9. Saxamonde to Pontevedra. 23 km.

 

Arcade

At the Albergue O Corisco I was compartmentalized, i.e., given the lower berth in a double bunker squashed into a narrow recess curtained off from similar quarters. Trouble was, I was setting off early but the top bunker wasn’t, so I had to scramble around in the dark carrying my pack and all my things into a lighted area so I could get organized. This can be hazardous because you can’t check your sleeping quarters in the light. Once I left my sleeping bag behind.

But I made an early start. After a stroll down the the hill into a Redondela, I enjoyed a café con leche and a very succulent tortilla. Then up a couple of hills along the road,  and off into the field and a shady lane leading up to a delightful walk through the woods, indigenous oak and invasive eucalyptus, and down to the town of Arcade.

And then as is so often the case, I left town town via a higgledy-piggledy of little

streets and climbed up again and on to the true Camino, winding around through the woods on an ancient trail, with sandy stretches and stony ascents. I wondered how many of the rocks were in situ and how many were carted there by ox or mule and laid in place to make a road linking village to village.

I sat down and enjoyed some glorious moments of silence. Quite Garfunklean!

Eventually, I came down from the high places and found myself on the outskirts of Pontevedra. I was further ahead than expected.

It’s a short post today, for I am weary. Besides, it is my birthday. And there’s a Brummy in the bunk opposite me and it’s his birthday too. He’s three years younger than I am. I won’t reveal my age other than to say I have exceeded the Biblical lifespan by the number of pennies in a shilling.

Tomorrow I leave the Camino on the Variante Espiritual, a little detour that involves a passage by boat.