The thing about journeys like this is that you value very small things in very big ways. Things like sitting with your feet up on a bed at the end of the day…. Cafe au Lait in the AM …almost everything on the breakfast ..layout. Clean clothes…..I guess perhaps that is why we are drawn to these trips, it brings life down to a more basic level. I am sure that everyone heads out on these types of journeys with different motivations. As this is historically a christian pilgrimage, we have met several people along the way who are doing it as such, but we certainly have other motivations. One girl I walked with for part of a day was from Italy, and I said to her that all these very old rock structures likely did not impress her they way they did us. She said no…

She was doing this camino as a personal challenge to walk to Santiago de compestello alone.

We are trying to do one of these “walking “holidays each year as it seems like such a great way to see another countries landscape while staying in shape. I remember years ago seeing a T-shirt that said, “the only reason I run is so that I can eat cupcakes”🍕🍪🍷 …. Oddly we have had days that we clearly could not find enough food…POOR PLANNING on our part. We usually carry a bag of some kind of trail mix but we have not replenished our supply, perhaps because we just have not had much time, starting early and getting in late. Yesterday was a holiday here, no stores open, and getting in a 5 pm is a bad time because the dinner that we had included in our travel arrangements does not start until 8 pm usually. We have usually had to forego the dinner supplied with the bed and breakfast, as we are too hungry by the time we get in to wait until 8 pm, so usually have found a place that serves something. I think in the future I would not include dinner with our deal, as we have wasted most of our ” free” dinners. I think we are more suited to finding a place along the way for a more elaborate lunch and then snack for dinner.

To be honest, and how can one lie when writing a blog, we usually get extra food with the “breakfast provided” It is often quite elaborate and we can easily make very nice snacks later on from the breakfast fare.

We have walked between 28 and 35 KM on at least 5 of the 9 days so far and so we often find we just get back to our room and put our feet up and really for the most part, just hang out in our room. I have heard others talk about going off and exploring, but I feel I see so many wonders along the way during the day, I just want to rest so I have my energy back to tackle the next days designated kilometres. Besides, I guess being “country folk” we tend to be more impressed with the “out of the city”stuff. All of these frigging churches remind me of all of the people who were poorly and starving while “the church built extravagant Cathedrals.

The pilgrimage from Portuguese lands to Santiago de Compestello  originates in the Middle Ages. Queen Isabel of Portugal also used it in the early 14th century. The route followed the ancient Roman roads of Lusitania closely, but today, on many stretches, you will have to walk along a modern road. It seems that the areas of the path that are ancient tend to be in rather remote areas.

If you look at the 2 rocks lined up to the right of Kens boots, there is a ridge below. THAT is part of the ancient trail and you can see indentations like this in many rocky areas, that it is evident that a horse drawn cart drove along.

Here again you can clearly see evidence of 2 tracks a distance apart that a carriage would be.

Here again after a rain, you can see the grooves in the rock. You can also see in the top of the pictures the typical yellow on blue camino shell. I must say this trail is extremely well marked with these.

If you were to look at a map of Portugal and up into North western Spain, you would see the rather flat coast line of Portugal and then several very long inlets on the coast of Spain with fingers that extend for ?? 50 km into Spain. It is the first 2 inlets that we have been traversing alongside in our way to Pontevedra which is where we are tonite. We have had many amazing views of these inlets, that we have had to pay dearly for …..in climbing 🤨

We have been quite curious about these objects out in the sea. When we first came across them, (near sea level) we thought that they were some kind of longboats, but as we climbed up above them we noted that they appeared to be some sort of wharf.

Then as we got even higher…we noted that they were very organized, and that there were likely hundreds of them in this inlet, so I started searching for what they could be. Now what sort of search words would you use🤔. Things, wharfs floating in the inlet…??

I FINALLY GOT a clue… Mussel farms

“Bateas, Galician mussel farms, are rafts for cultivating typical Galician bivalve molluscs. You’ll see them as soon as you look at the Vigo estuary, arranged neatly along the coast. From those big wooden platforms hang ropes where the greatest treasures of Vigo grow: oysters and mussels. The imposing “bateeiros”, mussel boats, lift the heavy ropes loaded molluscs with cranes. It’s a sight to see. ” Apparently…. compared the horrendous fish farms we have on the BC coast which create disease in the wild fish, these are apparently very safe and clean. Apparently the safest molluscs to eat.

I do have a friend on Facebook who is a true “birder” so I hope that she will let us know what this bird is, as it took me quite awhile to get a clear picture of it.🤨 It is pretty cool the different birds you see here.

yet this guy looks kind of familiar thought 🙂

We DID stay at the Castle in Baiona, and it was pretty impressive, our longest day yet, 35 KM and we were beat and pretty impressed to find out we were staying at a castle. Each day it is a total surprise to find out where we have been booked into. This is our first …ever …totally booked trip.(I guess it is a wee bit like an all exclusive that people talk about). Some of the places are 4 star hotels and others are 1 star hotels and we just love them all, a place to put your feet up at the end of the day.

This is the “castle” from the other side …..the guy at the desk told us we could hike around the wall etc… I just laughed … after 35 KM we were just fine to sit in our room and relax.

Oh and here is me with another storm on the horizon, … well actually almost overhead…dry as yet

Well today we only walked 12 KM and it did not rain, not even for one second. So we did laundry.

Enjoying a lovely evening with our feet up.

Janet and Ken …. and missing out tucker and enjoying all the dogs along the way