We knew the drill well by now...groan when the alarm went off, debate your life's choices, get up, wash, pack/repack, and get ready for breakfast. Although the hotel did not have a restaurant, it had a very nice buffet breakfast.
You were assigned a 30 minute slot for breakfast...apparently, we were the early birds.
Our walk today was an easy 16 km...Day 5! We are putting on brave faces!
Look how far down the street we got before it started to pour. Day 5...take 2!
Once again we were off, without having had a chance to look around the town.
Any early morning grumpies soon disappeared as the scenery unfolded...it was so pretty this morning with the mist.
I'm guessing they get a fair amount of rain, judging by the moss and the greenery...
The sun was rising...
That-a-way, pilgrims...
It was pretty...
Sleepy horses...
Terri waiting for me...yes, I was pretty much always lagging behind. By the time you debated a photo, stopped and took your hiking poles off, fished out your phone, took the picture and rearranged yourself, a minute or two would definitely go by.
I was thankful for hiking poles many times...this was one of them.
Looking back...everyone was slightly hunched over as they trudged up the hill.
Whoa...this guy was big. A gentle nudge with my pole confirmed that he was alive. It looked like a huge slug of some variety.
A black cat who had no time for picture taking...
But this guy cooperated...
Indeed...baby steps.
This is Galician kale, highly prized in the region, and an essential ingredient in Galician cuisine.
We hoofed up yet another hill to find this church...
And a very tall granary...
And then Terri and I got a message from the others that they had stopped for coffee and we had gone by. Backtrack! Coffee was always welcome. This cafe had this little room that was full of writing from previous pilgrims.
Speculoos or biscoff as we know them...perfect with a coffee.
The usual counter scene...one bartender trying to pump out coffee orders as fast as she could.
The Fab 5...
We were apparently known as the 5 Canadians on the trail...
We found an Alberta flag and pinned a note to it, which really only had meaning to us and the chat board we've been on for years.
Oh look...that same church. Take 2!
Yikes! Lynne looks like she's running off on us. This dog was having a nice stretch after laying in the middle of road.
Gorgeous!
Even cows warranted a picture (and a mini break)...
His face said it all..."Do not approach me. I am happy without your attention."
To the left, to the left...we would break into Beyonce mode and sing as much as we remembered.
Another coffee shop, which we managed to pass by...37 km to go!
This was a crazy mishmash of ribbons, clothing, rocks, sneakers...
Terri planted her rock...Faith.
Apparently, early pilgrims' needs were simple. A bedroll and a small backpack...
Yay...downhill!
Really pretty...
Mushrooms, anyone? They looked nice and white and clean.
Another large slug, but this guy had antennae...
A nice cool stream...
Near what used to be a mill to grind corn, wheat or rye....
Hello, hill!
We're getting there...
An interesting church...I'm not sure what the ball represents.
Very neat with many, many vaults...
We were so happy to find a cafe! Washrooms and a break were definitely in order.
He had my sympathies...
Lovely, clean spot with a cool map on the wall leading to Santiago de Compostela.
Get your stamp here...
Exciting! We were starting to see pictures of the cathedral...
Wait a minute there, pilgrim...didn't the last sign say 33 km? Never mind...just keep walking.
It had turned out to be a beautiful day...
Perfect time for wetting your neck scarf...
A butternut squash trying to make an escape over the wall...
I kept seeing this flag with the triangle and star and stripes...turned out to be Puerto Rico. Cool!
We definitely broke into song here...
Oh, awesome (said no one)...cobblestones. Cobblestones used on the Camino de Santiago and other roads were collected from riverbeds and streams, where the flowing water smoothed and rounded them over time. Cobblestones were a natural material that were plentiful and cheap, and they were easy to place by hand.
Loved this house...bright yellow, a granary, a cross, lemons and a chicken running outside the fence.
Wheee...under 30 km!
I liked this house...very clean, with lots of white trim.
A very small bar...no time to stop or we would never get to our destination.
Pontecesures...now that's a name! We did stop for a bit here to admire the view and rest our feet.
Housing as far as you can see...
We were lagging a bit by now...I had one ankle that was giving me grief; some of the others had blisters. Those last 5 km to the destination each day always seemed endless.
Yeah, yeah...purple flowers
And a church...
More industry here...
Quaint...still admiring, but wishing the heck we were there already.
Being brave...
More arrows...come on, Padron! Where are you?
Gobble, gobble...
A lady nicely tried to tell us in Spanish that we couldn't go this way; we had to go the other way. But we really, really wanted to go this way. Google said it was shorter and we wanted shorter right now.
But it didn't take long for us to see that she was right (of course, she was!). We couldn't take the other route. It was on the highway with no where to walk safely.
We met her again and she smiled when we thanked her. Don't want to know what her thought bubble said!
A mural on a school...
Goats!
And, at last, our hotel....
We were so happy to get there!
My stuff exploded onto my bed...there was a laundromat next door!
By now, we knew what clothes were working, and they were getting a much-needed wash.
We went back to our hotel and had a cider...or two. Thank you to Terri for going back to get our laundry.
A shower and clean clothes...we felt like new. Time for dinner, which was usually between 7:30 and 8 p.m.
As usual, Gina and Laura arrived ahead of us. Laura had a much needed nap and Gina went exploring...go, Gina! She picked up this information, which did look interesting, but by now we were beyond taking in more information. All I could see was the long trail to our destination tomorrow.
Our starter was octopus crema...were we supposed to drink it like a shot? Oh! Dip the bread in it. It was OK. Very fishy smelling. The bread (as always) was great.
And in Padron, you must have the famous Padron peppers. They were really good.
I think this was veal...
Lynne's vegetarian meals had been hit or miss...this one looked delish!
Apple tart for dessert...
We were sooo tired...wasn't it only supposed to be 16 km today? 
Tomorrow is our last day of walking...Santiago de Compostela, here we come!
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