Combarro to Vilanova de Arousa

34 kilometers. This part of the Camino would normally be divided into two days for my calibre of pilgrim. But, accommodation shortages dictated that I have to do this in one day. 34 kms is way beyond my tolerance and the first 10 kms today is a very steep climb up a mountain. With projected temperatures in the high 20's, I made the decision to hire a taxi to take me to Armentiera which took 10 km off the day's total and skipped the hardest part.
So with 24 kilometers still to go, which is about my maximum daily walking distance, I headed off through mossy forests following a creek down the mountain side. This area is full of ancient mills that would have been powered by this creek and some of the buildings still have their mill stones intact. It was like walking back in time and it was easy to imagine the locals bring their grain here to get ground into flour.
Forests gave way to fields of corn taller than I am, and still further along I came to vineyards heavy with clusters of grapes. Occasionally a tractor would pass by and I was reminded that most people are working hard around me, not on a Camino pilgrimage holiday. Buen Camino!Read more