Day 36 - Portomarin to Palas de Rei

Well, Margie arrived at the resort in grand style last night. When her husband joined her at Ponferrada he brought about ten other friends from the Y in New York. He is apparently a director at the (Queens?) YMCA. Our resort being 800 metres off the Camino, they all decided it was fair to take a cab there (however, we have found out that under any circumstance they seem to  think it is fair to take cabs) so they arrived en mass with a great fanfare in a large number of cabs. Russ and Lynn were at the bar uploading the blog (it was the only place with wifi) and we gave Margie a big hug. We talked for a bit and then they all went off to check in and go do what pilgrims do after a long day of walking (laundry, shower, snooze).

The supper at the hotel was excellent once again.  It is very obvious that the owners are going out of their way to make the visitors feel at home.  The hotel was very full again, plus a few people seemed to come just for dinner, attesting to how good it was.

They had set up a long table for the New York crowd so we didn't really have an opportunity to talk with Margie. The resort was full of Americans, some of whom seemed to be doing a lot of complaining. No wonder they have a bad reputation! We noticed that the cook had a very polite way of listening to their various complaints (about just about everything, no menu, the room, the wifi, the lack of air conditiong - which we had - on and on) and then he just shrugged and took off.

We, on the other hand, were very pleased with everything about the accommodation and made sure to tell them. We especially loved their homemade wine and I think they gave us more of it than we were really entitled to, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. After supper we tried to have a 'hang out' with the kids, but the wifi was just too unreliable. As we left, Lynn had a european embrace with the cook and Russ shook his hand mightily.

Walking back to our room we noticed how dark it was, and so we went out on our deck.  The sky was crystal clear and there were an uncountable number of stars visible.  That was quite an awesome sight.

This morning we got going at 8am.  A pair of woman sitting next to us exclaimed that that was really early.  We explained that we had started as early as 6:30.  That really didn't seem to register. Later we heard them discussing how they would walk for a bit and then take a taxi to the next town, as they wanted to make sure they had enough time at the spa!  Different Caminos for different people.

After we finished breakfast we talked to the fellow on breakfast duty about whether we should get back to the Camino along the river or the road. We discussed the pros and cons of each route and opted for the road. Just as we were setting out we heard the roar and saw the headlights of his off road 'excursion' jeep, and he came zooming out of the garage and offered for us to get in. Russ started to protest saying we would walk but Lynn thought it would be really fun to have a ride in that thing and very rude to refuse his generous offer.  Three other men came out at the same moment and he gave the five of us a very exciting ride to where the Camino left Portomarin. Another european embrace for Lynn and hearty handshake for Russ.

The guide book warned us that the number of walkers would increase exponentially after Sarria, and that was no exaggeration.  There were more people than we have ever seen.  And they were very awed and bewildered with  our grand arrival at the point where the  Camino exited the city. And many were displaying the same problems that we had seen after Roncesvalles.

The province of Galicia has been exceptionally dry this summer.  We saw a military helicopter heading north, followed by two prop planes.  It was then we saw the two areas of smoke in the distance, obvious forest fires. We were sad that there were fires but glad that they were not on the south side of us which would have put us all in danger.

The walk was clear of fog today, with sweeping and majestic views of mountains and valleys. We also walked pretty much exclusively on sendas (ie, as opposed to walking on busy highways). Nonetheless, we are both glad we are nearing the end.  The temperature today was 29 and both of us are getting worn out from the walking. We are perfectly good for 20km, then it just gets hard. Today was 25km, and the last few were really tough.

The one thing we do notice, and unfortunately it calls up un-Christian thoughts, is the seeming lack of any concern on the part of many of the bicycle riders for the walkers.  They have this tendency to ride three or four abreast, and sneak up behind you without any warning.  A few have bells, but not many.  They then have to pass in formation, making no attempt to dissolve into a single file. It just gets very annoying having to stop and scrunch yourself up along the edge of the trail for them to zoom by without putting themselves to any inconvenience.

We stumbled into town, beaten up and sore, but happy to see our matress is contained in a cover. In this regard, poor Russell is now experiencing the full consequences of our night in Villadangros. He is covered with boils and skin eruptions from the bed bugs. He was trying to deny it but a check on the Internet revealed the truth of the cause of the sores he is absolutely covered in. It says it can take up to 14 days to react, and react he has. We got a tube of cream from the Farmacia and almost used the entire tube dealing with his multitudinous blotches. His bed was crawling with them whereas Lynn's only had a few. So it didn't seem fair she had bites and he didn't! Well, in the end, he certainly did get the lions share.

Lynn is really worried because we have 30 km tomorrow and she is really hitting the wall at 20 now. She is going to figure out some way of bringing her running shoes to change shoes along the way. We just hope it isn't so deathly hot tomorrow. A very early start is certainly in order. Tomorrow is the last hard day. Wednesday is 20km and Thursday is 15km. So if we survive tomorrow (which we must), we are home free.

Summary - we are nearing the end with the number of walkers increasing by leaps and bounds, and cabs are doing a very good business.


Distance today - 25km
Distance total - 726.2km