day of rest

Yesterday we left sarria for portomarín. This was a long trek through many small agricultural cities where the streets are lined with manure, and the smell will leave you wanting some fresh air. The views from these small camino driven villages are incredible. The computer that I am at today will not let me publish photos, so those will have to wait. We arrived at around two in the afternoon yesterday and rested up for a late afternoon lunch. In Spain on Sundays the main meal is actually eaten in the late afternoon (much preferred to the late evening meals which we have grown accustomed to. We are staying at a ranch that is located directly on the river that borders portomarín. The views are incredible, and the rooms are great. We are taking a day to be interviewed for our progress on the coursework which we have been completing for three and a half weeks up to this point. After this we are all planing on going horseback riding at the ranch. Currently Mario and I are seeing what there is to see in Portomarín while the others are going through their interviews. Tonight we are all giving our presentations for our coursework, and we will definitely rest up for the last leg of the camino. We are less than 90 km away, and this is evident by the sheer number of tourists which we are encountering on a daily basis. Yesterday on the trail I met my third American on the camino. She is a NY policewoman named Chris and was a fiery character. We´ve been enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of the ranch, but we were sad to say goodbye to our walking buddies from Belgium, the UK, and Scandanavia as they continued this morning. We all met up last night in the town to enjoy some cidra (specialty of Galicia) and enjoy the town a bit. We plan to meet up with them again in Santiago. At this point we are all loving the food in Galicia. Their specialties include a particular soup which consists of a meat broth with potatoes and some sort of green leafy vegetable (the english name escapes me). The camino is what keeps these rural areas alive in Northern Spain. It is amazing to meet people who have been serving and spending time with peregrinos (pilgrims) their entire lives. I hope things are going well back home, and I will post pictures soon.