Potomarin: A long day turns into a short one

September 16, 2013

Having stopped early at Samos we had decided to do a reasonably long ride today and get to Palas de Rei but it was not to be. Once more we had a foggy start and the way to Sarria which we had expected to be largely downhill was in fact largely uphill though not particularly steep. It was suprising to find that Sarria was quite a large town and who should we see on the side of the road but Larry and Mary. They are from USA and we have bumped into them regularly, this time they were looking for a bike shop. Larry had some disaster with his back disc brakes which meant they were half on all the time, this certainly would not have been good news on the hills he was about to face.

After Sarria again we had expected few hills but for the first 15km until we got to Paradella it really was pretty steep. We stopped for a coffee and then a long downhill all the way to Portomarin. We knew it was a stiff climb out of here and that there was no chance of accommodation for 23km so we (mainly me) decided Portomarine was indeed a wonderful place to stop. Portomarine is an interesting place in that in 1962 the whole village, including the massive stone church was moved up the hill to make way for one of Franco’s grand schemes. A great dam was built and this was to be a huge water reservoir for this dry land. Just one problem though it didn’t fill with water and looks rather ridiculous with its high bridges crossing a little trickle of water. It does however look as if there may be some water in it in the wet season. Potomarin is however a nice little town built around a town square on which sits the relocated church. The place is humming with pilgrims and we have the most beautiful room in a little Pension which has everything you could possibly wish for.

Pilgrims get very sore feet so this is a common sight under the dining table

A friendly shepherd with his dog and their charges

Ken was very excited to find this Lander Tractor. It is made in Spain and is a 2 cylinder, aircooled, articulated vineyard tractor. He has never seen one before

It has a double power take off one to drive a heavy trailer

The owner got it out of the shed so Ken could have a good look

A moment before she was texting on her cell phone.

Today's ride: 38 km (24 miles)
Total: 2,659 km (1,651 miles)

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