Day 10 July 5, 2024
Xunqueira de Ambía - Ourense 22.5 km
Last night at least until 19.30, there were only 3 of the in the albergue, the Spanish/Swedish couple I had met while walking and myself. At 19.30 when the hospitalera appeared to stamp our credentials an extremely scruffy man also entered the premises. The hospitalera was reluctant to sign him in but since he had a credential, there was no other option. When he left to go shopping the hospitalera told me to move to the dorm with the couple and that we should call the Guardia Civil if there is a problem. No incidents to report
![Smiling face with smiling eyes :blush: 😊](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60a.png)
,
I've been having an awful time sleeping and wake up constantly. By 4 a.m. I'm wide awake. So as not to disturb the others, I always pack up my backpack the night before and sneak out of the dorm by 5.30. I'm usually out the door by 6.15 and today was no different. Once again I had the whole Camino to myself.
After a few ups and downs the rest of the way was one long gradual downhill. How cool would it be on a bike! After 3.7 km in A Pousa (before 7 a.m.) and 8 km there were open cafés. I choose to wait till 15 km. At 19.5 km I finally saw the Peugeot dealership building which was the sign to take a left and follow the
Paseo Fluvial into the city (you see the sign right after the turn). The path was almost 2 km long, first dirt then mostly of sand. At one point it becomes a harder surface (improvement?) and I had to cross over to the other side. The river is now on your right. I followed Alan's instructions and took it to the end. The Albergue de Peregrinos was in fact 700 meters from that point.
It was only about 10.00 when I arrived (the albergue opens at 13.00) so I wandered about town and treated myself to my first
tostada con tomate y aceite ![Face savoring food :yum: 😋](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60b.png)
. Simple pleasures.
While sitting at a café across from the albergue Ramón appeared, a pilgrim I met in Lubián and was also in A Gudiña. I hadn't seen him for 2 days since he took the Verín variation but then took a bus this morning to Ourense. Nice to see a friendly face. We shared a washing machine and dryer (second luxury of the day) and I joined him for lunch. I wasn't really hungry but had one of my favorites -
pimientos de padrón. There were so many that I have enough for dinner too!
Ourense is quite a lovely city but it's known for its microclimate. It's warm, 35 degrees
The couple arrived later and since then three cyclists from Barcelona.
All is well. Tomorrow to Oseira and it's monastery.
View attachment 173853View attachment 173854View attachment 173855View attachment 173856
Turn left here
View attachment 173857
Sign
View attachment 173858
Plaza Major
View attachment 173859View attachment 173860View attachment 173861View attachment 173862
Albergue de Peregrinos. Great location! There are many floors and many stairs but there is a lift if necessary.