Palas de Reí

Today started out misty and cool.  Rain was forecast, so we were prepared, but turned out we had no more than some mist and a bit of drizzle, not worth putting on our rain gear.  

We walked though farm country, with neat farmhouses decorated in roses, large red Rojas cattle in the fields.  Freshly harvested hay smelled wonderful.  Everywhere chickens and bossy roosters.   Stopped for potato omelets at a small cafe, they were delicious.  And we are enjoying the cafe con leche and the delicious fresh squeezed orange juice.  It’s country comfort food. 

There are a lot of woodsy walks through beautiful old oak forest with lots of moss and lichens (are they the same thing?)  some are very dark and thick.  You can see evidence of the work of the woodcutters (remember Hansel and Gretel?).  Trees were not always felled, instead the woodcutter would harvest branches for firewood.  You can see the burls on these trees where branches were trimmed many years ago.  (If it’s not true, it’s a great story.  And the woods are really spooky.  Enough to make you stay close to home if you were a kid living near the forest!) 

Long day, with lots of ups and downs.  Uphill is better for those with talking knees, downhill is killer as your feet slide forward and your toes complain.  And blister, if you are not paying attention!  While we can’t do anything about those knees except Tylenol, we have been using Compeed liberally and blisters haven’t been too much of a problem.  

 

Typical farm.  Wish we knew the age of the buildings!   Filling the camel bladder at a municipal tap. 

The trail is very crowded today, lots of groups and walkers here just to complete the last 100k.  While I find myself a little irritated at the lack of solitude, it is kind of fun to hear the laughter and the various languages of the pilgrims.  Lu and Ron startled some Philippino pilgrims by conversing with them in  Tagalog, which they learned when they served as missionaries in the Philippines.  Dick had a conversation with a father who was walking with his son who is a rugby player, his other son is a football player at Maryland university.  We’ll be watching for him!

 We stopped for lunch at a cafe which sported 8foot long ant statues, unique to say the least.  There was a group of four sisters and a best friend who were walking the Camino for a week, and then going on to Paris, Italy and Greece.  They took this picture for us, and I am sorry to say we did not get theirs.  When asked what their mother thought of them off on their own, they replied “she is just so happy we are hanging together and not fighting for once!  Although we do that too…”

We ended the day at a beautiful apartment.  We were so tired, we shopped at a nearby Supermarcado and dined on  - wait for it - ham and cheese sandwiches, almonds, oranges, cookies and potato chips.

 Ron found a little shop nearby which offered a really unique wax credencial stamp.  The young man running the shop told us he is a shot put in the “Games”.  When he came out from behind the counter to show us his gold metal, we noticed that he has a prosthetic leg.  He has also walked the Camino.  The purple stamp is his picture.  He was very animated and we had a great conversation, although I am sure that there was miscommunication on both sides, it all made perfect sense!

Jim and Barb went out and found ice cream bars, a very satisfying dessert for a balanced meal.  

Ron’s I phone came up with a glitch, apparently in his pocket it somehow tried to log in too many times and locked him out.  Lu spent several hours on the phone with both Apple and Verizon to no avail, they tell him he can log back in on June 4th.  Seriously!  Since all of our reservations are on his phone, and he is the master planner, it is very frustrating!  Fortunately, between us we have what we need, but this is a warning, don’t put your phone in your pocket, go on a 17 mile hike, and expect it to work perfectly!  

Long day tomorrow, so off to bed we go.

Still haven’t mastered the Spanish washing machine…

Who knew that crunchy snacks in Spain include gummy bits?