We landed an extra hour of sleep without doing anything special! I love when the clocks fall back. Earlier sunrises with more daylight to walk. That only works if we get up earlier.

But the best part about this morning was blue skies. It was cold and brisk, but there was no rain, only a rainbow! I was praising the Lord.

George and I walked out of town and we met many new Pilgrims on the way. It was a gorgeous route this morning. We were in rural towns, with lots of gardens and terraces. Something we keep noticing in Galicia Spain are these raised concrete silos. Some are quite ornate, decorated with crosses and adorned with engravings.

We talked with Noah, a fellow Pilgrim from Spain. He gave us the story behind these. They are a specific type of granary in Galicia called Horreo’s. It is constructed for agricultural use intended to dry, cure and store corn and other cereals before shelling and grinding them. It is typically constructed of granite, oblong and narrow in shape, with permeable storage chamber. It allows the passage of air, and is separated from the ground to prevent the entry of moisture and animals. It appears that most families and farmers have one. They are much to be admired and appreciated.

After walking for a couple of hours, we found a cafe. Thank goodness because instant 3-1 Coffee isn’t really coffee! We walked inside and they were serving honest to goodness breakfast. Or at least that’s what we thought. On the menu there were Omlettes, with Jamon, Queso, Tortilla, and an array of goodies. I ordered Jamon for George and I, the Tortilla. We both received sandwiches, one with Jamon and the other, potatoes. We ate it up and then promptly left to get back on the trail.

Once outside, I went across the street to take a photo and George carried on, up the path. As I crossed back, the gal from the Restaurant was standing outside. She was speaking in Spanish which I wasn’t understanding, but just smiled at her. She kept talking when I realized, we never paid our bill. My bad! Oh my gosh, now I understand why she’s so upset. I apologized emphatically. I am so sorry. That’s the last thing I do is dine and dash! I paid our bill and gave her a hefty tip. How embarrassing.

I can guarantee you, that won’t happen again. I beat feet to catch up with George. He was a bit ahead of me, but we had some climbing to do. I caught up within a few minutes and all was good. Lucas, is Polish but lives in Germany caught up too. He walked with us for a bit. Lucas started his Camino in Porto. It amazes me the people we are meeting from all over the world.

We headed into Arcade, and passed an Albergue. There must’ve been ten Pilgrims sitting around. Not a big deal but the fact that I had never seen them before. Being we are 100 kilometers from Santiago, there’s tons of people that are beginning their pilgrimage today. It’s so exciting that we’ll be walking with so many new people.

One of the issues that I’m dealing with is no clean clothes due to the off and on rain. Usually we would wash in the sink, then hang outside, but it’s too wet and cold to dry anything. But then, we see this Laundry and Fountain in the Town Square. It is a typical example of Galician popular architecture. It is formed by combination of a laundry (a rectangular roofed structure where clothes are washed), a fountain (a construction with a spout for the water to exit) and a pool (a reservoir where water is stored for irrigation). If only I knew, I could’ve done my laundry here.

The history behind these Water Features: The traditional Galician society lived before running water in houses, and the invention of washing machines. You can see the good use of water and it’s distribution between water to drink, to wash and to irrigate the land. It was also a meeting place for woman. This was a place and time where women were responsible for the laundry. Being outside of the home, they could speak freely without the presence of men. Wow, we’ve come a long ways!

Today we had two big hills to get up and over. With one down, we started up and over Chachiero. Being today was Sunday, hunting season was in full swing. Dogs were barking and then we saw them. There were three bloodhounds running up the hill, on the hunt for wild pigs. There were signs cautioning pilgrims but we never saw any wild pigs or boars. I’m sure them pigs know it’s hunting season and are hiding out.

With a few miles left and our hills climbed, we stopped at a Cafe-Bar. I had packed out sandwiches so we ordered espresso and French Fries. Then the rain started. Thank goodness we were sitting inside. God’s perfect timing. Somehow we had escaped the crazy downpour. Once it stopped, we braved the outdoors again.

I hobbled into Ponteverde. Not sure what happened but all of a sudden my knee was not cooperating. George gave me his walking sticks and for the following two miles, I was moving slow, slower than slow. It wasn’t like I twisted my knee or banged it on some unsuspecting rock. I haven’t fallen so what just happened is quite perplexing. Whatever it was, as quickly as it came, it left. Thank you Lord!

After stopping for a very expensive bowl of soup, we packed up and walked our final steps to Ponteverde. This city of Ponteverde is an important stopover on the Portuguese Way. As we found our way, we saw The Church of the Pilgrim Virgin. It is circular in shape and has a floor plan in the shape of a scallop shell. Also the medieval Burgo Bridge has scallop shells sculpted in its’ arches. The scallop shell is quite prominent throughout this city.

Once we found our room for the night, we hunkered down and never left. My knee is better, George’s feet are healing and sometimes you just need to take a night off. Good thing because we just had a major downpour that flooded the street below us. Thank goodness, we had the sense, and exhaustion, to know when to stay indoors. And tonight is that kind of night.