Today’s stage was about 25 km, most of it uphill. We decided to break it into two stages. The first stage is to Mondonedo, which is about 9 km and climbs up and then down. The next 15 km is said to be the steepest and hardest climb in Galacia for the Camino del Norte.  We left that for tomorrow. 

We decided to leave at 7:30 in the morning. When we tried to get out of our room this morning, the lock was jammed and we could not open the door. We called the Pension number explaining in the little Spanish that we know and kept getting “no intendo.”

Fortunately there were two angels next door (Marc and Sakkar) who somehow found the manager and rescued us out of the locked room. 

We started 15 minutes later than planned but managed to not miss the morning glory. 

   
    
   
It was one of those beautiful mornings which reminds you why you go through the agonies of climbing and walking the Camino. 

   
    
   
The first 5 km was uphill, so we kept on walking and making steady progress. Even though it was 41 degrees, none of us felt cold. 

   
    
 
It started to rain by about 8:45, so we had to get our rain jackets on. Fortunately it stopped soon and by 9 we were ready for our snack.  

 
We continued our walk through the hills, enjoying the views and working hard. 

 
We could see the town below and were eager to get to our destination. It rained again for a bit as we were going down to the town. 

   
    
    
    
   
The first stop in the town was the cathedral at the center of town.  We had our lunch right across the plaza. 

We are staying at the serene and peaceful seminary Santa Catalina for the night. I am sitting in the wonderful courtyard as I compose this blog. We are looking forward to a nice dinner at the seminary tonight.