos.
Since each one takes about a month and a half, that is an entire year of your life walking across northern Spain. Rather than repeating this adventure, I think I would rather see different parts of the world next.
Wildlife was mostly nonexistent. No rabbits, squirrels, deer or frogs. We did see big black slugs oozing their way across the trail.
I thought storks were common, but all we have gotten to see of them so far is a glimpse of a nest seen from a bus window when we rolled into Sarria.
In Palas de Rei, we were able to find a pasta restaurant that started serving dinner at 5:30 PM. Funny that these small towns have better options than the big cities, like
Logroño, Pamplona and León where we could never find a place for dinner earlier than 7 PM.
Lil went to the pilgrim's mass at San Tirso church at 7 pm.
Panorama Photos
Still Photographs
