Santiago to Vilaserio (34.5 km)

Harder day than I remembered. I have decided to walk the same stages as I did the last time I walked to the ocean, which must be at least 6 years ago. I think if I ever go this way again, I’ll add at least a day, but I really have to get going and get home!

I started a little after 7 am. Sunrise in Santiago today was a little before 8:30. But I had my headlamp, and I knew there would be other people out there walking. I started walking with a group of nine, very lively and friendly. Four from the Canaries, two Basques, two from Alicante, and 1 Italian. They suggested that I join them and extend my walk by a few days so that I could go all the way back to Santiago, but I explained that I would not be welcome in Champaign if I kept walking any longer.

It’s a very pretty day, goes through one of the most beautiful little villages in Spain, Ponte Maceira, and the medium sized town of Negreira. I always stop at the town’s statue of the emigrant. Galicia lost a huge portion of its male population to emigration after the Civil War, and the statue displays the sad reality in a very poignant way.

The little hamlet where I am tonight has two albergues and one restaurant. I have stayed in both of the the Albergues. Two months ago one of them opened a little building with private rooms, so I took one of those. The albergue is full and I admit that albergue living has lost some of its glow for me. All of us will have dinner together in the restaurant, so really all I’m missing out on is the snoring and the shared bathrooms.Read more