28 September - Portomarin to Palais del Reis (24 klms)

Col: Was down for breakfast at 7Am but wasn't feeling to flash so just had a bread roll. Then it was time to hit the trail again and I was still feeling the pinch from the day before. The inevitable climb out of Portomarin was a particularly long and relatively steep. Then it was a pretty boring trudge along the side of the highway past some particularly pungent chicken and cow farms. After about 10 klms we arrived at a little café and at that point I became the first one to pike. With prospect of a further 16klms, pretty crook and feeling pretty fatigued from the day before and the aforementioned climb I decided to catch a taxi to Palais. The other three adventurers hung in there and completed the journey - although Pete seemed pretty shagged when he got in.

The hotel was excellent and the service was great. Had dinner next door at A Forxa and it was pretty average although the salmon was nice. Then it was off to bed early to try and recover for tomorrow's stage to Melide.

Eric: "I think we can rest easy today" said John as he looked up at the sky. Barely 10 seconds later the rain came. And that's how our 24km walk to Palas de Rei started.

The World War Z audio book I had on my phone  helped relieve the monotony of the walk. Not a bad adaptation that remains true to the book. Shame I finished it this early in the walk.

Trash of the Camino

 

We got to Palas de Rei mid afternoon and found Collie already checked in. Quick shower and we were off to explore the town before dinner.

Random dude's house

 

 Marathon in Palas de Rei

John: This was our longest day … 26.1 kilometres … with a hard climb to start and several to follow and was a big ask. And while it didn’t rain so much the wind was very cold. By the end of the day Pete, Eric and I had done 49 kilometres in two days so we were completely shattered when we finally got to Palas De Rei. Stopped for several coffees and/or snacks along the way and to rest. The walk is verminous with pilgrims even this late in the season and there are full houses and queues at some stopping points.

The hotel was fine and very well organised … they have managing caministas down to a fine art … not a lot of English but enough to tell you what to do and when to do it … a bit of a teutonic flavour I thought but very friendly at the same time.

From a marketing perspective it seems important to be the first coffee stop on the stage … say about an hour in or after a longish stretch so that you’re the first thing the famished walker sees as he/she emerges from his/her work of pain. It funny that there can be a couple of coffee shops side by side and the first one has the lion’s share of the custom.