Pontevedra to Portela

I'm still following my plan to walk half of each day's walk in the guidebook.  Today's goal is a little village with a restaurant but no shop.  I also lost track of the day and since today is Sunday the grocery store will open late.  Plan B - find a bakery and stock up on empanadas in case of emergency.  So I start off and the rain stops and the rain gear comes of in stages.  By halfway, I'm almost dry.  The walk was mostly wooded, lots of eucalyptus.

There was a big gathering for mass at a country church.  There was also a very large cemetary with burial vaults decorated with flowers.

The alburgue in Portela.  This place and the six other pilgrims here for the night reminded me of my past caminos.  Sergio, the manager of this alburgue owned by the village, made dinner for us.  So my lack of food problem was taken care of.  The seven of visited about the camino and where we were from.  Sergio, in his wheelchair, managed to do the camino a few years ago.  

The parish church in Portela with more burial vaults to the right.

My two walking buddies from Portela to Caldas de Reis.  Notice the hot new camino style trend - garbage bag skirts and 1 Euro raincoats.  They are both from Holland and best friends and walked as slowly as I do.  At last!  Oh, too bad, they went on another 5 miles because they want to reach Santiago the next day.  This camino has been many things but it has not been the intense social experience of the first and second.