Portomarin to Palas de Rei

Pilgrim Statue Palas de Rei Photo courtesy of http://www.ourcamino.com/

Written on June 23, 2009.....16.2 miles.

We left Portomarin down the same stairs that we climbed two days ago to arrive here. Crossed over a bridge and started a gradual ascent toward the summit, Sierra Ligonde...2,362 feet. I realize that it must sound like all we do each day is climb mountains and go up and up. The reality is that the inclines take alot more effort for me so I tend to give those parts of the path more emphasis. With every incline starting with the Pyrenees I´ve had to stay focused and keep moving... drawing on mantras and whatever is close at hand to draw strength from. Butterflies, flowers, wheat, corn, grapes, etc. We decided to stay two days in Portomarin to rest up and be ready for the next two days of high mileage walking...today at 16.2 miles being one of them. We limited our bar breaks for coffee and thankfully had cool, overcast weather.

As we moved between Ligonde and Palas de Rei we walked with two young women from a college in Madrid.Sometime later we walked with two young men from Madrid, Javier and Victor. Victor was more talkative of the two young men. They knew some English words and for miles we had fun piecing together conversations about everything from how many years a part between Javier and his brother to their favorite futbol teams. It was amazing how long they walked with us and even took a break with us.

While we took our break along came Ron from Australia...73 years who has walked the Camino before...as he walked past us Javier and Victor couldn´t believe that Ron was walking faster than us. I think the Camino is so good for Victor and Javier and everyone on the Camino...it´s a snapshot of the diversity of cultures, languages, age, ideas and lifestyles.

We arrive in Palas de Rei, a large town, now we are fifty nine miles from Santiago. We quickly find a room and get something to eat. There is a celebration/ fish fry in the plaza with some great music.