Day forty one El Camino

Another day of decision, not so much mine, but Ian and Tan's. To take the taxi pre-arranged by our booking company so that we would have 21 kilometers to walk rather than the full distance of 33, or bag the cab and walk the whole way. I was eager to walk the distance and since it is well way-marked, and we had figured out where the path led out of town, I was willing to go alone, though walking with mis dos amigos was by far the more attractive option. In the end, since good weather was predicted, they decided to walk the whole way, as well. What we did not know was that the 33 K was really 36 or 22.44 miles, and that a good deal of it was up hill.

The predicted fair weather turned out to be less than fabulous, but luckily, not terrible, meaning rain, not pelting rain and not freezing rain, and much of the day no rain at all. It could have been way worse! We made good time, too--leaving rather late, 8:30, and arriving before 5:00. We even took time for photos. I say, yeah for us!

Moses with his staff? No:





Mr. spider is not home:





Seven skinny cows clomp through town.....




and I think......Behold! Seven lean years are coming!

This naturally leads to intense observations of corn, not a variety people eat, but maize---but maybe that does not matter.

Corn just before harvest:





Corn stalks just after harvest:




And after after harvest:





Fallen off the truck, lying by the side of the road corn:





Corn being dried:





Husks laid out for some purpose:





And of course, an excuse for another photo of one of those great looking, maize storage structures:




It is now time for a coffee stop. We choose only the poshest places:





Cat lovers, you are not forgotten:





These hens were strangely quiet. Maybe, if they make no noise, they will not end up as dinner:





Where tires go to die:




How happy we were to be welcomed into a charming, refurbished old farm house for the night. Rooms with stone walls, lovely windows, good view; it is just what we needed after our 22+ mile, up hill day. However, dinner was so bad as to be inedible except for the ice cream, which, truth be told, might not make the cut for a Good Humor truck! The brought-from-home peanut butter, snitched-from-breakfast jam, leftover roll, and purchased chocolate covered nuts, were a lifesaver!

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Location:Negreria to Olveiroa