O Logoso

Shortly after leaving Santiago, the character of our walk started to change.  There were far fewer pilgrims walking, and the cobblestones and asphalt gave way to dirt paths.  The villages and farm fields that started just at the outskirts of Santiago gave way to forests of pine or eucalyptus.  However, unlike the forests back home, here the trees seem to arrange themselves in neat rows. 

The demeanor of the pilgrims that past us (we walk pretty slow) was different.  Whereas on the way to Santiago, the goal was to get there and get the official certificate of completion, in this section, past Santiago, only those whose goal was the journey were walking with us.

Everyone seemed happy to just be: getting there didn't seem so important anymore.

Two days and 37 miles past Santiago, we spent the night in O Logoso, a tiny farming village whose road in just happened to touch the dirt path that is the Camino at that point.  We stayed at the pension (a pension is like a hotel with no one there to greet guests: it's always a puzzle figuring out how to get in).  

In addition to the pension, they had an alberge (like a pension, but you share a bedroom and bath with other guests), and a combination cafe, bar, and sandwich shop.  All 3 businesses seemed to be run by the same family; at least they shared the same WiFi.

The Camino, and the customers it brings, is vital to the economy of these villages, which are likely doomed without the tourist income. 

The village of Zas, that we past the previous day, has no tourist facilities hasn't fared so well.