Another good day. We walked about 14 miles. Most of it through farmland, along roads, and on forest trails. Normal end-of-day complaints, but that is normal.
We project that in 3 days, we should complete the last 65km and reach Santiago, but do not have good plans after that (yet).
One blessing today was that after finding multiple cafes not open for breakfast, we popped into an open one, and found our friends from San Diego, who we had not seen since Burgos (They are faster, but we jumped ahead with bikes). We had a good 1st breakfast with them before moving on. If all goes well, we should see them one more time in Santiago before they depart.
Not so many wildflowers today. So not so many butterflies or other insects, either. I took photos where I could.
The weather started sunny, but then clouded up and drizzled a number of times today. So it was not too hot, not too wet. Kind of a Goldilocks day.
And we are staying at an amazing place tonight. A private room in a place that used to be a mill, on the water. I will include pictures.
Although we are still largely between waves, the paths are definitely getting busier. We have largely missed the folks in their 20s who are lodging at the 'standard' spots (we stayed between the daily groups), but we are running into a lot of folks who are taking it slower. I think tomorrow, we end with one of the waves. There will be pictures.
Birding today was mixed. 33 species with no new ones today. Light was poor at times. But got a few good/lucky shots. I suppose that makes it a good day.
And if you like poppies, take a picture of a poppy every day. Because there will come a day when you find no poppies. Today was that day.
On to photos! Internet is super-slow here, so fewer photos today.
We left our hostel just before 7AM. For the first time in days, it was not full overcast, and some of the sunrise color was still in the clouds:
Another shot as the sky began to brighten:
A lot of walking along farmland and forest today:
Same as yesterday, a lot of Abierto. But Cerrado. This one, though, seemed particularly egregious:
A good looking Common Chaffinch:
Not so many wildflowers today, so I took special note when they appeared:
This chapel in Ventes de Neron was constructed from stones from a collapsed Knight's Templar hospital that had been erected in the 13th century to support pilgrims:
A really good look at a Crested Tit. These are usually so well hidden - I was shocked when one dropped out of the tree for a photo op.
A delay for a traffic jam during rush hour:
We slipped behind a car and followed our blocker:
We passed by a Donotivo (everything is free to Pilgrims, pay what you can/want: shelter, coffee, etc). In this case, they were also giving out free hugs. That got us into the door for some coffee. It is a group o fvolunteers out of Amarillo, TX supporting the Camino:
A good looking Barn Swallow when passing through town:
And shortly after, a Eurasian Magpie strutting through a field:
A European Stonechat. They may not be very vocal, but they always pose nicely for a photo:
A very slightly better photo of a Turtle Dove than my last photo a couple days ago:
The road we were walking today was a bit busier than earlier on the trail. And every other vehicle is either a taxi, or luggage delivery, or some other Camino support:
Along the Camino, there have been a whole lot of cats. One perched on the wall, and on the prowl:
A warbling White Wagtail:
Cabbage White Butterfly, one of the few butterflies we saw today:
A Eurasian Jay, looking over its shoulder:
When walking through the 'standard' stopping place of Palas de Rei, we saw this statue of dancing figures:
A peek-a-boo European Robin:
A nice stretch through the forest:
We got a small lunch at a cafe, where the local dog was begging for attention:
The last milage marker for the day - in case you cannot read it:62.753km
And we made it to our home for the night. An old mill, converted to a hostel. Here is the view from our window:
And from the outside:
And the downstairs inside has a lot of the old mechanisms. Very cool.
Tomorrow should be another good day - about 13 miles. Will update tomorrow.
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