There are now so many more people walking the Camino. I can understand how people who have walked hundreds of kilometres in quiet contemplation hate the last 100 kilometres.

As we left Potomarin we got mixed up in a large group of teenagers. They had so much energy and enthusiasm. Hopefully some of it rubbed off on us. The boys were playing pranks on the teachers but the teachers had thick walking sticks to deal with any nonsense.

After the kids had raced ahead we were behind a group of about twenty Spaniards. At their front was a very loud lady who at about every hundred metres waved her arms and yelled out what sounded like whamo, whamo, whamo. I thought if this goes on for six hours you’re the one who’s going to get a whamo, lady. They also stopped to take lots of group photos and when they get home will wonder who the strangers were who kept popping up in the back row.

Potomarin was an old village each side of a river in the bottom of a valley. In 1956 they decided to build a dam for hydro electric power. The church and some other historic buildings were dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt on higher ground. Then a new town was built around them. The old town was then drowned.

Mist again this morning. This seems to be the pattern since we have crossed the mountains and entered Galicia. It makes for very pleasant walking. Today is our tenth day in a row of walking. Our previous longest had been nine days between rest days. We have three more days to Santiago.

Barbara has named a new species of pilgrim: coconut ice pilgrims.  As we are moving east to west, the sun is always behind us. For those who have come from winter, or who just don’t like the sun, the backs of their legs are sunburnt and the fronts still white. Hence coconut ice.

We are being stalked by the big blue bus we first saw yesterday. It was at our hotel last night and was at two cafes today. It is at our hotel tonight. They are a group of about fifteen with a guide and seem to do a bit of walking each day. They are dressed like they are going shopping at the mall. They travel very light, maybe carrying just a drink bottle. At dinner they sit at a big table and have a briefing from the guide. Unfortunately we can’t understand a word.

We have to get two stamps per day now, so we stopped at a tiny church to get one of them. There was a priest stamping the passports. He was talking flat out in Spanish the whole time. We didn’t realise at first but he was blind. I got an upside down stamp in my passport and Barbara got a stamp on the back of her hand. All the females got a stamp on their body, maybe he wasn’t quite so blind.

One of the most interesting things we saw today were the remains of a Celtic Fort, Castromaior. It was only about 50 metres off the Camino path but we were the only ones there. The sign and information board were slightly off the path and I think everyone else missed it in the morning mist. The fort was occupied up until about 1 AD. It has been partly reconstructed but the houses, streets, walls etc are all there to see.

Ipod theme tune for today: Cliff Richard, Travelling Light.

I got no bags or baggage to slow me down
I’m travelling so fast my feet don’t touch the ground
Travelling light, travelling light
I just can’t wait to be with my baby tonight.