Our train to Ourense didn't leave until 9:39 am so we took a last walk through the old city before heading for the train. The train ride was through countryside similar to what we had been walking through for the last month. It was hills and valleys covered with all sorts of vegetation including broom. What really caught our attention was the number of tunnels and bridges. It seemed like we were either in a tunnel or on a bridge the whole way. Of course that couldn't have been so but we went through at least 2 dozen tunnels some of which were quite long. Often we would emerge from a tunnel and go on to a long bridge.
While walking to our hotel, we crossed a really interesting bridge. It was cable stayed and had a pedestrian track that started at car level, then it dropped down a couple of metres, then it rose over the car lanes some 120 stairs in a curve before plunging down the other side symmetrically. The entire curved overpass was symmetrically repeated around the second bridge tower.
After dropping our packs at the hotel we set out in search of the thermal baths. They turned out to be almost 5 km away but we needed the walk. The first pool that we visited was just the right temperature. While we were enjoying a nice soaking, we received a pleasant surprise. About 10 school kids gathered around and asked us all sorts of questions. They wanted to know where we were from, our names, what we were doing and of course did we like Galecia. Just like the group that we met a few days ago, they were the highlight of the day.
Later we walked to a hot spring just a few blocks from our hotel. The water there was almost steaming. Certainly you couldn't keep your hands directly in the water as it emerged from the pipe. In order to allow people to immerse themselves, they would have to add some cool water.
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