Campolongo 5 October

The day started out well with the morning walk pretty much at the edge of the water which became the Ria Ferrol outside of Ferrol. This seems to be a wide tidal mud flat, so walking along the water's edge is a lot farther than the actual distance between town and was mostly flat. In the afternoon, the walk was in some of the hills along the edge and a bit more difficult. I did not see a single other pilgrim all day until after I arrived in Pontedeume and he was headed out to the next albergue in Mino.

This post was supposed to be from my destination, Pontedeume, but that was not to be. When I arrived in Pontedeume after 29 km (18 miles) of walking, there was no one at the locked albergue and a sign that it would not be opened until 7 pm. Next, I checked out the three pensions in town. One was closed for vacation and the other two were also locked up tight. I decided to have my mid day meal at a close by restaurant and the lady there said one of the pension owners was away at a wedding, don't know about the third one. Anyway, since it is no longer tourist season, I guess the owners of these accommodations are not so anxious to keep them open for the occasional customer like me. My options were to walk on to the next albergue 10 km away or to try to find a place in the next town about 3 km away. I lucked out in the next town and found a decent pension on the highway, but this was the closest I've come to maybe not finding a place and sleeping under the stars. I am tired tonight, but at least my walk tomorrow will be shorter (should be only 11 or so miles).

A view of the walk just outside of Ferrol.

The walking path along the edge of the water.

The tidal mud flats of the Ria Ferrol.