The walk from Portomarín to Palas de Rei was an especially a good one because of all the wonderful persons we met and new friends we made. The first group we spent time with were young middle school students from Taiwan. We had already met three of them and taken photos with them and received souvenir gifts from them. we got to meet the rest of the 35 as well as Joy, the school counselor who was leading the tour, assisted by several other adults. They are a lively group who were always excited to see us each time our paths crossed during the day.
We walked for a while with a lovely couple from Mongolia, the first persons I have ever met from that part of the world. We also spent a lot of time walking with Kate, principal of a small Catholic elementary school in Alexandria, Virginia. We again met and visited with 17-year-old Mathieu and his grandfather Claude, who are from France.
I I have been using my watch to record the miles we walk each day plus the amount of time it takes. Generally, the projected distance indicated in the guidebook, and what my watch record do not agree, probably because of my inconsistency, and turning the app on and off. However, today, both the guidebook and my watch indicated 15.3 miles.
The crowds keep getting larger and larger, and apparently lodging has become a real problem for many pilgrims, but not for us because I made advance reservations for the entire pilgrimage.
We concluded our day with another wonderful. Visit and dinner with two of our Australian friends, plus Kate, the principal from Alexandria, and Galla, a young lady from Belgium, who had met Peter earlier in the day and was invited by him to join us. Most of us ate grilled octopus, which was delicious. Brother Ronald chose to pass.
After such a day, it was much appreciated to get a great night’s sleep.