Another lovely walk today, though different in character. Omg I love the early summer mornings here in the mountains. It takes a while between the time the sun rises and when it's high enough in the sky to get over the peaks, and during that time the light is diffuse and everything glows in pale pastel shades, so subtly beautiful. And the air is cool and delicious. Later the sun can become strong and hard and the air baked with dust, but those early morning hours are exquisite.

Leaving Triacastela there was much more of an ascent than I had anticipated, so the blood got pumping right away. Visually the effect was similar to yesterday; again I was above the clouds that had settled in the valleys, looking down at peaks that looked like islands in a sea of greyish white. Yesterday I watched the clouds burn off but today was different. After reaching the highest point, a 4000 foot peak, I descended directly into those clouds. As I walked, the sun shone off the clouds and within the clouds and lit the landscape in a strange light, and gradually I was enveloped by mist and fog. Instead of the grand vistas of yesterday, the landscape was enclosed, immediate, intimate, grey. Sometimes visibility was reduced to just a few yards, and at times I was surprised at how close some cowbells were clanking.

I walked though several tiny mountain villages with small farms that seemed from a different era. Dogs lazed in the road, barely taking notice of me, cows grazed, roosters crowed. The smell of cow shit was as pungent as I have ever experienced, overwhelming at times. And the farmers went about their business, for the most part not acknowledging the passing pilgrims.

On a particularly steep and difficult downhill trail in the woods thick with exposed roots, I passed an older man on crutches. Both of his knees were thickly bandaged and he was moving excruciatingly slowly. Wow.

20K later I arrived in Sarria and I'm camped in a really nice hotel room. I've been going strong and have felt good, but I'm feeling a bit depleted. Since Astorga I've walked 8 days in a row, averaging about 20K per day. Compared to some people doing the Camino that's a stroll in the park, but for me it's an effort. I'm tired, my muscles are a bit sore, and my feet hurt. So I'm going to take a rest day tomorrow and recharge my batteries. I'll probably explore the city a bit and, knowing me, I'll probably take pictures, but I'll most likely skip my writing tomorrow-- I'm feeling a bit depleted in that department at the moment as well. I've committed to a 25K day on Wednesday, so it'll all start over again then.