From Portomarin to Palas de Rei

Day 25, Tuesday 17 September 2013

Distance to Santiago: 81,6 km

Another uphill day and I felt drained and wanted this to be over. I was tired of living from a backpack, sharing space with strangers, just tired. But as always while walking the Camino, this negative elements and efforts were splendidly rewarded by the walk in nature making everything momentous. We left early for Palas de Rei.

From Portomarin we walked past the reservoir uphill through dense woodland with the fresh smell of eucalyptus and pine.  There were much more pilgrims on the road than we were used to.  We walked mostly next to the national road.  The stench of the fertiliser plant in Toxibo was overwhelming.

Along the Camino we noticed these interesting structures and could not really figured out what they were used for. Could it be a tomb? A storage place?  When we Googled it we found out it was a horreo, a granary of stone and wood designed to keep food dry and safe from rats and mice.

We had a pleasant walk through the woodlands to Gonzar.  We stopped for a break at Ventas de Naron.  From there it was uphill to Ligonde, which was the highest point of the route. The Cementerio de Peregrinos was situated there. We walked through the village Rosario where pilgrims would recite the Rosary when walking into the village.

We were lucky because it was a cloudy cool day with a fresh breeze, which contributed to a nice walk.  I still had this love-hate relationship with my torture instrument, the backpack.  I still could not fully adjust and felt that the walk would be more enjoyable without it.

We booked in at Albergue Castro in Palas de Rei.  We later had a nice pilgrim’s meal. I avoided the squid in its own ink and ordered the ham shank stew instead as main course.

We walked 24,8 km for the day.