Day 33: Vilalba to Parga, 27 km

October 14, 2022. We cross the 100 km threshold left!

Our day started, as usual, in the misty gray light, as we walked to a little cafe popular with students and pilgrims that offered American items such as toast and scrambled eggs with bacon, cafe con leche and orange juice, all for $6 each. This was a great start to our day, and we stepped out onto the narrow old town street and headed out of town down to a river crossing and then back up onto the steadily rolling hills. So easy compared to the heavy climbing we’ve had before. We so enjoy how the trail is so well maintained in Galicia, wide and well marked.

After an hour of so we were passed by a young woman on a bike with a dog. I was too slow to get out my camera so I said to Alice, I hope we cross paths again. She turned off to the left and we were told to go right, so wondered when she’s find the correct path. Within 20 minutes, there she was again with her dog, so we struck up a conversation. Just a few moments later we came upon Laura on the path. She was struggling to get her dog – harness – backpack older on as he was tired. Alice helped the dog to get his paws in the correct place and soon he was able to accomodate correctly.

We smiled about this fun interaction and moved on. After about two hours we decided to take a short sitting break. Just before then, we spotted an elder farmer picking apples off the ground. He said he spoke Spanish, Gallego, Portuguese, French and Arabic, and likes to go to Porto Portugal to go shopping as things are cheaper there. He offered us apples and we gladly had them for our snack.

We pushed on through agricultural land, admiring the stone houses, which seemed to be changing their architectural qualities once again. I asked a farmer if we could sit on a bench outside his yard, but was not sure if it was meant for the public. He waved us to go ahead. Later his wife came out and showed me the calf in the barn who kept nudgeing his nose out through a little hole and crying. He is just being weaned from his mother, she explained. She also explained that small scale farming is dying out. It’s just impossible to make it as the value of cattle has goine down and there is no one in the younger generation to take over for any farm in the vicinity. The farms will be abandoned and become ruins.

After a nice rest, we passed some old friends who were nice to see again, and pushed south to get to the larger town of Baamonde. We hoped to get there about 1 pm with 20 kg under our belts and find a nice place for lunch. I identified Restaurante Galicia as a prime candidate and when we stepped in we were immediately struck by great smells and interesting historical decor. We had salmon, mixed salad ( with tuna) , dessert and beer for $30 total. It was a fantastic meal at a good price. While we were thre I helped an Australian and American to order food as they were helpless with the language, and then helped them verify a booking to stay tomorrow.. Alice showed me an email from a German girl , Claudia, who reported that the had I had left in O Xistral was being carried by an Australian girl, Meredith. She couldn’t call us but we had her number and tried. Sure enough she was close to us so we planned to meet each other at the Romanesque church nearby in 15 minutes.

We said good-bye and got started on the 8 km left to go to our hostel. We had a private room booked that should be very nice.

We walked along the highway for 4 km and then headed into the forest, which appeared to be part of a larger protected nature area.//

The 8 km went quickly, and we arrived at the beautifully appointed NaturPark lodging and settled in. A dinner and breakfast tomorrow will be provided.l

What a relief to have avoided the promised rain today and get some serious km in. We are now only 83 km from Santiago. Tomorrow the rains may begin, but it looks like they will be light and intermittent. We feel strong with no nagging injuries or blisters. We’ve got this!