Yesterday was a long walk, 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) from Portomarín to Palas de Reí. We had the full range of weather, starting with cold and overcast, a little rain while we ate lunch (thank you, Lord), and eventually ending with mottled sunshine. We took some nifty shortcuts along roads, owing to a hidden treasure I found back at Samos.
Y’all know how I have been complaining about the “maps” in my guidebook. When we finished dinner next to the monastery in Samos, as the waiter bussed the table, I noticed the tabletop was…a 1:50,000 map of the Camino going forward! This was a military-grade map, and I was like a child at Christmas, but how to capture this extraordinary find? Judy reminded me to take a digital picture, and now I had a real map to use as needed.
So now when I face an evening’s planning session, I go to the enlarged digital photo. Yesterday, the guidebook had us walking downhill to a trail which then went back up over the crest of a large hill. I checked my map, and yes, the road we were about to cross went right around that same hill and rejoined the Camino on the other side.
While I was writing this post, I saw someone on Facebook calling out pilgrims who don’t carry everything, or take shortcuts or rest days. It was a classic “I’m a real man and you’re not” post. I could not resist responding, mentioning heat, light, fabrics and medicine as things you might want to consider avoiding if you think you’re a real pilgrim. I guarantee you the medieval pilgrims went around a hill if they could, among other things they did to lessen the hardship.
We also passed some 3rd century BCE ruins along the way, some of the best preserved in the Iberian peninsula. They don’t even have explanatory boards up yet, bit were still quite remarkable.
Today was much shorter (15 kilometers), and we are only 53 kilometers from Santiago. The morning was as gray as ever, but the path was soft and smooth, and the hills and valleys very manageable.
We even spread out my poncho on a grassy field and took a nap: something I imagined us doing all the time if the weather had cooperated. Pilgrims were walking past us taking pictures: we’ll have to see if we show up on social media.
In the early afternoon, a giant glowing orb appeared in the sky. It seemed friendly enough, provided some heat, and was around most of the rest of the day. Anybody else see it?
We are all checked in another great room in Pensíon Berenguela in Melide. At the local church, they were getting ready for the feast of Corpus Christi. Another short day tomorrow, then two long days to Santiago!
God speed