Slept fairly well, woken a couple of times by the sound of heavy machinery working outside: bin emptying, street sweeping machines, etc.
We have a long 18 mile day, so plan to set off early, getting to the tourist office at the start of the walk for when it opens at 8am. So a very good breakfast at 7am, and set off from our hotel just after 8: pre-dawn
It's a mile to the official start of the walk at harbour. There is plenty to look at on the way through the old streets of Ferrol. We see other pilgrims also heading towards the start
I don't know who this very colourful chap is, but he makes a wonderful photo companion, overlooking the town's port as the sun rises behind us
We reach the tourist office just after 8.30, only to discover it opens at 9. Don't believe everything that you read on the Internet is the obvious learning point. So we sit in a nearby cafe for tea/coffee. It is full of fellow walkers waiting to begin their journeys.
By 9 the office is open, but quite a queue has formed. It is slow moving, some people are obviously engaged in complex queries. Eventually our turn arrives and we get our Credencials stamped, showing we have started the walk at Ferrol.
The marker post in the mural beside the queue shows that we have 113km and 239m to go to Santiago. So without further delay we set off at 9.15
through the mostly empty streets of Ferrol. Spain may stay up late at night, but it also starts the day late, shops not opening before 10
There is a steady stream of pilgrims heading out of town. The route is excellently waymarked, every twist and turn is signed with the distinctive Camino clamshell symbol
and concrete posts at regular intervals showing the distance left between you and the finish
Cranes, like giant birds, tower over the large naval base
It takes nearly two hours of walking before we finally leave Ferrol behind. The walk through the town has been very enjoyable. Wide avenues interspersed with paths beside the estuary, cool air and a pleasantly warmy sun.
The old monastery of San Martino de Xuvia. Looking at it now it's hard to imagine that 900 years ago this was one of the most important monasteries in Spain witnessing, according to the information board, times of great splendour. Today it is geared up for the modern pilgrim, a man sat at an old desk ready to stamp a Sello in your Credencials in exchange for a small donation
This is very easy and gentle walking
We smash through the 100km to go marker
Graffiti reminds you that you are still within an urban setting
and admire the magnificent magnolia tree at Xuvia. This claims to be one of the oldest magnolias in the whole of Europe, and it is looking very healthy and with a trunk more than 6m in circumference.
The infrastructure on the Camino is the best I have ever encountered on a walk. In addition to the comprehensive waymarking it also has regular water points - 19 over its 65 mile or so route
We pick up a savoury minced meat slice for lunch, eaten on a stone bench in the shade. Boots and socks off, and hot feet cooling on the cold paving stones of an old street. Putting the sweat soaked socks back on afterwards is a small price to pay. Turning the corner after our lunch spot we find a cafe bar where we could have stopped. C' est la vie
The heat rises throughout the afternoon, and starts to become draining. We stop for refreshment at this cafe bar in Fene, eschewing cool but dehydrating beer in favour of soft drinks. It is also a place where you can get another Sello in your Credencial
We have encountered several of these structures and spent time puzzling over their purpose. They are all associated with springs and rivers and have water flowing through stone pools. We eventually work out they are old laundry sites, where people must have come to do their washing and exchange gossip and banter
The path climbs through woods populated with oak and eucalyptus. The shade helps reduce the heat of the afternoon but the last four or five miles seem to stretch on forever
Finally, with a sense of great relief Pontedeume and the end of our day come into view. But our ordeal is not quite over as it's another long half mile to our slightly out of town hotel. The kitchen is closed tonight so after very refreshing showers we walk the half mile back into town for food. But this does provide the opportunity to go into a mobile phone shop to acquire my Spanish SIM card. The staff are very helpful but the first card that they try is faulty. The second will work with their phone but not in mine. Technologically stumped, and with it being past their closing time I give up on this quest for now and we head to a local bar for food and refurbishment.
Maybe it's been the heat of the day, or maybe the tiredness, but sat outside in the evening air it is starting to feel very cold. So after paying for our meal we head the half mile home for a relatively early night
I feel tired for you Eve
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