Camino de Santiago – Day 24
Walked from: Marzán (near Leimán)
Walked to: Ventas de Narón
Date: 26 October 2017
Distance: 28km

Another day of walking in notoriously rainy Galicia… under clear blue skies, through green pastureland, and along shady, autum-hued, woodland pathways. Another day of walking on the Camino de Santiago, which is full of ‘pilgrims’ swapping tales about their tendinitis, knee aliments, blisters and head colds, yet… and I count myself SO lucky… I feel really well and relishing each day’s walk. I’ve also developed thighs of steel – amazing what 24 days of walking an average of 30km a day will do for the legs!

Today was more walking through tiny villages heady with the (at times, almost overwhelming) scent of eau-de-cow, accompanied by views of the sweeping countryside around me. Parts of it, with the low-lying stone walls, reminds me of the Yorkshire Dales. One place that was quite different was Portmarín and the nearby Belesar Reservoir (first picture in today’s blog) whose waters were laying so low that you could see the remains of the old towns that were flooded when the Reservoir was created in 1963. Some of those buildings, including the church you see in the picture above, were painstakingly removed and rebuilt in the new town that was created. Truly odd to think that ancient looking church has only been at that site a decade longer than I’ve been alive!

Tonight’s temporary home is Casa Molar, a hostel/bar/cafe in the village of Ventas de Narón. Dinner is in 45 minutes, which is good because I’m famished, so right now I’m
soaking up the warmth of the evening sun and enjoying the view of the (ever?) beautiful surrounding countryside. It’s a hard life…