Stage 50 - Bandeira to Outeira (17.1km): 19/10/2014
Today was supposed to a relaxing day and it was, for the most part. We set off down the N525 in the morning half-light with our head torches on, not to see where we were going but to let oncoming drivers see us. Today we were ignoring the amarillo flechas and following the main road. It started with a long downhill and then a long uphill before a much longer descent into the valley of the Rio Ulla.
After about 6km we stopped for coffee and a bun (tostados wasn't an option) and after another 6km we had reached Punta Ulla where we planned to rejoin the Camino and have some lunch. As we would be catering for ourselves at night we decided to have the menu del dia, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Pauline had her usual salad starter while I opted for the caldo gallego, Gallician broth, which I have come to enjoy. We both had grilled fish for the main course. I don't know what it was, but it was a generous serving and very tasty.
We knew we had a climb after lunch but were not quite prepared for a steep hill that continued for about three kilometres and took one hour 20 minutes to ascend. We climbed some 240 metres. It's not that it was too much for us, just longer and higher than we expected. Of course, as with all hills and mountains, time and again you think you are about to reach the top and then find that it is just another ridge and the path continues upwards.
In the early part of the climb we heard what we thought might be clay-pigeon shooting in the valley below. Initially the explosions were sporadic but eventually became more intense until it sounded as if a full-scale war had broken out. This continued for some time, with flashes coming from the trees far below. When it finally came to a halt a pall of smoke hung over the valley. We hope it was nothing more serious than the Spanish army playing war games.
In total contrast, a short time later at the top of the climb, we heard the jingle of bells coming towards us. They turned out to be bells attached to a horse that was pulling a man sitting in an old-style buggy, but with tyres.
David was in the albergue when we arrived and for some time we thought it would be just the three of us. Eventually others started to arrive and I think we have 13 in the dormitory. The others appear to be a mixture of Spanish and Portuguese peregrinos, young to middle-aged.
We had thought of a very early start in the morning so that we would be in the cathedral for the Pilgrim Mass at noon, but that would mean more than two hours of walking in the dark, possibly on rough and stony paths. We will leave at first light and take our time. There will be another Pilgrim Mass on Tuesday.
939km completed, 16km to go
 |
| War games down in the valley |
 |
| An ancient church close to our modern albergue |
Comments
Post a Comment