Palas de Rei to Castaneda

Total distance today = 14.4 miles

Total ascent = 591 feet

Cumulative distance = 460.1 miles

We set off rested this morning, but Dave's lower right leg is still bothering him. The weather lately has been pretty chilly in the morning, warming in late afternoon to the high 60s.   

Before leaving Palas de Rei, we saw their insignia 

... And this pilgrim statue - a different style than most 

As we've walked through various mid to large cities across Spain, we've noticed signs of the recent economic turmoil. Most evident is the large number of buildings that are half built. These exist in every town and city, sometimes in large blocks - half finished construction that is likely permanently abandoned. A lot of the existing finished housing stock is also unoccupied. On the other hand, people dress well,  eat well, and mostly drive small late model cars, and we do see some luxury homes and expensive cars in many larger towns and cities. 

Outside Palas de Rei the Camino was under construction. 

One of the old markers has fallen victim to "progress". 

The path was again crowded during the morning.

I couldn't believe this lady was wearing short shorts since it was so chilly. Dave thought she was a little butch...

...then we realized it was a guy.  Way too much revealed when he turned around.

We still see some old churches, like this one (12th century) in San Xulian do Camino.  But they generally aren't open, and in the small villages are often in disrepair. 

Quite a bit of today's hike was on paths through wooded, shaded areas.

Albergues are now plentiful and advertising is sometimes over the top. 

The Camino "mascot" is still with us. 

And occasionally we just have to wonder "what were they thinking" when coming across things like this:

It's harder to find the historical pieces on the Camino now. There seems to be more development in this region, and the towns are closer to each other. However, we did cross a medieval bridge this morning.

There were also some modern monuments to fallen pilgrims...

Remember the structures we though might be for bees, we now know they are Galician corn cribs. But why so high in the air?  Our waiter this evening told us they are elevated due to rats and mice. Interesting, since corn cribs in the U.S. are generally placed on the ground. In northeastern Spain the structures are an iconic signature, with every village having several, and some are now used for decorative purposes in house yards.

The cribs, called "horreos" in Spanish, have been adopted as a regional "symbol".  They can be painted bright colors-

and some homes have miniature versions as decorative yard art. 

We entered the large town of Melide, hoping to find a pulporia for lunch (octopus is a regional specialty and we heard that this town had the best version).  We got our first sello (pilgrim stamp) of the day at the museum and passed quite a few cafés looking for our octopus. It wasn't until we got to the city center that we found a couple but a lot of other peregrinos had the same idea. They were packed. So we opted for another restaurant and paella. 

We left lunch with full stomachs, but Dave's leg ached even more. It was slow going for the rest of the day, but he's determined to get to Santiago. 

We left Melide and came upon an 11th century Romanesque church, Igrexa Santa Maria de Melide Xili,. There was a man (priest?) there to describe the church to peregrinos who stopped for the required sello. 

The fresco is from the 14th century and is the original paint. 

Beautiful!

The Madonna statue there is interesting..

The rest of the afternoon we slowly made our way towards our accommodations in Castaneda. The path was shaded for most of the way. 

Occasionally running into our mascot. 

Our hotel for this evening is top notch - an old country estate that is about a two-km walking detour off the Camino. Pictures really can't do it justice. 

The hydrangea flowers were huge.

The old time Camino cloaks and staff decor are a bit much. 

Today is our 37th wedding anniversary, and we enjoyed some wine with a very nice dinner. Tomorrow is almost a rest day, only about five miles to walk.  Hopefully that will give my foot pain (plantar fasciitis) and Dave's low shin splints to settle down a bit. There's only another 26 miles to Santiago, planned arrival on this Saturday!  We have another rest/tour day scheduled there for Sunday and will decide then whether to continue on the next 60 miles to Finisterre and the ocean.