I was up and on the road by 8.30am . It turned into a beautiful day , the sunniest and warmest of my trip so far. I walked alone initially and once again saw some old ladies collecting the sweet chestnuts into buckets. They are all over the roadside at the moment ( the chestnuts that is ) .
My guidebook had said to look out for the ” Horreos ” too and I saw plenty of these along the way. A lot of the farms have these structures ( in the past used to store corn ) which are rectangular and made of wood or stone. They are raised up on pillars to keep out rodents and keep the corn dry . Apparently these have been present since ancient times and are thought to be Celtic in origin. I have also posted a picture of the ” Berza” ( Rape Kale ) that seems to be grown in the vegetable garden of every farm or house in these parts. They use it in the stews and soups that are very typical of the Galician diet and having eaten the ” Caldo Gallega ” a couple of times now I can say it is really tasty.
I met ” little ” Felix later in the morning and then we came across Forrest having a beer outside a bar. I joked with him that we think he’s just getting taxis from bar to bar as they are the only places we ever seem to see him. To be fair it was one of those days when you do work up a thirst so we joined him for a couple. We all walked on together during the course of an afternoon of glorious weather. I was a bit sad to see the milestone indicating we had only 100km to go to Santiago as it means there now isn’t too long remaining of what has been a great adventure.
Felix has recently finished university and is about to start Teacher training. I had a moan about the costs of University Tuition Fees in the UK and I was surprised to hear that in Germany the vast majority of Universities do not charge Tuition Fees. This only added to my annoyance with the situation back home. Forrest ( who lectures in Law at the University of Oregon ) talked about the fees for College/University courses in the US and the scary amount of debt that many students over there accrue ( unless they have rich parents ) . I am not knowledgable enough to know why we can’t follow the German rather than the US model but it’s an issue which will help decide which way I vote next time around.
We had another stop for fluid replacement late afternoon , this time bottled Guinness , and eventually reached Portomarin around 6.00pm. We decided to push on the extra 8 km to Gonzar as we”re hoping to reach Santiago by Saturday Midday and we need to walk a little farther than our average day in order to do so. We reached Casa Garcia at 7.45pm and sat down to a great meal before watching my second favourite team , Celtic , lose to a last minute goal against Barcelona.
iwouldwalk500mls 
Bottled guinness uuugh, tell Forrest I said hi, when you say your second favourite team I presume your first is Sligo Rovers. keep up the good walk. Ian
Hi Ian , Blackburn Rovers are my team but I think Sligo Rovers would beat them at the moment. Going well now , tendonitis seems to be settling. Should be in Santiago by Saturday and I think I’ll take the bus to Finisterre thereafter. Forrest sends his best.
Late posting hopefully giving you a lift for tomorrows stretch, Blackburn get a first victory in six games thanks to an unlikely goal scorer Grant Hanley, he claims his inspiration was a middle aged GP from Wigan braving hostile environments, rudimentary living conditions and personal injury to share his experiences with others sat in comfort! Looks like you have around a thumb nails distance left now Danny, this evening I walked from Sainsbury in Horwich to top of Brownlow Road, I felt my spirit revived! Look forward to your safe return.
Thanks Ian , good to hear about Rovers. Tendonitis under control now ( the drugs do work ) and going well. Think it’s going to be an effort to actually stop walking after all this time on the road !
Things may never be the same again – savour what’s left. When you get to The Pilgrim’s Office take a look at the red leather tomes on the walls. If they’ll let you, leave your testimony there with all the others who have gone before. Give yourself plenty of time to ‘wind down’ in the cathedral. I think you’ll find its worth it if its not too crowded. As for the NHS and University fees, we’re with you. At 30kms per day you’re really cracking on, try not to over do it. Mavis is going for her first assessment for her hips tomorrow in Chorley, Thursday, we don’t want you similarly placed when you get home! You’re needed here.
Don’t forget to have a ‘wash’ at Lavacolla before you enter Santiago.
God Bless All There,
Michael n Mavis
Thanks again for the advice Michael , I’ll ask about that in the Pilgrims Office. I’ll stay in Santiago a couple of nights and have a good look at the Cathedral and around the city. Had an easier day yesterday and again today so don’t worry about the hips ! I hope Mavis’ assessment goes well.
Hey doc, does this mean you are ahead of schedule?? If so I will have to return all of the stuff borrowed from your garage. When are you expected back? Mrs S hasnt been digging out bunting so i would prepare yourself for a tame homecoming. As someone else has posted, rovers managed to sneak a win, helped by KIrkland in the Sheffield Wednesday goals spending the first 10 minutes looking over his shoulder for would be assailants. Needn’t have worried as the home stands were empty but sufficiently distracted to let tubby wander through to set up Hanley for a tap in. A cold snap beckons by the way so you had better get a thicker fleece.
Failing any last gasp physical mishaps I should be in Santiago on Saturday. I’m going to catch the bus to Finisterre as I don’t think my leg is up to another 90 km of walking. I will dip the feet in the sea and do the ritual burning of the socks then ( believe me they do need burning at this stage ! ) . I’ll be back in Wigan next Tuesday evening. Forget about the bunting , a pint would be nice .