Up early today before the sun was up and walking in the dark! What an experience to walk by the last light of the moon through a narrow rock-strewn path between stone walls, reminiscent of Ireland. This area of Spain, the province of Galicia, is very celtic and has a marine climate. There is moss on all the stones and the fields are green and fresh and surrounded by trees with fall colors. We are walking through cattle farms where the odours are strong!and we are constantly avoiding cow pies on the path. There is a lot of farming and we have been picking apples, figs, grapes, chestnuts, and almonds. There are few pilgrims on the road as it is the very end of the season. Still, cafe owners are friendly and local people wave and say hello everywhere you go. There are small churches from the 11C as well as remnants of Roman castles and roads. Limestone is quarried in the area and the paths are limestone so they are almost lit up as the day gets darker. There was evidence of the Moorish influence in the town of Serria- many windows have wooden grates from which women can look out but not be seen. Very interesting. We reached the 100 km marker this afternoon- this indicates how far we must go to Santiago. This stretch is very popular because if one completes it, you are given your certificate of completion for the camino when you reach Santiago. Many people fly in and do this part only. Because of this, the paths are well-marked, very pretty, and there are many interesting cafes along the route. Here you meet people from all over the world- English, German, Dutch, Japanese, Portuguese, today alone. Menu de noche is being readied for service so I´m off to eat. Buen camino!
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