31.5

Great evening last night, if you haven't experienced a pilgrim's dinner, you really are missing something. We were in a ski lodge but went up to the local albergue (cheap guest house for pilgrims) and basically there is 1 long table and you take up what seats are available. Great food, no choice but it really doesn't matter. You sit with everyone, no matter where they're from or if they speak English. Everybody is smiling and swapping stories about the route and where they're from. Then you meet all these familiar faces along the route.

So today we started out at 7 thinking 25k would be easy. Walked down into the fog that gathers in the base of the valley. Climbed a long way through a very over grown and muddy path to a small village on top of the hill. Then we were confronted with a route choice: walk down a road or through the forest taking in a ruined Monastery. We chose the latter, never found the Monastery but nearly killed ourselves sliding down narrow paths or vertical rock faces! Finally managed to return to the valley floor, desperate for cafe con leche, nothing left by the tight owners of the lodge where we stayed! Entered a small hamlet and met a woodcutter holding several large pieces of tree and a circular saw. Susie chatted to him in her wonderful Spanish, explaining we were needing the service of a cafe. He told her the nearest was 6k away but volunteered to make us coffee in his own house! We didn't take him up on his kind offer but filled our water bottles up at the village fountain.

So arrived in Pola de Lena at 6.30 and we are just about to go out for dinner.