To O Barco de Valdeorras

Nice walk, nothing spectacular, but pretty. It was our first encounter with the Sil River, which merges with the Minho eventually. It is very full these days because of all the rain.

The camino goes through some abandoned villages, and one real town. There are lots of small family owned vineyards. I talked to a couple out working on their parcel, and they said that they and most of the small owners in this area just grow enough grapes to make their own wine for the year. There are lots of huge industrial vineyards as well, but the Camino didn’t pass by any of them today. Since it was a day on the short side, I left late and didn’t really get into my normal walking mode. Kind of lollygagging and realizing I was feeling tired.

Three of us had a late lunch and when I got back to the room at about five, I lay down and woke up after midnight. That was probably the longest night uninterrupted stretch of sleep I’ve had since I’ve been here! Maybe it had something to do with the allergy pills I’ve started taking (a regular occurrence when I walk in Spain in the spring), but whatever it is, it’s a strange sensation to wake up at midnight, feeling refreshed, and ready to go!Read more