What a beautiful day for a hike! We were out early enough to be on the street in the cool air before sunrise.
Having been a bit burned yesterday by such an unexpectedly long stint between coffees, we stopped at the first place we saw. That turned out to be a mistake as the coffee, served in paper cups (which is a rarity in Spain) was positively dismal (also a rarity in Spain.) But, that’s a first world problem, so we brushed it off and got back on the trail, across the river, and out of town with a throng of other pilgrims
About 3 km outside town we saw the sign we were looking for. “Variente Espiritual”.
After we turned off for the new route, the countryside really opened up and we lost all the pilgrims who were looking for the quickest route to Santiago. That appeared to be the vast majority.
The countryside trail today was mostly uphill on ‘mixed medium’ for the first couple hours. Pavement, cobblestones, dust, gravel, grass, stones. After we reached the peak, we stopped for a second coffee at a gorgeous hotel in Campano. We felt a lovely breeze on the patio, which was shaded by palms, a mower robot was manicuring the lawn, and the calming sound of a nearby fountain completed the tranquil setting. The coffee was fantastic and was served with a complimentary piece of orange cake. A small, complimentary taste of something sweet or savory (depending on the beverage) is a wonderful tradition here.
A personal highlight of my morning walk was seeing about ten happy hens in the shade and protection of a large grape arbor. There was plenty of grass for them to eat and I’m sure plenty of bugs to scratch for. However, when they saw their farmer in the garden nearby, they all ran over to him to see what garden scraps he might throw their way. They weren’t disappointed. It was so sweet to see them well cared for.
We stopped at the beautiful church at the monastery in Poio. We were the only ones in the enormous sanctuary.
Afterwards we stopped for a stamp at the visitor center and I also tried to give the attendant a charity:water flyer to post but he didn’t understand. Wasn’t meant to be.
Not long afterwards, we again felt the breeze coming in off the ocean. From a distance we could see the beautiful little coastal town of Combarro. White buildings with terra cotta roofs covered the little hill surrounding the cove.
We’re here for the night in a lovely new albergue called ‘Nuestra Senora del Camino’ which is run by sweet Carmen. We ended up in a private room with a private bathroom. Laundry facilities are on site. There’s a dryer as well, but we were told the clothes get drier faster up on the clothesline in the sun on the hill. I think she’s right. She also warned us that there are no facilities / coffee shops between here and the monastery 7 miles up the mountain tomorrow. And many places are closed for the feast day for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary tomorrow as well. So, we took her advice and went to the grocery store for dinner tonight and breakfast and lunch tomorrow. We probably could get dinner in town but we’d noticed it’s a heavily touristy town and would like to avoid the crowds.
The town we’re in is technically the half-way point on one of the stages in my guide book. But we wanted to relax and enjoy our time – not just spend every waking moment hiking. Plus, even though tomorrow will technically be just a half-stage as well, it’s up a mountain.
Happy to eat in the kitchen here and have an early night.
More later…
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