DAY 65 - OURENSE to PAZOS - Wednesday 26 June 2024

- June 26, 2024

After a photo with the Ourense outsize letters, we followed seven pilgrims over the Roman bridge and selected the variant turning right. The seven pilgrims were a surprise: we thought we might see more pilgrims on this last 100 km before Santiago de Compostela, but not seven in one go!

Before we left the city, we had a coffee in a bar and collected a stamp on our credencials. As evidence of the Camino, pilgrims must collect two dated stamps every day in the last 100 km.

Initially the trail was all uphill. We passed a number of locals as we climbed who encouraged us with 'buen camino' or a comment on the incline. The path was very well-marked and many houses had scallop shells or other Camino symbols.

Before too long, another pilgrim passed us, perhaps a veteran of several Caminos, judging by the badges on his back pack. At a simple roadside shelf, a stamp and pad was set up for pilgrims to stamp their own credencials.

Resting on a bench at the top of the rise, we came across two Spanish pilgrims and had a brief chat. They had met on the Camino Frances five years ago and married - how romantic!

We stopped for a cold drink at a bar in Tamallancos, but there were also a few other bars further on we could have tried. This part of the Camino Sanabres seems very well serviced, with frequent villages and bars that are open.

For lunch, we made a small detour to a restaurant a little off the path. We sat outside under big oak trees and heard a river nearby. There were Galician specialities on the menu, including cocido (a hearty stew of meat, vegetables and chickpeas) and grilled sardines. We chose the latter, as in Australia we only get them in a tin. Tip: you don't eat the bones, unlike in tinned sardines.

It was quite hot and humid but luckily we only had a short way to go to our accommodation. One of us continued to take photos of all the special horreos, while the other one tested out all the shady benches along the way.