Portomarin was jammed Monday night. There was a festival and a hoard of new pilgrims from Sarria. Palas de Rei was swamped Tuesday night with the same crowd. However, there is a lot of capacity with the two municipal albergues (one in the park before arriving, and the one in the center of town), and a new albergue just entering Palas on a street just before the church.
There are detours going into and leaving Portomarin as a result of the heavy rains this spring (last spring?). The first one just uses established roads, and is not much longer than the original trail. Leaving Portomarin, the turn is now to the left, almost immediately followed by a right, which goes up through some vineyards. Pilgrims seem to have removed all the nearby grapes, so I suspect the owner will not want pilgrims through his fields for any longer than necessary to keep up the tourist trade. Collectively, we really are a bunch of pigs!!! The detour is nicer than the original, but the work crew was toiling away Tuesday at the top of the washed out section, so it won´t be long before the trail is back. I don´t think the distance changed materially. Gonzar is still a long haul up, but the old man there has an assistant now, who handles the bar traffic much more efficiently than he did. He mostly cleans up, and seems as confused as ever.
Pressing on toward Melide now. The route is very busy, and everyone is reserving ahead. I plan on small places before or after the major stops, and finding a bed has been no problem. No bed bugs, either.