Palais de Rey has a bustling center street that was chock full of pilgrims drinking cervesas and trying pulpo (octopus) – a Galician delicacy. We met up with our gaggle of Barcelona lady friends and had a fun tapas dinner at one of the small bar restaurants. I was delighted to see Ruth just jump in and be a lively part of the group – a woman to be proud of.
We had an unrushed start after good nights sleep in quiet Palas de Rei. The town is obviously expanding to meet the needs of peregrinos. We stayed in a small private room with its own bathroom…but these rooms were in a totally separate building from the albergue and the building looked as though it had been completely renovated specifically with the basic comforts for pilgrims – clean sheets on single beds (you could get a matrimonio bed too…) each with a long comfy pillow and super warm extra blanket. Small bathroom with shower and lots of hot water. A couple of simple towels each. And a closet with a few hangers for layers stripped off. Oh and a TV and remote of course (we’ve only indulged one night). Simple, clean, quiet. Perfect.
After a meandering morning of walking through small villages shaded by groves of trees, having a tea and postres break when running into our walking crew friends, chatting with students from Villanova on a Spanish culture class trip with the Camino as part of it, we took a short rest in Melide – a pretty busy small city about mid way to Arzua. Little did we know that the rest of our day would be longer and harder on our feet and psyches than any other before…
While the sun was shining and the scenery beautiful, after more than 25km of walking we began to think someone had done some miscalculation on distance for this stage of the Camino. Up one hill and down… this must be Arzua! Hmmm, not yet. Just one more hill…hmmm, not quite – just 4 more km. Was someone playing a joke on us poor tired peregrinos????
Finally we dragged ourselves up the last rise and into the middle of town and found Casa Teodora – a lovely small pension with a restaurant attached (Galician Pollo Asada was divine). This really did seem to be our most trying day physically, but we both now anticipate Andrew’s arrival and the finale of this trek in Santiago.
It’s strange to think that we have only about 40km left! Ruth and I agree that along with the shared grander experience we have had we will also know that we have pretty strong constitutions and could take on other challenges like the Camino with a “can do” attitude – because we have done this together!
Living La Vida Loca 