Day 12 Pontevedra 21.11km

The camino stage planner said that the distance today was 19.8km, but in fact, it turned out to be 21.11, and it felt more like 40. Fortunately for us, our albergue was right at the start of the town.

We had a decent night's sleep after the Italians had stopped talking. Everyone else in the room was in bed, lights out, and privacy curtains closed. The Italians came in tot he room lie they were on a football terrace, oblivious to the fact that everyone else had either been asleep before they came in or was at least trying to sleep. It seems like good manners and commmonsense no longer apply oday.

We were up and out just after 0600. Our goal was to get as far as we could before it got really hot... and believe me, reader, it got very hot.

The temperature was quite cool, and we managed a good pace, It was a struggle, though. The furtherst I have ever walked was 40km, but it is not the distance that is the main factor in terms of difficulty. It is the terrain. In our case, the road went up and up, turned a corner, and went up somemore. When the ascent was shallow, it was long, and when it was short, it was steep. We were very glad to stop on the way for a coffee, and as is common in Spain, we were given free food with the coffee, the acfe gave us a plate of churros, which were delicious.

We left the cafe refreshed, but that bouyant, joyful feeling was soon crushed by the next group of ascents. It was tough going. Along the way, I had to say to a few pilgrims that they were walking on the wrong side of the road, with traffic coming up behind them. Some folk were grateful others just ignored the advice. I don;t kow if there are any statistics on how many pilgrims are injured in an RTA, but it does happen.

So, reader, remember, if you have to walk on the road, always walk facing the traffic that's coming towards you.

for the last 4-5km, there was a varant route, and we decided to take it, mostly because it kept us off the road where there was no shade. It was certainly in the mid to high 30s. The alternate route followed the course of a river through a forest. Although it was slightly longer and winding, it was much cooler in the shade of the trees. When we came out of the shade, the feirce heat of the sun was like a physical blow.

We were glad to arrive at the albergue, which is very nice and cool, with cold ar flowing through the building. It is within a couple of minutes walk from an Aldi, a cafe, and a restaurant, so perfectly located.

And in case you were wondering, yes, the showers were good.Read more