Well, I was, in fact, not able to walk 27 miles straight uphill which turned out to be fine, as instead I walked about 20 miles and ended up staying at the ever so lovely Monastery of Oseira. It is the largest monastery in Galicia and one of the largest in Spain. In it's heyday (12th-15th centuries) I imagine that it housed hundreds of monks...now, there are just 17. I arrived in the late afternoon unable to walk more (the heat, in the upper 80s, continues to be tough) so I checked in with Paco, the caretaker. He informed me that there was an evening vespers service where the monks sing. First I went to the village bar for a coffee. The village poplulation matches that of the monastery and I hung out with about a quarter of the population there at the cafe for a couple of hours chatting. Sadly, I did not pack a "duster" so I didn't really fit in with the ladies but they were kind nevertheless. I returned for the vespers service and all of the monks were gathered at the entrance and seemed to be having some sort of celebration. One of the monks, Luis, came over and introduced himself and spoke surprisingly good English. He told me that it was a special day as the new superior arrived. Then the new superior came over and greeted me. The superior was so exicted that there was an actual pilgrim walking to Santiago on his first day. I felt bad that I was the only one but they were so very kind and welcoming and I was happy to be there. Luis gave me a little painting he had done on a small piece of wood. Then Paco took me through the enormous and beautiful monastery to the small chapel where I listened to the monks sing their verses. It was rather nice except for the portions where I was required to stand as me feet really hurt. When I returned to the dormitory for the walkers I saw that Eva and Hans had arrived so I ran over to the bar to great them. I loved the monastery but it was by far the coldest place I had slept during the entire trip. The next morning's walk was very beautiful and I really enjoyed it and was glad I had not attempted in the afternoon before when I would have been miserable.
Well, I was, in fact, not able to walk 27 miles straight uphill which turned out to be fine, as instead I walked about 20 miles and ended up staying at the ever so lovely Monastery of Oseira. It is the largest monastery in Galicia and one of the largest in Spain. In it's heyday (12th-15th centuries) I imagine that it housed hundreds of monks...now, there are just 17. I arrived in the late afternoon unable to walk more (the heat, in the upper 80s, continues to be tough) so I checked in with Paco, the caretaker. He informed me that there was an evening vespers service where the monks sing. First I went to the village bar for a coffee. The village poplulation matches that of the monastery and I hung out with about a quarter of the population there at the cafe for a couple of hours chatting. Sadly, I did not pack a "duster" so I didn't really fit in with the ladies but they were kind nevertheless. I returned for the vespers service and all of the monks were gathered at the entrance and seemed to be having some sort of celebration. One of the monks, Luis, came over and introduced himself and spoke surprisingly good English. He told me that it was a special day as the new superior arrived. Then the new superior came over and greeted me. The superior was so exicted that there was an actual pilgrim walking to Santiago on his first day. I felt bad that I was the only one but they were so very kind and welcoming and I was happy to be there. Luis gave me a little painting he had done on a small piece of wood. Then Paco took me through the enormous and beautiful monastery to the small chapel where I listened to the monks sing their verses. It was rather nice except for the portions where I was required to stand as me feet really hurt. When I returned to the dormitory for the walkers I saw that Eva and Hans had arrived so I ran over to the bar to great them. I loved the monastery but it was by far the coldest place I had slept during the entire trip. The next morning's walk was very beautiful and I really enjoyed it and was glad I had not attempted in the afternoon before when I would have been miserable. 
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