Calais De Reis to Padron

Another cool day,windy but perfect for walking. Our breakfast was interesting-long flat bread loaves spread with a tomato paste,dried jamon and a cup of tea. Not up to our usual breakfasts but it was served with good humour and a smile-more than we got yesterday.
Our shortest day tramping so far(18.1km) according to the guide but it has not always followed to plan so we will see. We left before eight and made our way out of the town in high spirits-we were going to succeed,the end was in sight and we were walking well.

The walk was lovely. I really enjoyed this stretch of the trek. Much or the walk was through national park  with tree lined pathways and clear streams running alongside the track.We had some uphill sections to negotiate and test the calves but not a serious challenge to our fitness as we had built up our energy stores as the days passed... I think the highest point  for the day was  at Cortinas at 160 metres.

It was peaceful off road-quite soulful and no traffic noise to disturb your thoughts, the sunlight streamed through the large trees shading our path  as we travelled down towards the valley floor.
There were also  some lovely views over the valleys, the main river was the Ulla which we crossed just before the town of Padron.

 It was a Sunday so the roads were quiet-just as well as there were many times it would have been dangerous to negotiate the stone lined roads through the villages.
Locals spend the day quietly-church and family visiting seemed to be traditional pursuits.Not many cafes on this section so we had to plan ahead for our stops. Today we choose St Miguel, a charming village and hospitable cafe owners who made us welcome.We met up with some Dutch women here and spent an enjoyable time hearing about their experiences. One had a sister living in NZ and she had walked the French Way nine years ago so she was a seasoned pilgrim.

We also met many cyclists -very fit, handsome and  a sight for sore eyes as our companions attested to. "Buon Camino" was the greeting between fellow pilgrims and we heard this many times on our walk today.

We passed the statue of Santiago leaning on his staff which lead us into the town of Padron, famous on the pilgrimage because this was the site where St James was said to have begun his ministry  in Spain  and where St James's body was thought to have been brought up the river and his stone boat  tied to a mooring(now enclosed at  a church and  revered by pilgrims) on the Rio Sar. The church was closed so we could not check it out but we did climb around the other old and historic landmarks present in the town.
The market was in full force so we spent time exploring the stalls and admiring the cheese and jamon displays.

The market was all over by two pm and we set off to explore the town....