I’m writing this update in the garden of the Asturianos albergue with the not-soothing sound of shotgun fire from the nearby shooting range as background noise.

We left Rionegro in darkness at 7:00AM – the air fresh enough to justify a second layer over our T-shirts. Today’s route took us over scrub land with lichen covered rocks appearing above the brown grass like low islands in a lake – comfortable under foot and ideal as a spot to sit down and enjoy .

In Mombuey, we stopped for coffee at Bar Central, with chocolate pastries from the bakery up the road.

The comfortable paths and pleasant breeze made for an easy day. We went through several villages with stone churches that have large porches – a first sign that we’re approaching rain country. Over the mountains that we can see in the distance are the lush Galician forests and stream. The service in the restaurants and shops is also changing – some of the staff were taciturn to the point of unfriendliness in the bar where we had dinner and the albergue where we are staying. This is what Uwe called “mountain hospitality” when I passed through this country with him two years ago. Fortunately, the food was better than

Our party has now dwindled to four – Santiago must have walked all the way to Puebla de Sanabres. Umberto might have checked into a clinic to deal with the problems that he was having with his feet. Tomorrow, Michael, Ewa, Michaela and I will try to reach Requejo – the last village before the climb to 1,300 meters to reach the border with Galicia.