Downhill wasn’t so bad - Saturday 10/12

I hit the trail this morning before dawn. It was 7:30 and I just couldn’t wait anymore. Obviously winter is approaching and the days are getting shorter from both ends.

There was a lot more uphill than I expected and I saw quite a bit of the wildlife here including these huge mushrooms just sprouting in the field

And these wonderful happy cows chowing down on the greenest grass ever

My walk was really quiet which was wonderful. I was surrounded by beautiful countryside and super great weather. The place reminds me a lot of the Smoky Mountains. As the dawn broke, the mist lifted and the sky became blue.

I passed quite a few little hamlets and in one was this chapel which was locked up but when you peered inside you could see that it was a shrine to the Blessed Virgin - a VERY popular person around here.

I arrived in my planned Puebla - Tricastela — and was looking for a pharmacy to purchase some more Aleve when I was flagged down by this woman. She was a hospitelera at an auberge and tried to convince me that the Albergue I had reserved was closed and I should bunk in at hers. I made a phone call and realized that this was BS. She must be working on commission. The Albergue I had reserved was open and, in fact, quite wonderful.

Trust but verify!

A couple more pictures. One of a local gym

And another of the beautiful path I walked