Camino Ingles: May 29/2012 Pontedueme to Betanzos

Leaving Pontedeume

We started out from our albergue by the sea. We ate our breakfast, an orange and small container of Yogurt, outside watching the sun come up over this small fishing village. We then started up a steep one k walk through town up into the hills surrounding the city with spectacular views of the port. For the next couple of hours we wandered through the hills. We were in a forest then back to the sea and up again. We were told that we would encounter rolling hills. We even crossed a golf course and then back up into a forest. These are steep hills and we encountered many. In about 2 hours we entered Mino. There is an albergue there and you can stop and enjoy the city and the coast. We chose to go on, passing the railroad, the shoreline and finally the river. We continued to climb and then descend. We went through more forests and green lanes that had birds and flowers of all kinds. Once again we never walked on the main road just back roads and trails.The beauty of our surroundings, the tranquility and peace that surrounded us was a delight. The rolling hills continued. We found as soon as we climb up the road it took us down again. Up and down for 20 k until we reached this beautiful city and were totally worn out. Since there is no albergue here, Joan arranged for a pension. Since it was after 1400, we went out to lunch at a small restaurant. We had crochets and then flounder with potatoes. We had a bottle of delicate white wine and then an almond torte called the torta de Santiago. This delicious meal was 12 € each. Our room was 40€ with a private bath. They say the first 10k tomorrow is fairly flat. We will still have 20k to go. We are carrying our food and will take time outs every two hours. We expect tomorrow to be our biggest challenge yet.