Woke up quite refreshed and enthusiastic because this was also a 14 kilometer day. While there was a buffet breakfast at the hotel we stayed in, it didn't open until 7.30 a.m and we didn't want to dawdle. Since Melide wasn't exactly a brisk place to begin with, and it was Sunday to boot, we decided to just begin our walk right away. My trusted camino app really helped because today we were quite off the Camino and needed the directions to get back on it.
Once we resumed the walk on the Camino, it was one foot in front of the other. But we were feeling more rested because of the shorter distance we had walked the previous day. We had run into some familiar faces along the way but we also knew that we wouldn't see quite a few of them this day because they probably walked the entire 28 miles in one day without catching a break like we did.
Our breakfast break was in a place called Boente where along with our breakfast we had the pleasure of watching a small kitten playing around the dining area. It seems to be missing a mum, but seemed pretty carefree and jolly. We did see a lot of dogs along the way. Extremely well behaved. Almost none were leashed, but none were jumpy or ' friendly' like dog owners claim in the States. There were pilgrims who fed them titbits. But they weren't leaping around the pilgrims and generally being a nuisance.
The kilometers sped by pretty quickly and before we knew it, we were in Arzua,where we were staying the night. And this time, almost to make up for staying way out of where the Camino was, the hotel was on the Camino. Literally, on the Camino. We walked into the town and climbed up some stairs to the apartment we had booked. It was an apartment, a whole dang apartment. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and dining and living area. A fridge stocked with milk and juice and water and a kitchen with coffee and sugar and fruits and bread.
We literally parked ourselves each to a room, put our feet up and relaxed for a while. Then we went off to find lunch. Interesting fact: In Spain, people sit and eat outside restaurants all the time. There are cars driving by a few feet away and people walking by literally an elbow length away, but everyone just go about their eating business without flinching. We found some wonderful vegetarian options and obviously seafood too and made a good meal. By now we noticed that we were eating twice while walking, nothing heavy, a coffee for sure, maybe a croissant, once we had cheese and membrillo,and sometimes bread with tomatoes,another favoriteof ours, but it was never heavy or a full meal. I'm sure were burnt off anything we ate within the next hour of non stop walking. And we invariably had lunch after 2.00 p.m. That was our heavy meal. We ate without restraint because we were terribly hungry and also because that was our only big meal of the day. Nights we mostly weren't hungry after the late lunch and coffee with something else sufficed. Our waitress was a sweet young girl who was very helpful. Interesting observation: most waiters spoke very little English, but were very patient with us and our broken Spanish. We managed swimmingly well and we never ordered or recieved the wrong thing. Some Duolingo is useful, one has to agree. And another observation: you really don't need cash. Cards, or tarjetas as they are called in Spain gets you anything you want even on the remote Camino. Though, calling the Camino remote seems sacrilegious.
So we rested. Our legs were doing much better. We were still tired and sore, but not to the degree where we rethought our whole walk. And the fact that we were sending our luggage ahead of us was really a boon. Every hotel we walked up to, our luggage was already there. That was a very reassuring sight for us. I know this was a pilgrimage, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do right? Anyway, we settled in for the night.
I attended the pilgrim mass in Arzua too. The only place I skipped was Melide because we were so far from the pilgrim crowd and I didn't even know where the church was. The mass was a fulfilling experience. Like filling up with gas before a long drive. One might not be too religious, but still, that something, that guiding light is needed in your life for sure.
Anyway the next day was just a 19 kilometer walk and it seemed eminently doable. And we were two thirds of our journey in. That in itself thrilled us. The tough part was over. We had to drew a deep breath in and do it. Twice over and we would be done. Eyes on the prize!
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