Going Beyond

October 15
After lunch, the trail is all downhill, so we make good time to Triacastela, so named because of the three castles which once existed here, and where most people are stopping for the day.  Here is the parish church...

 ...on which images of the three namesake castles are carved into the tower, below a statue of Mary.

It's still pretty early, though, so we take a look at our guidebook to see what lies ahead.  The next town with accommodations is about 10.5 km away, but we think we're good for it.  The weather is still holding and 21 km for the day just doesn't seem like enough progress.  So, off we go on another stretch that has a big climb and descent at the end of the day.

Shortly outside of Triacastela, we meet one of the aggressive dogs there are warnings all over blogdom about.  He's outside a small warehouse-type building, obviously a local business.  We don't mind him guarding his territory; we do mind that he's loose.  We try to talk calmly to him as we keep sidling forward, attempting to not move suddenly or threateningly.  We have our poles but I, for one, am not sure they will stand up to a dog his size if he is intent on attacking us.  In one of those moments that feels like the world is holding its breath, waiting to see what happens, we reach some point where he must no longer consider us a danger.  We kind of hustle farther away from him as soon as we feel safe enough to move quickly.

The encounter unnerves me enough to wonder if it was such a smart idea to keep walking.  Then we enter what I think of as Sherwood Forest.  It's dense and, therefore, dark in here.  It's very still and creepy, and we're the only ones here; I keep imagining being ambushed by bandits.  Now I'm definitely wondering how smart it was for us to continue by ourselves.  Just when my creep factor is beyond controllable, we come to the top of an ascending path and enter into a clearing.  Another wow! moment:  a huge shell fountain behind a pool of water (and people--only two, but still, we're not alone anymore).  It fortifies me to move forward on the path going back into the woods.

Although sometimes the "art" or writing on a landmark is inspiring or cool, it's a shame that so many have been defaced.

Our goal has been Pintín, where there is a private albergue.  When we get there, we decide we're good for the extra 1.7 km to a municipal albergue in Aguiada Calvor.  It's quite gratifying to have walked 1-2/3 maps today.

Total distance walked: 34.9 km (!)