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