Day 41: Portomarín to Palas de Rei

Mileage: 16 miles
Elevation gain: 2,103
Elevation loss: 1,398 feet
Weather: Spectacular. 50s to upper 70s
Total mileage: 487.75 miles
2025 mileage: 91.25 miles

A long day with lots of uphills but beautiful weather and scenery. More pastures, gardens, and forests, but fewer glimpses of the mountains.

A highlight today was in a little town called Ligonde. Angela noticed a woman making cheese inside a house window and called me back to look. The woman got excited, ran out, and sold us a fresh cheese for $3. So delicious!

Bedbug update: the bites are still a bit itchy but looking a bit better. We are assiduously checking for signs of the bugs at every stop now.

Albergue beds are harder to come by since there are so many more pilgrims on the trail these days. I got worried about having a place to stay tonight and made a reservation without paying close attention: once we got to Palas de Rei, I realized that the inexpensive hotel I’d chosen is inexpensive and available because it’s 3.5 miles out of town! Oops. I wasn’t feeling up to another 3.5 miles after walking 16, so we caught a taxi and rode out into the countryside. At that point I figured we were in for a pretty view or the Bates Hotel. Fortunately it’s the former! Very nice and very quiet. We’ll get a taxi in the morning and pick up where we left off. We’re making much better time than I thought we would so we should get to Santiago in just a few days!Read more