Day: September 26, 2024

Day 40- Portomarin to Gonzar

Depart Time: 8:40. Temp:62F RH: 95%

Walked: 5.1 mi. Camino 2024: 253 mi.

We waited for the rain to stop before leaving our apartment for a usual breakfast spot in Portomarin. The forecasts all indicated we had a non-rain window from 9:30 to 11:00.

Breakfast at Bar Gonzar in Portomarin
The view of the reservoir covering old Portomarin from Bar Gonzar
Two showers occurred and then stopped while we had breakfast. When all was clear, we began walking down from Portomarín to cross the bridge going out of town.
We walked along the river below us, then across the bridge then began the long climb up the Camino path.
near center photo you can see a line of pilgrims walking toward the multi-storied house and up the mountain

As soon as we began the climb out of town another shower started and we buttoned up the ponchos. We did this off and on for the entire walk to Gonzar. All of the showers were only 5-10 minutes in duration, but were enough to completely soak us if we didn’t have our ponchos on. Once the shower stopped, we got too warm in the ponchos, so we unzipped and even removed them, then had to quickly put them back on again to stay dry.

The on and off rain showers got to be a real nuisance and interferred with what could have been a more enjoyable walk.

This was the long incline we took out of Portomarin.
Amy’s trees ( Jim’s daughter did a painting of these trees which is hanging in Jim’s office among Camino memorabilia.)
looking back at Amy’s trees from a “different perspective”
The path paralleled the local, but busy highway much of the way
a welcomed deviation from walking right next to the highway.
a huge horreo in the yard of a resident in Toxibó
A wet walk through this forrest giving us a break from the road.
Pilgrims were out in large numbers today
pilgrims sometimes ride horses
The final section of path along the highway has an actual railing to protect pilgrims, as we walked to our home for the afternoon and evening.
A large contingent of pilgrims, mostly teens, had arrived ahead of us.
the line to use the women’s toilet
pilgrims gathering to get back to walking
tables starting to become available as the pilgrim group began to leave
the pilgrim hoards can be seen lining the highway as they vacated the restaurant of Hosteria de Gonzar.

When the pilgrim wave receded, it was 11:45 and Jim approached the manager as asked when we could checkin. He was told, 2:30. Ouch! So, we decided to have a leisure lunch, while we waited. The hours for food availability were until 4:00, then reopen from 6:30-9:00. We decided on pizza, but were told, pizza was not available until 2:00!

So, we ordered a Colacao and sipped it for an hour. Seasoned pilgrims must learn to be patient and conform to Camino norms, so we otdered a beer and a glass of fresh squeezed OJ at 1:30 and sipped again, slowly while reading, blogging, seething and being patient. At 2:00, Jim ordered a pizza. The owner responded in an un-understandable Spanish that he was going to give us a “primero” checkin and if we would come back after 2:30, we could order pizza. He also agreed to reduce our 4-bed room with ensuite bath (which was all that was available when we booked) from 78€ to 55€.

We immediately agreed to all terms, paid for the room, took our room key, gathered our packs and headed quickly to our room.

The rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch, including a pizza lunch and a green salad with goat cheese and walnuts. We picked up on our routine and passed the remainder of the day in our 4 bed room!