Triacastela

After a morning spent traversing the delights of the leafy San Xil valley I've arrived in Triacastela. No sign of the three castles for which it's named, rather disappointingly (and having checked the guidebook indeed it appears they are gone without trace). It's not the biggest place so i'm not sure quite why it had three in the first place. I'd say one would more than suffice, and it wouldn't be a particularly big one at that.  So, no castles but there are a plethora of bars and restaurants catering for the pilgrims. The one I've picked wouldn't come up short in the most fly infested bar stakes, but the chorizo sandwich is spot on. And when I tried to buy a bottle of water to fill my canteen (do people still use that word for water bottle? for some reason it sounds like it comes from the 40's) the owner told me I'd be better off filling it from the tap. It's the little touches.

I'd better be making tracks pretty soon as I want to press on and get the miles in today as I seem to be feeling pretty good. It is perfect walking weather which helps, and, maybe more importantly, I took the bold step of bursting two blisters last night. I won't go into the grisly details in case you're eating your lunch, but it was a fairly spectacular event. Who knew a little toe could hold that much liquid? With the pressure off walking is back to being mostly a joy, so I feel I should make the most of it. The big question, can I, should I, will I? make it to O Cebreiro by tonight, it's another 12.5 miles which should be about 3 and a half hours, but it's also a 2,200 foot climb up to there, which will add a couple of minutes I'd guess. Ah, who knows?, the hills the route climbs through look very pleasant so i'm going to head out and see where I end up. I've got everything I need on my back for a night out in the open, so I'm free to do whatever takes my fancy. And a night out under the stars in the green Galician hills doesn't sound too bad.