Linares to Fonfria 8.8 km.

Last night I had to settle for a dorm. It was a 4-bed and the other occupants were men (2 Germans and an Italian). This does not bode well for a good night’s sleep, I thought - but I was entirely wrong. No storing, or other noises, disturbed me; though the Germans spent a long time discussing the details of their route.

This was a modern Albergue of only 22 beds: better than staying in the 100-bed Municipal in O’Cebreiro. There was a nice lounge room, with one comfortable sofa, monopolised by an American Professor who drank his way through the best part of two bottles of wine. There was no dinner to be had, but a little shop across the road sold all sorts of goodies, so I put together a quick meal for myself.

There was a Korean lady writing up her diary. It was a work of art!

She said there was no word for bed bug in Korean! She showed me the bites at the back of her neck.

I left early next morning after a cup of green tea and a couple of yoghurts. It was another cold, crisp day with a clear blue sky. We were soon at the Alto de San Roque (1,270m) where everyone was having their photo taken with the statue of the pilgrim facing into the wind:

The view from here was brilliant:

I took my time, stopping at the Albergue del Puerto for an orange juice (1335m).  From now on its downhill all the way for me on this Camino. The first place in Fonfria is Casa Galego. I had a good night’s rest there last year, but today it was fully booked. I just had lunch: a glass of red and a tortilla, before pressing on to my booking at Casa de Lucas at the other end of the village.

Flower of the day: wild orchid.