Anne and I have really enjoyed the small number of group dinners we have had at aulberges, including the one we had last night near Casanova. We had dinner last night with a Dutch man and his daughter who had biked from Logrono and a couple a little younger than Anne and me from Santa Barbara who had walked from Sarria. The couple from Santa Barbara had talked to a lot of people in their short time on the Camino and were surprised by everyone’s interest in sharing experiences. It’s true. And it’s one of the best parts of being here.
Last night’s aulberge was about a kilometer off the Camino. We walked through the country-side this morning to get back on track. 
We walked through several villages today, including Lobreiro.
Here is the doorway to the iglesia Santa Maria in Lobreiro.
The biggest town that we walked through today was Melide.
Here is Anne and a couple of new friends on the bridge leading into the old part of town.
Here is the church in the center of Melide.
We stopped at a pulperia in Melide at around 10:30. We have found it difficult to eat on the Camino. Breakfast is usually toast and coffee, and after a couple of hours of walking, we’re hungry. On a good day, we’re near a cafe or have snacks in our backpacks. On a bad day, we’re out in the countryside and and our backpacks are empty. And on a really bad day, it’s siesta time when we finally get to a village and all the cafes and supermercados are closed. When hunger hit this morning in Melide, we were lucky to find ourselves in front of a cafe. After making short work of the pulpo and pimiento, we got pastries from a panaderia. We sat in a park and ate the pastries and watched while people put up booths and the finish line for a foot race down the Camino from Sarria.
After leaving Melide, we were back in the woods.
After walking for about an hour, we arrived in the village of Boente and the iglesia de Santiago.
The church has a newer building built around an old bell tower.
The alter has several depictions of Santiago.
This part of the Camino is among the most scenic.
It is also demanding.
We saw posters in Sarria mapping the elevations between Sarria and Santiago. The posters showed a gentle downward path between two cities. They probably were made by the Spanish equivalent of the Chamber of Commerce in Sarria. This part of the Camino is actually physically demanding, with a lot of climbs and descents.
Along the way, Anne made a new friend.
It was late afternoon when we arrived at our pensione just outside of Arzua.
We walked about 24 km or right around 15 miles. Despite what I thought yesterday, we are not staying at the end-of-the-day village recommended by our guidebook. Our pensione is just beyond it. It’s probably just as well. When we walked through the village this afternoon, there were a lot of young pilgrims in front of the aulberges drinking and smoking. If there has been a change, it probably doesn’t have anything to do with where we stop at the end of the day.
Here is another of Anne’s Camino watercolors:
We first saw storks and their nests outside of Burgos. They had nests on almost every church steeple between Burgos and Astorga. It has been awhile since we have seen a stork or a stork nest.
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