We had a good evening in Portomarin, as after mass we ran into a young German couple we had not seen in weeks, again assuming they were well ahead of us. Love these unexpected encounters.

The next morning we swam out with the school of pilgrims that had gathered in Portomarin, crossing a different bridge and heading up hill for most of the day.

The more we went up, the foggier and more misty it became.

At times the path was pretty, but most of the time it was void of character.

There was one exception. An offshoot of the Camino led to an archeological dig site of a village that existed from 4 BC to 1 AD. Amazing to see the small walkways that connected the living quarters, many of them multi chambered. It was also amazing to think that St James may have visited this village as he spread the gospel throughout Spain.

It was nice that this was one of our shorter days, and we could get settled in at the halfway point of Ventas de Naron; a small Albergue with a bar/restaurant, private rooms, and not much more. It remained in the 50’s and our room was cold, so when I mentioned this to the owner I was assured heat would come on promptly at 6:00 (which it did). So for lunch we ordered a couple of beers and shared our leftovers from the previous nights dinner with on of the locals.

Next to the Albergue was a small church that opened in the evening so pilgrims could have their credential stamped. As we quietly slipped in, a man we thought was another pilgrim walked to the door and stood. We then noticed his white cane and made our presence known, and he explained he was the Templar of that church, and showed us pictures of himself in his cassock as a young man. With our help to guide his hand, he stamped our credentials and gave us prayer cards to take with us on our journey.

Early the next day we were eager to leave at first light, which is now 8:30 ish.

What a difference a day makes. The clouds had cleared and we walked by the light of dawn in one sky and the moonlight in the other. Early on we watched as a farmer and his dog directed three cows to the milking barn, and went to a specific door and waited patiently until he opened it. They had obviously done this before.

As the sun climbed higher, we were able to do something we hadn’t been able to in days; take a morning selfie, this time with a friend.

Not sure if it was the sunshine or what, But this turned out to be a much better walk overall with more to look at and enjoy.

We were at our stopping point by noon, Palas de Rei.

We will rest up and ready for the final four day push to Santiago. The first two days are projected to be at a comfortable 9 miles per day, with the last two a doable but strenuous 12 miles. But more importantly we need to stay present in each day and not look beyond what each day brings.