Less sleep again the night before and it was still dark outside at around 6:00am. I slipped out of the dormitory room and into the adjacent cafe bar room where we had the community dinner. On the visitor's logbook, I also sketched a view of the main house next door in my sketchbook. Rafaelle and Matilda soon came out and started packing their things on their way to Santiago.
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| The sketch I made on the visitor's logbook. |
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| The modern cottage where the guests stay. |
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| A sketch of the main house driveway and the note from Cristina. |
At 9:30am, I left the albergue so I can make time to sketch the parish church a short distance away. Soon, my new friends on the Camino caught up with me and moved on. I encountered these other peregrinos as I was sketching the church and we managed to get some pictures taken later on the trail.
I found myself contemplating on how different this experience was compared to my first Camino walk last year. There seem to be more people walking on the trail now at this stage compared to the mostly solitary walk when I started in Ourense. Perhaps due to another route converging with this one on the way to Santiago.
A little more than an hour after leaving Casa Leiras, I detoured to a short driveway leading to a most peaceful sanctuary called Finca Anduriñas, a donativo run by Pilar, Belen and their lovely small dog named Boi. She offered me a nice cup of coffee and some home made jelly over a fresh baked bread. I was captivated by the beauty of the place and the many interesting artifacts on display in one part of the building. I had to sketch the place!
And then it was time to walk again to the next destination at Albergue Reina Lupa, Deseiro, passing through some beautiful mountain views and descending the lush valley leading down to the town of Ponte Ulla. The town supermarket was near the trail so I picked up some bananas, yogurt, and Aquarius drink. At this point, I was still 10 kms away from the next albergue but I needed to stop for lunch. I took the opportunity to make a short call to my mom to catch up a little bit about my journey.
Note: The paragraphs above this text was last written on July 4, 2025. It is now Jan 8, 2026 and I'm continuing to write about the thoughts of my experience from last spring.
After lunch, it was time to get moving again in the direction toward Santiago. There was a moment where all of a sudden I got emotional for no reason at all. Perhaps it was just about the whole experience where I had the time to reflect inward. Soon this trip will be over.
I recall a hillside section of the trail where I could see the developing storm in the distance and the shower curtain that followed soon after. It was a cinematic sight to see.
An hour and half later, I reached the Albergue Reina Lupa in Deseiro, feeling exhausted and relieved that I can rest for the night. I think I was the last person to arrive with a reservation at this albergue so I get the upper bunk bed. Funny, here I met the same group of Portuguese pilgrims I first saw at Albergue de Peregrinos Oseira. I also saw John & Katie from UK whom I first met at a coffee bar in Dozon, Pontevedra two days earlier.
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