Palas de Rei

Friday 24th June 2022 Day 34

We left at 530 to beat the crowds that are now walking. It was really peaceful for the first couple of hours. We stopped for breakfast at this place.

The guy there was wearing a mask but even so we could tell he didn’t like his job! Quick coffee and then back on the road, by this time people are catching up with us. We came to this hill which I remembered from my walk with mum, a long uphill cinder track.

We were quickly overtaken by a horde of schoolchildren. It seems the Spanish children that don’t go to the UK to Thorpe Park for the school trip all do the last stage of the Camino! When the day started I decided to take a picture of all the grain stores that we saw to get an idea of the numbers. I was going to post them all here but in the end there were 26 so I will put some of them at the bottom of the post!

We did a bit of research and they used to be for storing corn cobs but are now a bit of a status symbol, every garden should have one! It rained on and off today so it was ponchos on, ponchos off but not too bad. It felt like a long day do we had a few stops.

This one was the best. Large ants in the garden and the most enormous slab of tortilla to keep us going! It really felt like a slog today, 27km and quite a lot on roads. The last few km into Palas de Rei felt like a lifetime but eventually we got there. We checked in

then went to have a look for something to eat and found Pulperia a Nostra Terre. It was like a small UK bar with a few tables, looked great so we ordered. Not octopus as they are very intelligent and we don’t eat them anymore! But the local cheese and ham and a plate of squid were absolutely amazing, so much so that we didn’t take many photos!

On the way back we stopped at the church as I thought it might be the one I was looking for from my last visit and it was.

Slightly put off by the Dolly Parton song I will always love you that was playing! Here is a compilation of some of the grain stores!

We have 3 days walking left and it is hard to believe it is nearly over. My feet ache every day and its been hard work and so different from anything I have done before. I will be sad to stop. I get up every day at 5am without thinking about it. Pack quickly and quietly and then on our way, keep following the arrows until we reach the next stop. Make sure we have food and clean(ish) clothes. Back to bed and start again. Take time to look at what’s around us and marvel at simple everyday things. Talk to people! If only life was like that all the time,