Today, as we reach the last few legs of our journey, we have an up-and-down day. Starting at Portomarin we travel downwards to the low river valley - rio Mino - then steeply uphill, through Gonzar and then onto Hospital until we reach the highest point at Sierra Ligonde at 720M.

Then we have a steep walk downhill to Ligonde, across the rio Ligonde to the village of Eirexe. Then its' down again followed by an uphill climb to Alto Roano.

We then descend to the destination of the day - Palas de Rei. The total distance we will cover is over 26kms - or 16 miles. Because of the days' climb, we will be travelling nearer 29kms.

Gastromaior - named after the large prehistoric castro that once stood north of here across the river. The ruins of a Roman camp have also been discovered on the edge of the village.

We pass the small Iglesia de Santa Maria and the Pension Casa Maruja. We'll reach Hospital de la Cruzin in another 2km and Ventas de Naron just over lkm later.

In the year 820, a few short years after the discovery of the tomb of Santiago, the Christians gained a bloody victory over the troops of the Emir of Cordoba here.

From here to Palas de Rei, the road has been narrowed to make way for a gravel camino track. We climb out of the village and over the Serra de Ligonde, the watershed of the Rio Mino and the Rio Ulla, from where there are great views.

We walk through Presbisa, Lameiros, where there's a lovely cruceiro, then enter Ligonde, a hamlet stretching out along the camino for several hundred metres.

From here, a lane on the right detours in 3km to the Monasterio de San Salvador at Vilar de Donas. The monastery was the official burial place of the Caballeros de Santiago (Knights of Santiago), and its fantastic frescoes show the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

We climb to the top of Alto Rosario, the name of both a hill and the hamlet that we'll soon pass through, picking up a cobbled track at the end of the hamlet. Soon afterwards, we turn left onto a dirt lane, arriving at a picnic area and sports field with fantastic views of the valley below; on a clear day, it's possible to see Monte Pico Sacro near Santiago de Compostela.

We're almost at Palas de Rei now. We wind down into Palas de Rei, passing the modern church, where there's a fountain and a cruceiro, then we head down some steps into town.

Palas de Rei - its' origins are murky. No one really knows where the name comes from and it doesn't appear in historical documents until the ninth century, although there's probably been a settlement here for much longer as the surrounding area is jammed with Roman and Celtic remains.

What isn't in doubt is that Palas de Rei has always been an important stop on the camino, and marked the end of the twelfth stage in Aymeric Picaud's famous guide.