I met Douglas this morning and, after 1 day, he was wondering how he could make it easier for himself. He was thinking of making use of buses. Hope he makes it.
I lot of today's walk was through very small towns or hamlets,so small they often weren't named.
It is a very farming area. Going through villages I would see cows, sheep, farm dogs, chooks, roosters, hay, vegetables, farm equipment etc. The back roads the Camino led through often had tractors going up and down.
Not so many people to be seen. I looked forward to a bar at Gonzar after 8 kms but there was nothing open. The Camino really does almost close over the winter. I carried on to Hospital of the Cross, Venda de Naron, and Ligonde. It was only at the Ligonde that I found a bar open for a coffee and a cheese sandwich. I had to ask where I was. I had no idea. From there at 16 kms I made a dash for Palis de Rei ('Palace of the King') at 23 kms. Just as I was leaving the cafe at Ligonde I met 3 other pilgrims, so there are a few others about.
I arrived at Palis de Rei and found my 2nd bar open. I wanted to go further (it was only 4pm), but I was told that there would be nothing open until Milede, 15 kms away. So that was a big call. I still had walking in me, but whether I could do 15 more, 38 in total, was a difficult decision.
I decided to go for it. The weather had been drizzly all day, but now rained hard, even had hail at times. It was becoming dark about 6.30pm and was completely dark by 7pm. So the final hour was in complete darkness. A scary time. But at least this time I knew there would be something ahead of me.
I arrived at Melide about 7.30 pm, found a small hotel for 30 Euro. I was completely drenched. Even my waterproof shoes were soaked! I had a bath, later a meal, went to my room to write this and promptly fell asleep on the bed, waking up sometime after midnight.
I lot of today's walk was through very small towns or hamlets,so small they often weren't named.
It is a very farming area. Going through villages I would see cows, sheep, farm dogs, chooks, roosters, hay, vegetables, farm equipment etc. The back roads the Camino led through often had tractors going up and down.
Not so many people to be seen. I looked forward to a bar at Gonzar after 8 kms but there was nothing open. The Camino really does almost close over the winter. I carried on to Hospital of the Cross, Venda de Naron, and Ligonde. It was only at the Ligonde that I found a bar open for a coffee and a cheese sandwich. I had to ask where I was. I had no idea. From there at 16 kms I made a dash for Palis de Rei ('Palace of the King') at 23 kms. Just as I was leaving the cafe at Ligonde I met 3 other pilgrims, so there are a few others about.
I arrived at Palis de Rei and found my 2nd bar open. I wanted to go further (it was only 4pm), but I was told that there would be nothing open until Milede, 15 kms away. So that was a big call. I still had walking in me, but whether I could do 15 more, 38 in total, was a difficult decision.
I decided to go for it. The weather had been drizzly all day, but now rained hard, even had hail at times. It was becoming dark about 6.30pm and was completely dark by 7pm. So the final hour was in complete darkness. A scary time. But at least this time I knew there would be something ahead of me.
I arrived at Melide about 7.30 pm, found a small hotel for 30 Euro. I was completely drenched. Even my waterproof shoes were soaked! I had a bath, later a meal, went to my room to write this and promptly fell asleep on the bed, waking up sometime after midnight.