10/5 Tuesday Fonsagrada to O Cádavo Baliera 24km

Last night there was only one restaurant open so quite a pilgrim gathering. Galician bean and potato soup, padrón peppers and pulpo. Couldn't get more typical. Chatted with Heike, Wendy and 76 year-old Patrick from Prestwick, another veteran of many caminos.

This morning my excess baggage goes by taxi. Why? The guide explains: The Camino between Padrón and O Cádavo is arguably the most difficult of the route and possibly the reason for the nickname "the leg wrecker." We will see!

Blue sky so today will be hot but I'm going to be sustained by my Spanish breakfast if toastada con tomato, fresh orange juice and coffee. Here I talked to Robyn from Sydney who had good advice about dealing with Santiago.

Not much to report on the detail of the day's walk. It was continually up or down though. Total ascent was 565m or about 1700ft and descent was 805m or 2500ft over the 24km. Nothing felt super steep so I didn't find it too challenging and the paths were often through shaded woodland.

Along the way I met many of the pilgrims that had been eating in the restaurant last night. However, I didn't walk with anyone for more than a few minutes.

Interestingly, at the first high point I saw a rocky outcrop above the trail and headed up there for the view, a rest and snack. Quite a few pilgrims passed and openly admired my view point but none of them took the little effort to join me!

Later in the day I entertained myself binging on Rod Stewart and singing along with nobody thankfully nearby. Dropping down towards Cádavo I had a brief chat with Patrick but then moved ahead and arrived at the Albergue Porta Santa.

Heike was already well and truly installed having arrived 2 hours earlier! I did the usual stuff and then we headed out to explore eating and drinking options. Bumping into Patrick we had drinks at the bar attached to his hostel, a quick visit to the supermarket over the road and then the menu of the day. Patrick was excellent company and as a keen walker we had stories to exchange.