Day34 - Palas de Reí to Arzua

25/06/22 Saturday

We left early again at about 0530. This was so we could have at least two hours quiet walking. And we were now used to getting up at 0500. The morning temperature was 7°C. This is mid June in Spain!

We had to walk past Ruth's church again.

And it was very dark.

I hadn't realised before when the birds kicked off the dawn chorus. But it wasn't yet.

This, we think, is a renovation of what the Pilgrims used to wash their clothes. Water comes in one end, flows out the other end. You scrub your clothes on the slopey bits. Of course we could be wrong and the slope is to allow ducks easy access to the water.

This gives you an idea of what the weather was like today.

This was a place Ruth remembered from 2014 when she was here with her mum.

The school kids were back. We tended to slow down and let them move past us.

Down in the valleys you would often end up with mist over the field. It's a bugger to catch with a camera phone.

We saw this place on an industrial estate. It's obviously a milk product, possibly for NASA. I had to look them up.

So now we know.

This is a recreation of a poor man's grain store. Its just a whicker basket with a thatched roof. Implication is that it keeps the rain off whilst air can circulate through the store, drying out something probably maize, which they grow a lot of round here.

Another one of those 'clothes washing troughs'.

We finally reached the 50km marker, so only 2 days walking left.

They have planted a lot of eucalyptus trees around here, whole plantations of them. They are a non native species. I know that in Portugal, they planted a lot and are now regretting it. They burn well, lots of oil in the wood.

Lots of houses here grow grape vines as a canopy to provide some shade at the front of their houses.

A rather impressive 'Beware of the Dog' sign printed on a tile.

We stopped at a great bar for food. This time Ruth had lentils and I had eggs, bacon and chips. Winner! They also had these beer tanks on the ceiling, which is worth a photo!

This is an Estrella ad, which they paint onto large buildings. There are a lot all over Galicia.

We were walking into Arzua, when we reached our hotel.

It seemed to be abandoned, but there was a number to call. It was answered by a man who spoke no English. He arrived 10 minutes later, in a car, and asked us to walk round the back.

This was the view back there. He took us into reception, no lights on, no people. He couldn't find us in the handwritten list. But in order to make himself understood, he spoke louder and slower. We eventually worked out that a girl would be there later to sign us in, check passports and collect payment. He showed us the room. There was nobody else in the hotel. It was a lot like the Bates Motel. I just hoped there wouldn't be a shower scene later.

So, we decided to head back into town with some washing. We drank beer while waiting. In walked Marianne, then the Stepford Twins and then Loud and Louder.

There was a nice stained glass windowin the pulpería where we were drinking.

This is actually what we shared for tea in a pseudo Tex/Mex food place. The burger was great, we should have had two.