In some ways today's journey was similar to yesterday's: a steep incline to begin the day, and then an equally steep decline. The difference is that there was much less fog today, and the distance much shorter.
I'd planned to begin walking with Francisco, but I forgot my walking stick at the albergue so I had to return and get it. It was only a 5-minute trek back, but Francisco was a little annoyed with me I think, so when I returned with the stick, he'd already left without me. Too bad, we went out for dinner last night, and continued our very interesting conversation there.
The first 2 hours or so were steep uphill, and a good portion of it on a paved road, as the picture below indicates. There were also many wind turbines along the way. I've discovered over the past few weeks here that Spain is a world leader in wind turbine technology, so it's been quite common to see turbines all along the Camino.
The summit of today's walk was Buspol, a small village - if you can call it that - of about 5 houses and a chapel. The next 3 pictures below were taken just behind the chapel, overlooking the valley.
When I arrived near the bottom of the valley, I met up with Martin again. I met him in Salas at the restaurant, and we've had a few good conversations since. A staunch atheist he is, so our chats are lively to say the least. But he's a good man, I enjoy his company.
At the bottom of the valley we crossed a dam, pictured below, and then went up a hill and to a restaurant for an early afternoon coffee. I was pleasantly surprised to meet up with Jenna again at the restaurant. Turns out that Brian was so sick that he had to be hospitalized, so Jenna was "enjoying" a day off at the adjacent hotel. I understand that he will be back up and about by tomorrow or the day following: I wish him a good recovery.
We exchanged addresses, took some pictures, and then enjoyed a sip of the very tasty Spanish coffee.
Martin and I continued onwards, as did our bantering. We broadened our talk to include politics and economics, and he had a very well crafted opinion about each of these topics. This comes to me as no surprise, because he's a retired man who has lots of time to think, and who enjoys interacting with others while walking. This is his 2nd Camino, having previously completed the French route in its entirety.
Once in Grandas, we checked into the municipal lodging home. The attendant there was eclectic to say the least. A very strange man. But the facilities were top notch, by far the best albergue on the Primitive Way. San Juan was nice because it was cozy, but the housing set up here is new, clean, and roomy.
I was also pleasantly surprised that the church in Grandas was open. It was a bit too dark inside so I didn't take any pictures, but I did spend a good 30 minutes inside, sitting down and reflecting on my journey thus far.
Dinner was very special. I met all of the people pictured below in San Juan, and so it was a reunion of sorts, at a local restaurant. I learned from Mariola that while the tempranillo is the staple wine in Spain, the crianza is a step up, if you will, both in quality and cost. We ordered 2 bottles of the Bodegas Bordon Crianza (2007) and polished them off in no time. The restaurant owner was an idiot, charging us 2 Euros for each basket of bread (a first thus far), and we contested it at first but then chose let it go. The food was decent.
Tomorrow another long walk awaits me: 27kms, to A Fonsagrada. I'm looking forward to arrive in Lugo where I will take a few days' break with Jennifer.
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