Portomarín to O Coto 35 km

I seemed to have been allocated a younger person’s room, as such I was the first person in bed watching TV on my phone, the majority of the others were crashed out by 9:30, but I never met the person in the top bunk, and I never woke up when they climbed up. Either I slept well or they are sturdy bunkbeds. As usual, packing started at 5:45, but they were all pretty quiet. I was last to leave, but even so was sitting in a cafe at 7:45 having an athletes breakfast. Coffee American, Orange Juice, and a massive ring doughnut. It’s all they had, so that’s why everyone get up early!

There was a steady convoy of pilgrims leaving town. The route was down a zig-zag ramp and over a bridge. You could see someone every few metres. It had a good atmosphere, it was overcast and a bit misty, and people were chatting in low voices. The party vibe from yesterday had gone. I remember my second day (from Findon to Gumber Bothy – that seems like a lifetime ago) and my legs were tired, and my feet sore. Anyone who started in Sarria may feel like that.

It was a nice walk, through forests and fields with an occasional road, but no traffic at all. At a high point,  Castro de Castromaior, which looked like (and is) an iron age hill fort, I could see darker clouds building ahead. I didn’t go into the hill fort, but looking at the pictures it looks to have stone walls formed inside. Certainly more sophisticated than ones I’ve seen in the UK.

Chatted with a few people on the way, a father and son from Hungary. The son spoke in the most refined English accent, posh but not over the top, I thought he was British. He was pleased that I thought he came from the Home Counties. Bumped into the French and Belgian ladies, who were going strong but doing less distance than yesterday. I stopped for a morning (10km) sandwich. Im missing not carrying any food, and feel compelled to stop and eat every so often, otherwise I’ll start to fade.

It had been a really pleasant morning. Then, the first of a few rain showers. The Pilgrims all put on rain ponchos in unison. Some were old, but lots were brand new with the folded creases all over them. It was a bit on, and off, so I perfected leaving my poncho on over my rusac, but ducking my head and arms out. It’s a very fine line, between being wet on inside or outside.

It got a bit “roady”, but on country lanes after the hill fort, but still beautiful scenery. I stopped for lunch in Palas de Rei. This is where I planned to stop yesterday, at a campsite. I was deluded, it was a hard 25km today I would have really struggled if I had tried 48km in one day. Also, there was no evidence of a campsite. I’m not saying it wasn’t there, but it certainly didn’t have a big sign.

I decided on  supermarket lunch. It’s much better as you can have what you want rather than guessing (size and content) from a menu. I went to the Eroski Supermarket, my new favorite supermarket after reading this article yesterday.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/apr/24/in-the-us-they-think-were-communists-the-70000-workers-showing-the-world-another-way-to-earn-a-living?CMP=share_btn_url

I started eating my sandwiches on a bench, but soon moved undercover of a big roofed square as it started to rain. I hadn’t fully thought about how far to walk today, I had thought about Melide, but that was another 15km (making 40km in total). It felt a but far, so I had a quick look at Booking.com to see what was available in between. There wasn’t much that was reasonable or a bunk bed, but one Pension jumped out. It was a private room, on the Camino, about 8km away and only €32. Hopefully, it can offer a better night’s sleep.

I headed out of town in on/off, drizzle/light showers, and did not see a soul for two hours. It was an amazing walk through ancient woods. The rain made the birds flitter closer, and the atmospherics after each shower was incredible. Once the rain stopped, the fields started steaming. Presumably, the ground is so warm that the water starts to evaporate almost straight away, with a low level sheet of steam blowing around.

Eventually I did catch up with another human. It had to happen eventually on a footpath that must have a few thousand people a day walk it (according to the official website 1,798 pilgrims arrived in Santiago today). I think what it is, is that most people walk the set routes between towns. Setting off a crazy o’clock and finishing by lunchtime. That’s great for me because I get the whole Camino to myself in the afternoons. Anyway, I caught up with an Italian school teacher. All the students and other teachers had gone by bus to their next stopping point. She had taken the oppertunity to do the walk. Her bags had gone by bus, but luckily she had water proofs. It certainly had been a really nice afternoon, and she had made the right decision. As we parted, the rain got heavier, I even sheltered under a tree until the worst passed, I knew I only had 2 km to go, while she had a couple of hours. While I was trying to look “not too wet” to go into my Pension, quite a few pilgrims came past. I think we were all ambling on the path in perfect synchronicity and never destined to meet up.

It is a nice pension, very good value for money, but no food. It’s been raining off and on, and I didn’t fancy crossing the very small road to the restaurant. Luckily, I have been to the supermarket and have ample supplies for a night it. On that subject, the Spanish are mad about crisps, you can just buy them loose in some (speciality) shops. These are Lays (which I think are Walkers), they are amazing, why are they not in the UK shops?