Stage 35: Palas de Rei-Arzúa

28.5 km/17.7 miles, about 60° all day, 10 hours
Really long day. Couldn't have done it without Jens and Kirsten who overtook me in Melide, about halfway, then we walked the rest of the way together. Kirsten is a really strong walker but patiently accommodated my slow pace and Jens' as well, as he is nursing blisters. I started out from La Cabaña at Palas de Rei at 0745 with my clip on light and was doing well until the torrential rain and wind descended around 11:00 or so, then it was head down and try not to get blown off the path or drowned. Stopped for coffee once, then for lunch just before Melide with a brother and sister from Finland I've been running into for the last week. Then met up with Jens and Kirsten and we struggled through the typhoon until a miraculous clearing of the skies and reappearance of the sun in some Shangri-la valley with a microclimate supporting cacti, aloe vera and palm trees. And no I did not have too much wine with lunch. We stopped for one last coffee and cake before the last 3 or 4 kilometers and got to Arzúa just as the skies darkened again and wind and rain returned. Two more walking days to Santiago.Read more