Octavo día - viernes el 23 del mayo

As we got closer to Santiago, the pilgrims started to bunch up - there are, after all, only certain places to stay the night - and we had started seeing the same people almost every day now.

We got up around 07:00, but by the time we left at 07:30, the place was practically deserted - apparently enough people were wanting to avoid the unpleasantly warm afternoon sun that they set off early even on a short day (24 km to Palas de Rei). Walking out of Portomarín, we had a very nice view of the lake created by the damming of the river. At least the church building, and perhaps a good portion of the existing town, had been down in the flood plain when the damming was planned, so they numbered each stone, then disassembled, moved and reassembled the entire building to its current location in the center of the "new town". The numbers were still visible on many of the stones (and you could see them, too, if I had taken a picture, which I didn't).

The rest of the day's walk was pleasant and easy, with much of the same kind of scenery we have been seeing the last couple of days. The only excitement we faced was right after we encountered a sign that warned of perros peligrosos - dangerous dogs. In the event, they weren't too dangerous (and here you can see another view of an horreo).  Except for 2 short breaks for snacks, we walked straight through to Palas, arriving at 13:30.

We had decided to stop and rest there, and then to decide whether to proceed farther. We ran into Theo, ate lunch with him, then walked on another 5 km (3 mi) under an overcast sky - very pleasant walking weather - to the albergue at Casanova, arriving before 16:00. We were the only two there until well after we went to bed; two other pilgrims slipped in about 23:00 (!), and were still asleep when we left the next day.

Today's walk: 29 km (18 mi). Eight-day total: 242 km (150 mi).

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