Day 31, October 11, Palas de Rei to Arzua, 23 miles
We were dreading this day a bit and set out early. We had a great breakfast at Casa Leopoldo. They had arranged the table with some lovely china and had very tasty cake and jams for us. We headed out around 8 a.m. We kept up a steady pace despite the considerable climbs and descents. The people along the Camino and in a lot of blogs, lie like rugs! They all talk about this walk being flat. Let me tell you, it is most decidedly NOT! There are quite a few stiffish climbs and descents. We walked the first 6 kms. quite quickly and took our coffee break in Leboreiro.
Continued on and stopped a couple of times just to rest our feet. We decided not to push ourselves on this walk. We came to our midpoint, Melide, around 12:30 and stopped for lunch at a lovely little cafe. It had a beautiful garden area with kiwi fruit vines and pretty flowers.
I ordered a veggie burger and coffee and Lisa, a hamburger with a coke. It was delightful. The chef came out and took me in to show me how she'd made the veggie burger. It was a really cool place. We continued on through Melide, a pretty largish town and went on to Boente, where we stopped again for a break. On the way, we got a stamp from a guy who was doing it with wax. He did this cool thing with wax and imprinted a pair of feet on it. Our whole walk didn't feel quite so bad because we were in lovely shady paths. Just about a kilometer before Ribadiso, we met Joyce from Darwin. She and Dennis and Fiona were together and we had a lovely chat. She's a nurse originally from Maastricht but decided to move to Australia. She was talking about her travels and other things and our time flew. Soon we were at Ribadiso de Baixo.
She was stopping there. We sat down for a minute and then went on. As we were only a couple kms. from Arzua we didn't want to sit down and rest for too long. We continued on right next to the main road to Arzua. We met a young man from Utah who'd had many tragic losses in his family (his parents and sister) and was trying to find some peace. He kept us going until we hit Arzua and the bar, O Retiro, where we were supposed to meet our taxi. But both of us had a brain freeze and decided that we could walk to the hotel - 2.2 miles. We did, and of course it was all uphill. We finally got to Pazo de Santa Maria hotel. It was lovely and the best part was that our room was on the same level as our suitcases. We rested, showered, and had a lovely dinner that started with pumpkin soup and tempura dates.
It was a crazy and long day, but we recovered well and had fun doing it.
Continued on and stopped a couple of times just to rest our feet. We decided not to push ourselves on this walk. We came to our midpoint, Melide, around 12:30 and stopped for lunch at a lovely little cafe. It had a beautiful garden area with kiwi fruit vines and pretty flowers.
I ordered a veggie burger and coffee and Lisa, a hamburger with a coke. It was delightful. The chef came out and took me in to show me how she'd made the veggie burger. It was a really cool place. We continued on through Melide, a pretty largish town and went on to Boente, where we stopped again for a break. On the way, we got a stamp from a guy who was doing it with wax. He did this cool thing with wax and imprinted a pair of feet on it. Our whole walk didn't feel quite so bad because we were in lovely shady paths. Just about a kilometer before Ribadiso, we met Joyce from Darwin. She and Dennis and Fiona were together and we had a lovely chat. She's a nurse originally from Maastricht but decided to move to Australia. She was talking about her travels and other things and our time flew. Soon we were at Ribadiso de Baixo.
She was stopping there. We sat down for a minute and then went on. As we were only a couple kms. from Arzua we didn't want to sit down and rest for too long. We continued on right next to the main road to Arzua. We met a young man from Utah who'd had many tragic losses in his family (his parents and sister) and was trying to find some peace. He kept us going until we hit Arzua and the bar, O Retiro, where we were supposed to meet our taxi. But both of us had a brain freeze and decided that we could walk to the hotel - 2.2 miles. We did, and of course it was all uphill. We finally got to Pazo de Santa Maria hotel. It was lovely and the best part was that our room was on the same level as our suitcases. We rested, showered, and had a lovely dinner that started with pumpkin soup and tempura dates.
It was a crazy and long day, but we recovered well and had fun doing it.
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