Day 27: Ferreiros to Castromayor

In case you were wondering what heaven looks like, it is as simple as a room to myself with real sheets and real towels and a bathroom I share with just one other woman. Life is good.

Short day today, just 12 miles, so I took my time. Slept in until 6:30am and left the albergue at nearly 8:00, very late in Camino time. In the next village, I passed by the stone marking just 100km left to Santiago.

Walked through farm country for much of the day.

I’ve seen many properties for sale in the villages, including this one. I think flipping this property might be quite a project!

Spent some time in Portomarin to avoid reaching my pensión before checkin time. This view from the bridge shows the remains of the original village of Portomarín.

In the 1960s the government decided to build a dam, which would flood the village and create a reservoir. The photo above shows the remains of an original road in the village.

The townspeople made the decision to save some of the historical buildings, such as the Church of San Nicolás. This involved deconstructing and rebuilding the structures brick by brick. They even numbered each individual brick to avoid confusion.

The lower water level in the fall reveals the old Roman bridge underneath the modern bridge.

While in Portomarín, I ran into my friend Brigitte, whom I haven’t seen since before León. I love Camino reunions!

Walked with Brigitte to my stop in Castromayor. More lovely forests.

And instead of the running of the bulls or even the running of the sheep (see yesterday’s post), today we had a running of the school children. After Sarria, it is common to see bus loads of students walking the Camino.

Ended the day having dinner with friends from Australia and Holland as we begin to process this amazing experience that is nearing its finale.

Ok, two questions for today:

What are these (the structures on top)? I had never seen them before yesterday. Now I see them everywhere.

Will my shoes last three more days and 51 miles until Santiago?