DAY 61 - VERÍN to XINZO DE LIMIA - Saturday 22 June 2024

- June 22, 2024

We had an early start from Verin but were delayed by reflections crossing the river, Galician architecture as we passed the hostel and a castle at the top of the hill. What could we do?

After we'd taken the obligatory photographs, we skirted the hill, enjoying fine views back to the castle then down to the vineyards. We passed through some stands of pine and eucalypt. We passed an explosive factory with lots of warnings and a religious statue (just in case?).

The bar we'd hoped to have second breakfast at in Alborellos was 'open later', as a helpful local explained to us. He also pointed out the Camino route to us, as we came back after missing a sign. The path when we found it was overgrown - the whipper-snipper team obviously hadn't made it that far!

We retraced our steps and followed a quiet road through patches of veggies and vineyards to Infesta. They had a great rest area here, with water fountain, picnic tables and even apple trees planted - in future you won't have to bring your own fruit.

In Infesta they were preparing for a party and one street was closed off. We left Infesta by a steep road then track, which went up... and up... and up. Luckily we found bees to photograph on the way.

Towards the top, we crossed over the motorway and walked through shady lanes to another picnic area and fountain. We rested briefly here, before walking through Rebordondo. We could hear a local fiesta - a band, small explosions, barking dogs - but the path didn't take us to this area. Instead we continued up.

We had dawdled enough taking poppy photos for the bar to be open at Pena Verde. With our coffee, we had boccadillos (baguettes) and olives, since it was a bit late for second breakfast. The bartender was a bit shocked to hear we weren't stopping for the day in the next village, but he wished us 'buen camino'.

From there it was just about all downhill or flat. We had a mix of paths - including dirt tracks, forest tracks, overgrown grassy paths - and more small villages. We had a soft drink in one village and a snack on a bench in another. We walked through tracts of agricultural land, planted with wheat and other crops. To speed the walking, we sang and dance-walked to our walking playlist.

Towards the end, we abandoned the Camino to take a shortcut along a riverside path. We heard lots of frogs and the distant hum of traffic.

We were very happy to see our hotel at the end of a long day. At the bar-reception, we had a warm welcome both from the staff and a friendly dog, who dropped a stick in front of us and waited expectantly. We didn't disappoint him!