Portomarin

89 kms to Santiago de Compostela
May 27, 2009

Punishment for the taxi? 24kms today but I took it slowly on mostly beautiful Galician paths. It looks like Ireland and I met Ray, an Irish man, probably in his 80s and walking slower than me. He is a delightful character as only the Irish can be (right Kim?) and we passed each other all day. He joined me at the Morgade Bar which is another of my favorite stops. Then I stopped at the new Albergue in Mercadorio, a very nice albergue folks. Ivan, the Hospitalero saves foreign notes,so I have promised to send him a couple on my return to the USA.

At Vilachá just 1-2kms before Portomarin I stopped for awhile and talked with Gordon who runs a little stand selling cold drinks to the pilgrims. I was delaying the inevitable, the long steep down hill, then the steep uphill to Portomarin. Sometimes it does not pay to know what is ahead of you. Gordon is actually a member of the Confraternity of South Africa and they are trying to get a Clean-up the Camino campaign going by giving out green plastic bags to albergues for pilgrims to carry on their way to use and discard at the end of the day. On that note, if you are to be a pilgrim on the camino, then ladies, please carry a plastic bag for your toilet paper and do not throw it where you pee. If I go behind a hedge there is evidence of women, everywhere, it is disgusting, and it takes so little effort to stop this.