Into The Mountains - Galicia - Camino de Santiago

I´m now in the Region of Spain known as Galicia. Lush green moutains and hills full of Celtic history. Villages here are more accurately described as hamlets and don´t be suprised if the local bar is playing dulcimer bagpipe music.....The weather has been superb and my enthusiam for mountain walking has me moving faster than I ought to be. I´ve been feeling really good but today I must admit I felt a little tired. Yesterday I walked all the way to La Faba. I took the high route out of Villafranca del Bierzo up along a moutain ridge and then down to a valley for some road walking. After numerous kilometers of walking thru small touristy villages I finally climbed out of the valley and up into the village of La Faba where I set up camp in a park next to an albergue for the night. I then got washed up and set out to find the local bar for a meal. That was when I caught up to the Swiss gang once again! They had checked into a smaller more esoteric albergue. The place is run by a charismatic healthy looking 50 ish year old German man named Marcel. The albergue, housed in an ancient building, is decorated with all sorts of eastern art, statues, etc., with mystical music playing in the background. Very interesting atmosphere. Marcel is a vegetarian and offers a veggie dinner. The Swiss were in so I joined them and a few other pilgrims. I must say it was the most healthy meal I´ve had in Spain. My staple diet has consisted mostly of bread, cheese, ham, apples and, for better or worse, high fiber cookies. There were 8 of us at dinner and everyone spoke German except for me so the language of the eveing was German. Fair enough. Marcel sells jewelry, has a garden, runs the albergue etc. etc. He gets help with the place by offering pilgrims room and board if they´d like to stay for awhile. Micah loved the place and has decided to stay. How long ? She does´nt know. I´m sure it will be an interesting experience and I wish her well...... The nice thing about camping is that I don´t have to be out of the albergue by 8 am which is generally the rule. Today I got a nice leisurely start at 9:45 and caught up to Mark and Simon around lunch time. We walked together until Triacastela where I decided to call it a day. They continud on a little further. The large open grassy area surrounded the municipal albergue in Triacastela is great for camping and that´s where I´m at for the night...........