OK. I bought a belt. On my way to dinner last night I passed an old fashioned shoe shop where there were leather belts hanging. I stepped inside and told the nice man my story and showed him my wire belt holding up may pants. He was as disgusted as I that someone would steal a belt but he showed me that each of his belts was 100% leather and is cut to size. 10 minutes later I had a new hand made leather belt cot to fit me. He also added two holes extra because “you will loose more weight before you get to Santiago. As I write this I am already using the first of the extra holes and wishing he had given me more.

Our departure this morning was uneventful. We left the albergue at 7:00 and went to get coffee and a roll. We started our journey just before 0730 with the knowledge that the 23 km would include two climbs. This portion of The province of Galicia in Spain has a number of sea water inlets like the fjords of Sweden and Norway. As you walk along the coast the elevation changes almost constantly. We crossed one old Roman Bridge and walked through a number of forests with Roman roadways still visible.

Arriving in Pontevedra just after noon we were able to have time to 1. Get a bed 2. Do laundry 3. Get some lunch and 4. Relax and see some of the town. Pontevedra is one of the treasures of the Camino Portuguese with its Naval Academy here (Beat Navy) and the mussel barges in the fjord visible from the Camino as you walk into town. Bridge across the fjord

Classic tiny street in a town along the shores of the fjord.

Dan Ferris and I as we got within 71 in of Santiago. (1971 is the year we graduated together)