Ponchos again, but a beautiful ending to the day

Yesterday was our longest day yet, at 12.5 miles which included a few climbs. For the most part, we were off road on forest trails through mixed woodland of oak, pine, and eucalyptus. The smell of the damp forest was quite exhilarating, and, to some degree, compensated for the lack of long distance views of the mountains to our west.

A lovely stream beside which we had lunch

I was aching so much last night, that I hardly slept. Some painkillers after breakfast will definitely be a must, before we embark on the next stage. It is about 15 miles from here in Padron to Santiago, but we are splitting the distance in half, so that we arrive fresh at our destination on Saturday. There is a railway station that goes to Santiago right across the road from our hotel, so there must be a great temptation for some pilgrims just to "train" it in!

The churchyard at St. Miguel was lined with crosses, and you can see how gloomy it is.
Hopefully you can make out the mountains in the distance.

We found the churchyard interesting as the graves were stacked on top of one another. I have never seen so many fresh flowers! One young lady with a toddler, had to use a ladder to place flowers on a top grave.

It was a bit of a miserable day for the most part yesterday, and the ponchos came out again. I really hate wearing them, as I can't see where I am going as the hood keeps slipping down! Thankfully after our first break for coffee at a local cafe, it stopped raining, but was cloudy and damp for most of the day.

Whilst I remember, I must mention how hospitable the proprietors of the cafes are here in Spain. When you order a drink, they inevitably also give you a little cake, or a savoury snack, depending on the time of day. Yesterday afternoon, we were given a bowl of paella, a meal in itself. I am pleased we are using up so much energy, as otherwise, I should put on weight.

Meeting children at a local school

A couple of members of our group had some gifts for a school in the area, so we made a detour to visit them. You can see from the 'photos that they were very welcoming!

River Ulla

River Ulla in the other direction. We saw some very large fish jumping out of the water to catch flies.

We took another detour off the Camino to visit the Monasterio Franciscano de Herbon. This is a longer route but avoids the tediousness of miles of city streets to reach the centre of Padron. The path was quite interesting, as again we were in forests or rural communities, but also crossed the beautiful River Ulla.

The monastery was very peaceful, and we all wished that we were staying there, rather than opposite the railway station! In fact the guest master did try to sign us up, but we already had our accommodation organised. The church was very beautiful, and we spent a little time there in prayer, and quiet contemplation

The monastery at Herbon

Inside the Church of the Monastery.

We are exploring Padron this morning, before departing for Teo. There are some legendary connections with St. James here, so I should have some interesting news in my next post!

Love

Rina