A very leisurely start this morning. I had a nice lie-in partly due to the wild street party outside my window at 1am last night and also because I needed a few supplies from the store and everything was shut up tight yesterday as it was a Sunday.

I’m heading in the direction of Muxia today and to do so I must backtrack almost a kilometer on yesterday’s path to the cross of San Roque which marks the bifurcation of the route to Fisterra and the route to Muxia.

It’s then about 5 kilometers of walking on country roads, seeing only a few homeowners out tending their gardens and the breadman out making deliveries.

There’s a long uphill through the usual eucalyptus forest that’s good for getting the ole ticker going, then a matching steep downhill to warm up the knees. That’ll be the theme of today: pueblos, hills, and forests.

I meet several pilgrims walking towards me on their way to Fisterra. There’s something to be said for that as the bus connections back to Santiago are much more frequent from Finisterre than from Muxia (I’m limited to 6:45am or 2:30pm) but I wanted the amazing view of the “end of the world” as I had walking yesterday into Fisterra.

I walk through a couple of hamlets, one just 4-5 homes big with wonderful views of the sea, then back into the forest; then another, larger hamlet complete with lots of hórreos(granaries), ferociously barking German Shepherds and a lumber mill.

And then back into the woods but with an eye to the sea and hopes that a great view would be forthcoming;

More hills, more pilgrims, more pueblos and more forest. And non-ferocious beasts.

Finally the town of Lires comes into view. I actually walked this 2-day route between Fisterra and Muxia in 2007 but none of it is familiar to me except for the lumbar mill and walking through forest like the picture just above. I do remember the route being poorly marked and thinking myself lost several times. I’m sure I came at Lires from a different angle because I was exhausted, a little scared, and thrilled to find a guesthouse suddenly appear around the corner from a section of dense dark woods. I was so wondrously glad I had found somewhere to sleep I’m not sure I left the confines of their garden, surviving on snacks from my pack.

Now the approach to Lires is via an open field and up a paved road lined with several pensíons and rooms-to-let. I’m staying in luxury at a very nice pensíon with beautiful antique-y furniture, I’ll have to be very careful swinging my pack around inside!

My hostess recommended an eco-cafe just up the hill. It’s full of hungry pilgrims and only one waitress but as my walk is done for today I have all the time in the world to wait.

I’ve ordered what turns out to be a massive Angus beef, caramelized onions, watercress and a huge slice of goat cheese burger. And red wine. Or two. Oh, and cheesecake for dessert. Didn’t I say yesterday Life Was Good?

There were some very light sprinkles of rain falling as I managed to waddle back to my room. I consoled myself over my indulgence at lunch with a warming bubble bath and tucked myself into my enticing bed with a good book to read for the afternoon. This is like a vacation! No dinner for me though; I brought back some water and nuts and that will suffice for tonight.