I slept through till 8 and set off on the Camino Ingles just as the townhall clock was chiming 9. It was a gorgeous sunny day and it wasn't hard to follow the waymarkers past the naval buildings and round the curve of the bay. Four local people kindly wished me buen camino as I walked. It is sunny and Sunny so there were plenty of joggers, dog walkers and general strollers around. After about an hour I began to see other pilgrims - a nice Spanish group of boys and men walking with grandma, a woman ahead of me. Not very many but it is nice to have some others.
I stopped at a church for a stamp, watched the fishermen on the beach, stopped to eat a nectarine overlooking the bay, climbed up through a village and down along a grassy path, passed goats, pigs, over the Ferrol river and all the time I kept looking for a cafe but didn't find one till I had got to Neda and the little yellow municiple albergue overlooking the estuary. I've washed my clothes, had a shower and a chat with two local teenagers who amazed themselves with their English. Then Felix an American Puerto Rican offered to show me the way to the nearest hotel. He is a man with a plan and a 90l pack which he ships. He seems a devout person and very well prepared. He told me he had planned this trip for 19 years which made me feel rather humble.
I've just eaten a great lunch of soup, calamari and creme caramel, and now I am enjoying a curzo cafe and sipping the last of my wine. To be a pilgrim!
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