Camino Frances Day 46: Ferreiros - Palas de Rei

Mira el presente sin las gafas del pasado
- graffiti along the way

Started on the last hundred kilometres this morning!

Galicia is known for its fog and rain, and the morning began wet and misty so I put on my raingear, but by the time I stopped for a slice of freshly made tortilla in Portomarin the sun was coming out and I had to peel it all off.

The town of Portomarin was moved in 1962 when its former site was flooded due to the construction of a dam resulting in the creation of the Embalse de Belesar. When the water level is low, parts of the buildings in the old town that were not moved are visible above the water, but that was not the case today. Historic buildings of particular value such as the castle-like church were taken apart and put back together on higher ground with painstaking care.

After picking up some snacks from the supermarket to sustain me on the rest of this 36 kilometre day, I headed out of the town and up a hill into the woods. There was quite a bit of up and down today, making 36 km seem much longer than it used to back in the Mesetas!

In the morning I had met very few people on the path, but in the afternoon I ran into several large groups, of the sort that walk only the last 100 km, and with only a small day pack, having their luggage transported as part of an organised tour. I tried not to be judgemental about these "tourigrini", as we call them in Italian; after all, they could have chosen to spend their holidays lazing about in a beach resort, instead of walking a hundred kilometres, which is in any case an impressive achievement for some - I myself was proud when I completed my first hundred kilometres of the Via Francigena, my first Long Walk!

But I did go out of my way to avoid a large group of noisy high school kids in jeans and sneakers, taking a camino complementario that detoured through the pretty farming village of Gozar.

After stopping at a pilgrim hostel bar for ice cream, I took advantage of the resulting energy boost by putting on my headphones and a playlist of Canadian '80s power rock, and set off to overtake the next large group of tourigrini in sneakers and flourescent athletic wear, one by one. Without even saying buen camino! 

Eventually, after passing a very large number of people, running through another playlist and churning up many more kilometres, I came to Palas de Rei, a graceless modern town 66 km before Santiago where there is a very pleasant hostel run by an Italian pilgrim, La Casina di Marcello, which offers bunk beds with curtains and the luxury of real sheets and towels (i. e. we don't need to use our own travel ones). Marcello is busy making my authentic Italian dinner right now - penne al pesto!