Beech forest
What a wonderful walk today. The river Tores was beautiful with many sandy, pebbly beaches. A great place to camp beside. It was glorious country reminding me somewhat of the Australian high country.We travelled separately from Andy and Karen today. Karen decided to take the road so she could get a lift if she needed it and Andy charged ahead to catch Karen in town. Along the way we passed a church that looked derelict but an old man who had ridden his bike out to the church encouraged us to look inside the little window. It was really pretty inside and in good condition.
The unusual church and beautiful country
He wished us buen viaja! Peter and I walked steadily and took lunch break by the lake. A dog and his owner were walking up from where we decided to take our break and when they returned the dog growled because we were near its owner's table and chair. It was a handsome looking dog and went swimming. I am impressed by the steady nature of Spanish dogs.We stopped,at Peter's insistence, at a little Albergue cafe which turned out to be run by a South African missionary. He had worked in India and Zambia and then walked the Camino Frances and found so many people who wanted to discuss faith that he decided to settle in Spain (and for other personal reasons) and engage with pilgrims. It was an interesting stop. I felt energised and when I saw the village my stride quickened. We walked into town over a concrete bridge used by animals and saw a few people fly fishing.
The river is shallow and pebbly like a mountain stream. It was a glad sight to see Karen waving from the balcony of the Albergue. She had staked out our beds for us and was ready to defend them. We are really noticing the increasing number of pilgrims who are merging into the Sanabres part of the Via de la Plata from other caminos in Spain.
Peter reveals to us that the broken reflectors he collected from our road walk which he put in his shoes for safe keeping have been in his shoes all day today without him noticing! His shoes are a size larger but that seems amazing. He announces that the inner soles he bought are very effective.
For dinner we try an association de gourmet restaurant hoping for something different from usual. The chef cooks in the restaurant so everything is fresh. We don't actually get a menu del Dia but he has a fixed menu. Karen and Peter announce they are vegetarians and for a moment he looks perplexed but soon produces a delicious salad and Gazpacho drink for them while we have Salmon mousse with strawberry jam smeared on the plate artistically.
Think Master Chef! The mousse is delicious but the jam was a miss in my view. Next we get a standard Spanish soup of tomato based with egg and bread. It is good. Now we have pork cutlets with a salad of lettuce and pears. The vegetarians get a ,guess? Omelette with leeks and cheese. This is the best omelette they have had. Vegetarianism is a challenge in Spain, especially small places. Eggs to the rescue. Finally we have dessert of ice cream and chocolate sponge torte. The table was set with three glasses and we thought great, a water glass as well as wine. We should have known. This is unheard of; it is always wine OR water. The glasses were for wine, coffee and liqueur. The liqueur is a specialty and looks like chartreuse, tastes like cough medicine and is drunk with coffee almost any time. It is made with herbs and we passed through the town where it is made. They gave us two little bottles and would have kept topping it up! It was a generous meal and real value for €10. We were then given cards that identified us as gourmets. There is a competition for a top chef on the Camino which will be seen on TV in Santiago de Compostella on the 23 rd May. It is another attempt to improve and capitalise on the pilgrim experience I guess.
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