13th June - Mino

We walked around the Ria and over a 116 arch bridge into Pontedeume. Bob's daypack was falling apart so we found a Chinese Bazaar (our preferred stores for cheap goods) where he bought a new pack. Then it was up, up, up to the church of Santiago which was closed, but we were able to get a sello.
Up, up and up we went again until we crested the ridge above the town.

Our destination today was Mino, about 9 km away. We knew about the hill out of Pontedeume but didn't expect another Kilimanjaro beyond the golf course. It seems that the Camino paths have to go as high as they can before they drop down again to virtually sea-level.
One thing we have learned is to be prepared with food and drink as there might not be anywhere to stop for either between places. This is not like the Camino Frances with cafe bars almost every 5km.
Marlene had developed ugly blisters but I think the Compeed I bought her in Cabanas might be doing their bit and she coped with the long ups and equally long down hills.
We stopped for a picnic in the playground opposite the church and were a bit perturbed to find condoms in the playground!
When we artived in Mino we discovered that the Hostal Brisa was 2.2 km out of town up hill on the N165. We decided to take a taxi. The Hostal owner, Monty, reminded us of 'Ramon' in the movie The Way, eccentric, forgetful and, as the afternoon progressed, he became completely drunk!
On first indpection the rooms looked comfortable but the net curtains were in tatters, the bath towels threadbare and the hook for the towel in our room fell off as soon as Finn hung it up.
We ordered dinner for 7pm and at 8:30 pm Carmen (the wife) arrived back from the supermarket and started cooking! I gave up and went to bed. The others ate after 9pm.  Finn woke me at mid-night with painful reflux. I wasn't surprised after having eaten a large potato tortilla before going to bed.