When we left Palas de Rei, there were our Polish friends again – Dorota and Kasha. They had met Luda a woman from Ukraine who spoke both Polish and English, so now they were a threesome. It’s funny how that happens on the Camino. It was interesting to hear how Luda ended up on the Camino. She decided she just “had to do it”, so she quit her job and made plans. She actually signed up for a group tour of the Camino in her town, but shortly before the trip the travel agent called her and told her that no one else had signed up. At that point she decided to do it anyway – to go it alone – and she was so glad she did! I admire her courage.
The highlights of the day were Roman bridges, beautiful heather on the roadsides, and an 11th century church near Melide.
Lunch was at Garnacha Pulperia in Melide. This was recommended by the woman at the tourist information office (her mother owns the restaurant), but when we arrived we knew there was more than nepotism in play here – it was hopping! We tried the pulpo (octopus), the padrons, a meat selection – it was full of both locals and pilgrims. The nice lunch gave us sustenance to keep going!
Our friends stayed in Boxxxte (? – look it up), and we walked on to Castenada. Castenada can barely be called a town, but the place we stayed was charming! Maria, the owner, was there to meet us in the courtyard – we sat down at a picnic table to pay up, where she explained that this little villa had been in her family for at least three generations – her grandmother was born in the house where we stayed. You couldn’t tell from the outside, but rooms were remodelled from the original building – solid timbers, huge stone walls (post photos). There was not a restaurant at Casa Vallejo, so we ate at the albergue down the street – typical peregrino fare in a small restaurant/bar. Also enjoying
Stayed at Casa Vallejo
Total Walked: 22.5k (14 miles)
THE UNREACHABLE ITCH 