Day 24 ending in Portomarin

The throngs of new walkers either failed to materialize, or I just got lucky and was ahead of the crowds.

So many more places to get coffee or some snacks, and also so much more commercial.

Ah well. Twas a nice day anyway. Had a nice drink with Maggie from silicon valley, and attended a pilgrim mass.

Some villages have these vending machine lobbies, very convenient to get a sports drink or something. Also most have benches out of the sun, and some kind of message board. This one was neat.

Charming rest spot in the shade. Some out of sight trees today

I wish I knew what these things are. Beehives? They’re on all the farms

Officially, on the home stretch from here on

Miles 15

Day 23 ending in Sarria

Another lovely day in Spain. The path today was sorely bereft of cafes, but I bravely soldiered on.

Sarria is unlovely. It’s a main starting point by circumstance alone.

Anyhoo, tomorrow is another shorter day. I’ll stop and smell the flowers a lot.

This neat old building, an ironworks and forge, in Triacastela has been serving pilgrims on foot and on horseback for centuries. It’s now a public space and an interpretative center

I visited an art gallery at 8 am. This old English dude fell in love with the village and stayed

Strangely enough, we talked about country music. We both love Kris Kristofferson.

This muddy path was unbearably charming for some reason

An old fountain. No I didn’t drink from it.

The only bit left of the castle in Sarria.

Miles 12

Day 22 ending in Triacastela

Super easy and enjoyable day today. We climbed the last little bit up the mountain, had a nice second breakfast, and started downhill. The promised rain never showed up, and we arrived at our night’s lodgings by 1.

Tomorrow is the last full day before arriving in Sarria. That’s when things typically get a little nuts. Sarria is where LOTS of people start if they only have a few days off work or whatever. I plan to enjoy the last bit of peace on the way.

Lots of the chapels here have this style of front

Getting close to civilization. I spy a bus stop

This dog approved of my decision to have a second cup of coffee

Suuuupppperrrrr old chestnut tree, in Ramil

This waymarker is unusual in that it has an image on the back

Miles 12

Day 21 ending in Linares

It was fine. I think the apps overestimate the difficulty so that people aren’t underprepared.

The day was beautiful.

I saw a lot that pleased me. Especially this: a fancy car screeched to the side of the road and a cool young dude jumps out. I’m thinking: wow, what’s happening? What’s happening was….he brought fresh loaves of bread to feed his cows in the field. He hand fed his cows really nice-looking homemade bread.