Day 8: to Caldas de Reis

Time to get going again. After a decent breakfast in the basement of the hotel, I walked towards the old city, passing many of the places I had seen the previous night. I liked the lines of this building.

At a central square I bumped into the Swedish pilgrim group again. They were about a dozen and stood out because they were all wearing red shirts with logos of their sponsors. They worked for or were associated with a child heart disease foundation and were raising funds. This I knew because I had already bumped into them on the way a couple of times before. I said to them in mock irritation: You people again! We all laughed. I thought it was a great cause to do a Camino for.

Umbrella street again, this time in morning light.

Going forwards.

We emerged on the bank of the river Lérez and crossed it using the Burgo Bridge which dates back to medieval times. It has new paving and guard rails as you can see.

The view from the bridge.

The upstream view.

Downstream is another pedestrian and cyclist bridge of modern construction. You can see how calm the water is.

About an hour's walking found us on the path running alongside a main road with bucolic fields and farm animals.

About 1½ hours into the walk we were in a forest.

It was cooler and more pleasant than open fields. But there were a few steep climbs and sometimes I had to thread my feet between rocks.

A sign with wise words in Galician: O camino non se percorre, vivise. Piensa que puedes y estarás a medio camino. which translates to The road is not walked but lived. Think you can and you'll be halfway there.

This sign at the fork recommends a safer way to cross the highway.

At a vineyard, one of the family picking grapes cheerfully gave pilgrims a handful each. I found another intact bunch on the ground and saved it for later. They were wine grapes, not table grapes, so were a bit tart but still flavourful. The flesh was jelly-like.

At a rest stop, this cat came and flopped down at my feet. An Irish woman pilgrim complimented me by saying that I must be exuding good vibes and the cat was enjoying that downpour. And the stroking.

This is the last photo I took this day, of a pond that took my fancy. I guess I felt that the inland scenes weren't as picturesque as the coast.

I had a somewhat late lunch at a restaurant in Caldas de Reis, then trudged over to the hotel. The room was quite good, with air-conditioning.

The laundry machines became free just before dinner. In the dining room I greeted the Swedish pilgrims who were also staying in the same hotel. I had my own table though, and finished dinner quickly so that I could load up the dryer.