Camino Del Norte - Day 24

Camino Del Norte - Day 24

Gontan to Baamonde
Distance 41km (9 hours)
Total ascent 320m

Andrea, my Italian friend, was suffering from tendinitis and initially planned to take a day off. Claudia, my German peregrino, set off early this morning.
I set off from the Albergue at 5.45am alone. It was pitch black. It was easy to follow the Camino signs and very quickly I was into the countryside and sunken lanes. I had to use my head torch a few times in woods but otherwise just relied on my night vision.
Dawn came a few hours later. It was cool and very pleasant walking. I eventually switched on my iPod and rocked away the kilometers. I walked 2km with a Spanish guy who was out for a short walk. We conversed in Spanish. I was delighted that he spoke slowly so I could understand him and I could reply. He was puffing by the time I left him. I passed Claudia and carried on alone. At 9.30am, I stopped for some breakfast of bread and chorizo.
The day was warming up quickly. I got to the city of Vilalba at 10am and stopped for breakfast. I waited for Claudia to catch up so we could walk the next 20kms together.
Vilalba was not a particularly inspiring city so we passed through it quickly.
Walking in Galicia is wonderful. The Camino winds its way through quiet roads/lanes and paths. They are very well marked and maintained. The only problem is the lack of water sources so you have to carry a lot of water.
We stopped several times for breaks. One of the highlights was seeing huge storks flying over our heads.
The heat built up so that the road was red hot. The Tarmac was bubbling up. We arrived at our Albergue exhausted but delighted that we had walked 41kms.

I am 100kms from Santiago!

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