Last night our hospitalario put together a meal of salad together with lentils, rice (complete with a hard boiled egg) and vino tinto (red wine). It was a very enjoyable meal.
There were five pilgrims staying in the Albergue and three of them snored. After an initial loud crescendo the sound reduced to a more acceptable level and we were able to get to sleep.
We were advised that there would not be any services on the route and to get some food to take with us prior to leaving A Rua. As we were on the road before 8:00am all we could obtain was 2 crossaints to sustain us on our 20km walk.
To our surprise on arrival at the Albaredos we found a small unmanned stand offering coffee (coffee maker and pods), fruit juice, fruit including walnuts for a donation. Coffee was good.
The walk today included a lot of climbing and descent above the Rio Sil. Most of it was good walking on almost deserted roads with a few sections of smaller tracks. There were lots of holm oaks, chestnuts, cherries, olive, cork oaks and other native trees. Disappointingly we also encountered our first eucalyptus trees.
On arriving in Soldon we found ourselves in a town with no shops or services. Consequently after much negotiation we arranged for a taxi to take us into Quiroga, 6.5 kms away, where we could have a meal. Unfortunately we have nothing for breakfast tomorrow tomorning. Have to wait until we return to Quiroga on foot.
It is called "Camino de Invierno" in Castilian Spanish (the official language of Spain), but the signpost spells it "Inverno", which is Galician. I now learn that Galician is the tongue of north-west Spain… which is where you and the signposts are.
Yes, it is disappointing to walk for miles in a foreign country, only to come across gum trees. I was proudly shown eucalypts in a Botanic Garden in Germany, but was unable to muster the appropriate enthusiasm. I see you did not photograph them. It might have been fun to see them in such an outlandish setting.
Albaredos: talk about a ghost town! But it is normal for people to wish to live in modern comfort, not in…