Portomarín to Palas de Rei

27km and soggy again.

The rain in Spain falls mainly in Galicia. And the rain in Galicia falls mainly on Kevin and John.

An excellent breakfast at our Portomarín hotel and an increasingly late sunrise meant we didn’t get walking until 8:15 and it was still dark. We also knew from the great Spanish weather app that we would be in for rain from midday.

We walked through the full length of Portomarín then across the river accompanied by the most pilgrims we had seen leaving predawn. Most will have started their Camino yesterday in Sarria which at 113km is the closest starting point at which pilgrims can obtain the Compostela.

We climbed steadily from an overnight 400m to around 600m when it started raining and continued steadily for three hours as we climbed to 720m. Seeking some respite and warmth we called into Casa Mariluz in Agaete for the restorative effects of Galician soup.

On the track again we briefly experienced the heaviest rain of the day before the sun reappeared and thawed us out as we completed the last 8km into Palas de Rei.

Like yesterday we had 3.5 hours of quite heavy rain while walking. But the soup break fortified us for further trudging, and the sunny conditions late in the day lifted our spirits and made a small start on drying out sodden footwear.

We checked into Pensión San Marcos and it is just great: modern clean and comfortable. They cater well for pilgrims with an urgent need to wash and dry stuff. Oodles of clothesline space in the sun, and heating radiators in the room that are turned on !!

The pensión is massive, discreetly scattered over several buildings just a block or two from the middle of town.

Based on Google reviews we had dinner at Pulperia A Nosa Terra. The kitchen opened at 7pm and the place is just a tiny bar so we cleverly squatted at a table at 6:20 and had a cleansing radler before requesting a menu. Dinner was very good. Kevin satisfied his craving for pulpo (octopus) and John had pork tenderloin prepared nicely, washed down with a good temperanillo, crepes, espresso. The place seemed to be very well run by just 3-4 people. Terrific Galician food.Read more