Day 19, Day 12 on The Camino
“You are now entering the magic part, the final 100km…… ‘The last section of the Via de la Plata Camino route is probably the most beautiful of all the ‘last 100km’ to Santiago de Compostela; and will also please those looking for a Camino that is off the beaten track. This fantastic route takes pilgrims from the city of Ourense, famous for its natural thermal springs and pretty historic centre; and finishes in wonderful Santiago de Compostela. You will be walking the green and lush Galician countryside, dotted with pretty Romanesque churches. Across peaceful forests, farmland and sleepy hamlets you are more likely to encounter friendly locals than fellow pilgrims, as this route is quite a hidden gem”.’

Because we went “the extra mile” yesterday, we had a short day of only 7 miles, which allowed for us to leave later at 8:00 and arrive at our Albergue in the very small town of Castro Dozan before noon. It was quite hot for early morning and we had several long and steep climbs again up Trails loaded with large stones. They were probably roads in ancient times but it felt more like we were fording dry river beds!! The fact that we wove our way through horse and cow fields, hamlets with farmers watering their crops and generally rural, rustic meandering made for a very enjoyable stroll indeed!

“The gang” headed out for a meal while I enjoyed an excellent avocado on rice cakes and peanuts (from an earlier Mercado excursion) sitting in the sun in solitude, watching cows across the way being herded from field to field. Heaven!!!

We had another communal dinner in the very nice kitchen of our albergue and got to bed early as tomorrow is another day of – you guessed it – walking!!