El Camino: Pontedeume to Betanzos

Although it wasn't raining, it was due to rain by mid morning so we breakfasted early to get a few miles under our belt before it started. Today's walk was a much longer one of about 13 to 14 miles with a few steep inclines and descents. You can tell by the layers we are wearing that it is not that warm.

I took our usual group photo with the camera balanced on top of my rucsac balanced on top of a pole. It's becoming a bit of an art trying to find somewhere to put the camera for our daily photo. We feel we've failed if we ask someone else to take it for us! Then we were off. We walked past the cafe where we had stopped for a drink yesterday in the hope that Tina's walking pole would be where she had left it but the cafe wasn't open yet so no luck.

We had another look at the church as we left the town. Some impressive stonework.

It was a tough uphill climb out of the town.  There were poor views of the town as mist and cloud obscured them.

Only 83 km to go.

We were walking at a much faster pace today hoping that the forecast was wrong and we might get to our next stopping place before the rain. Well, we were going faster until the lads started posing for photos.

This elderly gentlemen was clearing the weeds from the bank opposite his house but he still took time out to greet us with the now familiar 'buen camino'.

Today we were walking in more rural areas and on grassy paths rather than roads.

Although the pathways look clear from my photos we began to see more and more people walking El Camino. I regret not taking photos of some of the people we met.

We overtook a number of walkers always exchanging greetings of 'Buen Camino'.

We came across these discarded shoes beside the path. Seemed a strange find

We managed to get two hours of walking in before the rain started. I didn't imagine for one minute that the weather would be as bad as this. All the locals tell us it never rains at this time of the year. On went the waterproofs but it isn't great, walking in the rain. The views are poor and there is a lot less banter amongst the group.

We stopped off for a mid morning coffee in the next town to have a break from the rain.

It was also a chance to take advantage of the facilities - although I was surprised it wasn't the usual modern conveniences!

Crossed the railway line and left the town of Mino behind.

This passion flower seemed to be growing wild by the roadside.

Despite the rain and drizzle the scenery was better today. Lovely reflections in the river of viaducts and bridges and houses along the way.

We trudged on through the rain. There were a lot of steep climbs today.

Shells in evidence all around us.

Whenever we had to turn off the main road or path it was very clearly marked with a yellow arrow.

Someone clearly enjoys defacing the road signs.

Passed a number of churches which were closed, of course. Found this church which had the ropes from the bells hanging down in front of the door.  I couldn't resist pulling on them and ringing the bell. Never rung a church bell before but I quite liked the experience. I thought maybe the ropes were there for a reason, possibly to let the locals know that pilgrims are passing through their village. It wasn't until after we had completed the walk that I discovered the ropes were there for a reason. You rung them when a member of your family died!

On the outskirts of Betanzos we did find one church that was open but there was no-one inside to stamp our pilgrim passports.

We had made good time and arrived in the town about 2ish with rain dripping from our jackets and hoods.

It took a while for us to find the hotel

It was worth waiting for with its large fluffy white towels, glorious hot water and soft beds. We were all quite wet but decided to quickly dry off and go out for a coffee/drink. The hotel bar wasn't open so we went over the road to a small local bar. We received a very friendly welcome and were given a large variety of delicious tapas with our drinks. Tina and I decided that despite the rain we wanted to have a look around the town. The boys thought we were mad.

The rain eventually stopped and we managed to take a few photos of the town.

It is an ancient town and three of the old entrance gates remain.

We made our way to the centre of the town to see the 14th cent church of San Francisco. Remarkably the church was open and we even got a stamp on our pilgrim passport. In 1387 Perez de Andrade founded the church to serve as a burial place  for himself and his family..

His sarcophagus was built during his lifetime and is decorated with scenes of hunting as well as weapons and shields.

Hunting was an important part of Andrade's life and throughout the church there are representations of bears and boars.

There was another church close by that was also open.

In the main square was the highly decorative old bank. It is now an art gallery.

As the rain had stopped we wandered around the town and stayed out longer than we had intended.

On this holiday we have booked half board so we don't have to worry about finding places for breakfast and evening meal. The quality of the food has been good although the menu has not been varied. It has been the same choices for starter and main meal at each stopping place: steak, pork or fish (hake). We are certain that the steak isn't beef steak but haven't asked for any more details. Tonight's meal was not in the hotel but a restaurant a few doors away so we were hoping for a different menu. But, no, it was veal steak, pork or hake! Our waitress was from North London but now lives in Spain. No problems with the language then. Ahhh no. She forgot part of the order and gave me Earl Grey tea (yuk!) instead of black tea. I think I prefer ordering in Spanish as I haven't had any problems so far. By the time we had finished  it was after 10 so we decided to call it a day and go back to the hotel. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.