May 21, 2016
Our route today was from Portomarin to Palas de Rei (Stage 30), a total of 15.4 miles with total elevation gain of 450 meters, much more than yesterday's elevation gain of 300 meters. Somehow, however, today's walk seemed much easier than yesterday's. Maybe because the majority of the climbs were much more gradual than yesterday or maybe because the day was much cooler. It was so cold this morning (@ 48 degrees) that I wore gloves and pulled my hood over my head for the first hour or so. Once it warmed up a little it was a very pleasant walk, passing through similar scenery as the last few days. Today, however, there was a definite eucalyptus aroma in the air.
There were two highlights on our walk today. The first was the pre-Roman Celtic ruins at Castromaior (the word Castro meaning Celtic fort), located at the top of a fairly long, steep hill (in my opinion, the hardest climb of the day). All that was left of the fort were 1 1/2 to 2 feet high walls outlining various rooms. The rooms seemed to be the size of a typical bedroom, but I'm assuming each room housed an entire family.
The second highlight was a visit to Vilar de Donas, originally built as a convent in the 10th century. By the 11th century the structure was given to the Knights of Santiago (St. James) and the nuns moved out. This order of Knights was formed to protect pilgrims along the Camino, as it was a dangerous road then, with thieves and wild animals. The church is filled with stone effigies and tombstone markers of the Knights, as well as a beautiful (though faded) fresco behind the altar.
The Vilar de Donas is 1.5 miles off the Camino so, instead of walking an extra 3 miles on top of an already long day, we took our shuttle bus to the site. Good thing we did too, as it started raining as soon as we finished our visit. By the time we got to the manor home where we are staying tonight, I was chilled and it felt so good to walk into my warm, toasty room.
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