Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Portomarin - Lestedos Day Eleven


Day Eleven

Date:     April  2013

Place:    Portmarin - Lestedos

Weather:   Rain!

Accommodation:  Casa Rectoral Lestedo

After a great night’s sleep we woke to find out we weren’t sore and our feet had recovered (much much better anyway!).  It’s amazing what a good rest will do.

Desley chatted with some Australians at breakfast who are doing the Camino as well.  It’s a small world as they are from Sherwood in Brisbane.

We made an earlier start today at 9.20 and stopped to stroll around the beautiful San Nicolas church.  It is a large church and unfortunately it was locked.
Setting off from Portomarin.....we always look so happy....delusional perhaps!  Little did we know what the day would throw at us.
 

We were over the bridge and on our way for our first stop at Gonza.  We started out in fine overcast weather and we thought it would be a great day however it wasn’t long up a wooded path that the rain started coming down and we put on our wet weather gear.  The walk today was predominantly a path beside country or larger roads however the trek was interspersed with wooded glades and surprisingly eucalypt forests. 
The great cake at Gonza.

We chatted to some American students for a couple of kms and it makes the going faster.  They are studying intensive Spanish in Santiago and living with families.  What an opportunity.

As we were nearing Gonza at 11.30 the heavens opened and we just made it – we were deciding to don our ponchos for more protection however we saw a sign for a café and joined many other pilgrims riding out the sudden downpour.  It was a great place to stop for a coffee and some Tarte de Santiago which was a great almond cake dredged in icing sugar.  We collected our first sellos (stamp) for the day at the café.

The weather improved and I walked into Gonza at  after a half an hour break which is a very tiny village.  There is more to Gonza than the roadside café and it has a lovely tiny Romanesque church, another café and some albergues. 

Just as an aside, the albergues are dormitories used by the pilgrims.  Essentially, the fee is about 8 euros for a bed and pilgrims just turn up for the night.  I think if I was doing an extended walk it would be a great way to meet others.

Half a kilometre up the road is the little village of Castro Maior Peutomarin which has only has a handful of stone buildings including another Romanesque church – Santa Maria.  The religious needs of the pilgrims were certainly taken care of!

In another hundred metres up the road the rain came belting down again so we donned our ponchos for the remainder of the day.  The rain came and went but it was too much bother to take them on and off and as well it provided protection from the wind
It's a good look....along with every other pilgrim!

We had another rest sitting on some stone steps above Hostipal de la Cruz and the wind was picking up.   Today we seemed to get into the rhythm of walking and the lunch stop came up sooner than expected so we kept walking.  However, the next stop for lunch was at the 16kms mark and we reached that after a steep uphill climb from Hospital de Cruz. 
Does my bum look big in this?  No, but I'm worried about your hunched backs!
At this stage it was head down and march on!

The crucero (wayside cross) at Lameiros has been standing since 1674 and has Christ on one side of the cross and the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus.  After all this time the details are quite good.  On the base is a skull and crossbones.
The cross just outside Lameiros...note the skull and crossbones on the base.

The little café was a welcome sight at 2.50pm – Café Casa la Mariluz just a little way on from Ligonde where we enjoyed hot soup, sandwich, salad and chips.
Traffic in one of the villages!
 

With only one last hill alongside the road (granite bricks divide the road and the path for a majority of the way) we were then descending into several little villages and onto Lestedo for the evening.  We arrived at 4.30pm ready for a hot shower and a rest.
Just outside Ligonde.
 

At dinner the other two guests were from Sydney and we spent an interesting time discussing the walk amongst other things.  They have been walking for two weeks and have been through snow (couldn't even find the yellow markers) and rain and rated today's walk as the worst yet.  Well we survived it!

The accommodation is wonderful however the heating is a bit awry as the weather is so wet that the wood has become damp.  I used the extra blanket and added extra clothes…..and eventually slept well.  Must have been all that walking!

 

 

 

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