Camino de Santiago – Day Two

The second day of walking took us from Portomarin to Palais de Rei.

Another early morning and it did lead Bev and I to question quite how early we were setting off to try and find breakfast.

The breakfast stop for Bev and myself, which was the Cafe Bar Espana. I thought that the member of staff serving was helpful and polite, although Bev didn’t exactly share the same view of proceedings. My breakfast was coffee and Santiago’s cake, as some bloody tourist had just ordered the last croissant.

However, as can be seen from the assembled masses, this wasn’t exactly a peaceful and solitary departure from Portomarin.

A misty morning as we left the town.

There were some hilly elements to the walk out of Portomarin, but initially the temperature was what I considered to be pleasant (and most other people thought was cold). We did quite a lot of overtaking of the other pilgrims and it then felt much quieter.

Just 85 kilometres of the walk left, and another pair of shoes left by someone on top of the trail marker. The landscape was quite open and there was less woodland than on other parts of the trail.

As the day progressed though, the temperature situation changed and it became too hot. I mentioned this to everyone several times, and was pro-active in resolving the situation by getting an ice lolly.

Um….

I think I set a slight trend about the ice lollies and Maggie kindly bought some lollies at Casa Molar, which I couldn’t help but relate to teeth. The local dog seemed interested in what we were doing, although he was unsuccessful in getting any food out of us. Gordon got himself some expensive ice cream, which he declared as a bit too creamy. He has very high standards indeed.

This is the Capela da Magdalena, near to Ventas de Narón, where a blind man was stamping the pilgrim passports.

Inside of the chapel, where something of a queue was developing.

The ant sculpture at A Paso de Formiga.

The path into Airexe.

The lunch stop was at Casa Mariluz, near to the village of Ligonde. We had a pleasant lunch here and I opted for the chorizo bocadillo, of sandwich. As will become evident from my evening’s selection, I’m rather partial to chorizo…. Anyway, instead of a photo of food, here’s a photo of the restaurant’s cat.

Gordon enjoying the sun and I think it’s fair to say that no-one could accuse him of manspreading….. Bev was very pleased to see Gordon enjoying the sun and rushed to sit by his feet, although she had to be reminded that this was a pilgrimage walk. I don’t think she paid much attention.

The path just before we entered the town of Palas de Rei.

This was to be my accommodation for the evening, La Cabaña, which had what I would have called an alpine theme to the hotel section of the building. The check-in process was smooth and Steve B, Sarah and myself were the first three of the group to settle in for the evening. And by settle in, I mean dump bags, change and then rush to the hotel’s bar.

Whilst checking in, we noticed that Susanna’s luggage had arrived to meet her after her long train journey.

Here’s my delicious flavoured water and we shared several packets of crisps. I say shared, but some of us perhaps had more than others. Steve M also threw his pack on the floor and then didn’t pick them up, despite being able to meet the three second rule. This is another man of class.

After that we walked down to the town of Palas de Rei itself, and this is the town’s church.

The interior of the church.

After a few minutes of culture, we thought that it was time for another drink. This is the beer at Albergue Buen Camino, a delicious Amstel. Well, an Amstel anyway.

We stayed in the same bar for our evening meal, where there was a €10 pilgrim’s menu available. The starter of pasta with chorizo, which was entirely adequate given the cost of the meal. It was served at the appropriate hot temperature, was a generous portion size and the sauce had some texture and flavour to it.

The main course of chorizo, eggs and chips and it might be possible to read between the lines (or just look at the photos) to notice that I like chorizo…. Again, all was well with this dish, it was decent value for money and the chorizo had some flavour to it.

Another dessert of Santiago’s cake, which appears to be the local speciality. It was available at nearly every meal stop along the route and could also be purchased at the airport for anyone who wanted to take an entire cake home.

Bev had stomped off by this time after giving her views on the fillet of salmon and the service times, so the restaurant gave us a round of shots. Gordon couldn’t cope with another drink, as he’d already had nearly two drinks, and so I had his shot. Goodness knows what it was and I slightly dread to think.

I’d add here that I’m not one for gossip, but Gordon did get a bit excitable. Frankly, it was a good job that I was there to calm the situation down.

My photo of the sun setting as the two Steves and myself walked back to our accommodation. Another successful day of walking….