In As Medulas

Lee decided to stick with the Camjno de Invierno (and me), so off we went at about 6:45. 

Much darker here at that hour that further east. (That's the moon!!)

Shortly after getting on the camino, we met a young guy Armando, an attorney from Avila, and I walked with him the rest of the way while Lee went on ahead. It was a lovely off-road walk with an occasional stretch of pavement thrown in. 

Two big ascents, one up to the Castle of Cornatel (closed, victim of budget cuts),

 then down to the town of Borrenes with a good Kas de Limón bar stop, then 7 more up to As Médulas. It's an amazing place, where Romans mined gold on the mountain by channelling rushing water through the mts. till it exploded the mountain and the gold come pouring out. We were even able to walk through part of the canal system, long tunnels on three different levels of the mountain. As a guy in the museum explained, the Romans figured out how to turn water into the equivalent of dynamite. The result is eerie looking, with there'd mountain innards shooting up into the sky but  spectacular in its own way. 

Of course this exploration added 8 or 9 km to a 31 km day but at least it was without a pack!!

Not sure how far I'll get tomorrow with my slightly unhappy knee but there are choices at 9, 18, and 28 km. So we'll see!