Salceda

We left Boente at 5:45 in darkness to avoid walking in the later afternoon sun -- the hot temperatures hitting southern regions of Spain have arrived to a lesser degree in the north. The usual morning mist was absent, a sure sign of the heat to come. A group of Spanish walkers ahead of us had a flashlight, so we followed them until light broke in time for a breakfast break.

The path wound past villages 

where cows outnumbered people.

At a bar break in A Calzada the cows went marching.

Scotty and Barbara were walking further than our destination of Salceda. Earlier we ran into them at a bar where Barbara reunited Dad with his camp towel, which he had mistakenly left at the albergue 2 days earlier. She had found it after we left and showed true pilgrim spirit by carrying it in her pack with the chance we would see her again along the Road!

While waiting for our albergue Bondi to open, we sat at a nearby bar's patio where a group of high school walkers were taking a break. Group leaders did a dance swirl.

T-shirts hung from the bar's ceiling.

Walkers' laundry could be seen out of our albergue window.

At dinner we joined walkers Gabriella & Kate from Poland, Patrick from Sweden, and Iris & Clare from Ann Arbor, Michigan where they attended college. Iris just graduated from U of M with a history degree and Clare is pursuing packaging design studies.

Boente

The Galician mist evaporated quickly on Monday morning, and the sky opened up to sunshine by 9 a.m. From San Xulian the Road continued through shaded forests and small villages before reaching Boente where we stayed.

Big shell on an albergue wall 

Very creative fecha!

A Brazilian walker with his dog displayed his country's flag.

Galician granary structure called a Cabeceiro 

A favorite tympanum was on the Romanesque Iglesia de Santa Maria in Leboreiro. It depicts angels swinging incense censers beside the Virgin. 

Angel frescos inside Santa Maria

If doors & walls could tell stories, these interesting looking ones would have tales for sure.

"Over the river and through the woods"

The path passes through the old section of Melide, which during the Middle Ages was a major pilgrim stop with 4 hospices and businesses catering to walkers. 

At a panaderia in Melide, we saw Leslie and Glenn, walkers from Boise, Idaho, whom we'd met in Mercadoiro. They're world travelers and are walking from Sarria to Santiago before teaching in a summer environmental program for kids in Spain. Glenn went to Syracuse U. and is a basketball fan, so Dad had a chance to talk hoops.

Caballos refresh at a fountain in Melide.

Caballos on the Road

A small horreo used for cartas (letters) on the left side and pan (bread) on the right

St. James at the altar of Igrexa de Santiago de Boente

Room at the church where sellos were available 

Dad posed with Padre Andres who showed great Camino spirit.

San Xulian do Camino

On Sunday the mist lay heavy at 6:30 a.m. when we left the Xunta. 

The trail led through thick forests with leafy canopies and Middle Earth groves.

Cows out for breakfast 

Between two Als -- "Coach Al" and "Al the Optomist," an English pilgrim who has walked many Camino routes and contributes regularly to the Camino de Santiago Forum run by Ivar. I recognized Al from his member photo.

A double horreo

An overgrown laundry washing station 

St. James commands in Palas de Rei, a larger town where we took a bar break. There seemed to be more albergues and bars/restaurants here since we passed through in 2011.

A thumbs up to the "Menu Peregrino" at a Palas de Rei restaurant 

An albergue's bedding is drying before the next pilgrim crowd arrives.

Never ending flowers

Mom and daughter walkers Denise and Sophia are from New Orleans. Denise is originally from Grand Rapids, MI and had worked for Spain's tourism department. Sophia just graduated with a photography degree from the Art Institute in San Francisco.

Sophia's nails show 'Camino spirit'!

Rather then staying in larger towns, we've been finding albergues in small villages, which exude a charming rural pace (but sometimes have spotty wifi).

Dad settles in with the iPad at the albergue O Abrigadoiro in San Xulian do Camino.

Shaking off flies 

The 12th c. iglesia includes a cemetery, which is a typical feature of village churches in Spain.

The pilgrim's meal was the best one we've had thus far and prepared with extra flair -- it included soup, ensalada, tortilla, y chocolate mousse. Other walkers were from Spain, Germany, Italy, Quebec, and 3 sisters from Flint, Michigan -- one taught Spanish at Grand Valley State, another taught at a girl's school in Flint, and the last lived in Rome as part of a lay order.

Hospital de la Cruz

Morning mist enveloped the first part of the walk Sat. from Mercadoiro to another small village, Hospital de la Cruz. This town's name references a hospice that had treated pilgrims in the Middle Ages. Shady dirt paths and gravel roads led us through the Galician countryside known for its deep Celtic roots and similarity to landscapes in Ireland.

A makeshift rest stop will provide appreciated shade for walkers in the intense afternoon sun.

Entering Portomarin via the bridge over the Rio Torres...

...Leaving Portomarin via a long flight of stairs, which is the sole structure that remains of a 2nd c. Roman bridge

St. James directed us.

At a bar break there was a group of high school students from Austria who are walking The Way from Sarria to Santiago.

In Hospital de la Cruz we stayed at a full Xunta, or Galician municipal albergue.

At dinner with Scotty and Barbara, pilgrim friends from South Africa who are walking from Sarria to Santiago. They've been planning their Camino for many months and are enjoying being in beautiful Galicia!

Remembering Aunt Arlene with flowers on Sat. June 27 

Arlene Bernice Charn Lindquist, 8/28/1927 - 6/27/2010