The street through the little village where I stayed last night was like Bourke Street at rush hour this morning when I ventured forth after breakfast. A whole new cast of faces, and some lovely people to chat to to help while away the not super interesting or scenic kilometres. There are some nice bits and some plantations of eucalypts to kick off some olfactory nostalgia. Speaking of matters olfactory, the incidence of patches of overpoweringly bad smells seems much higher in Galicia this time round. I guess it is the animal husbandry practices. I fell sorry for the people with houses down wind.
Just outside Melide it started to drizzle so I ducked into a lovely cafe just before the medieval bridge that leads into the town and watched the new pilgrims struggling into their ponchos while I enjoyed second breakfast.
The Sarria starters seem full of energy, and perhaps unworthily I find myself eyeing people like the overweight guy with the pack the size of a small fridge who bounds past me as I trudge up yet another hill. Did he just pop out of a taxi round the last corner? Yesterday, on the quiet rural roads before Palas de Rei, taxis were more than half of the motor traffic, with the pack transport services making up a good part of the rest.
Anyway, to each their own. Today another milestone, passed the 50 k to go mark, though I couldn't actually spot the stone itself. 49.5 K to go will have to do.
Tomorrow I might push on to Monte de Gozo, about 35 k from Azura where I am tonight, and stay in the industrial scale albergue there, to see what it is like. It is only 4.5 k into Santiago so I should be able to saunter in Friday morning, all going well.
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