Here is the pensione that we stayed in last night in Hospital de la Cruz.
Behind Anne is a type of small building that have seen in almost every farmyard in Galicia.
We finally got close enough to look inside one today. They are corn cribs. This one is a little unusual because it is decorated with a cross.
We took an excursion off the Camino today to see the Vilar de Donas, which was the seat of the knights of Santiago. We walked off the Camino for about a mile on a wooded lane to get there.
Most of the buildings at the Vilar de Donas are ruins, except for the iglesia El Salvador.
The church was locked when we tried the door. We could hear noise coming from inside, and while we stood by the door, an elderly man came up and let us in. He then began describing the church and its history, in Spanish. He was very animated, and I am sure that it was a superb explanation. We just couldn’t understand very much of it:
At the end, I did understand him to say that he was 94 years old, and I was able to speak well enough to protest to his satisfaction. He beamed, wished that God would keep us in his shadow–I think he said that– and off we went.
We walked back to the Camino and then to the village of Palais de Rei. The best feature of that village is its name.
On the Camino outside Palais de Rei, Anne attracted some followers.
And she reconnected with some old friends.
Our aulbergue tonight is off the Camino. To reach it, we left Palais de Rei and walked down into a valley.
And up along a hill.
Our guidebook said that that albergue was 1.5 km off the Camino; but it was easily twice that. We walked over 25 km today, or 15 miles, including the excursion to Vilar de Donas.
We were happy when we finally reached the aulberge.
For several weeks, we have been staying in smaller villages that are midway between the larger ones that are the recommended stopovers in our guidebook. We have stayed in these in-between villages because we have cut down on number of miles we are walking each day. Also, we did not pre-book our lodgings, and it is easier to find rooms in smaller villages. Although the smaller villages are quiet and relaxing, something of the Camino experience has been lost. Perhaps this loss has nothing to do with the places we have stayed. But we will be in larger villages for the next two nights, and I’m really looking forward to the change
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