Day 8 - Pontevedra to Caldas De Reis

My feet feel like feet!

It seems like forever, but finally my feet felt like feet today. They walked when I told them to walk. Moved when I told them to move. I didn’t have to think about lifting my foot and putting it down. They just moved! Praise the Lord!

We got off to a great start at 6:30 am, which turned out to be a real blessing. Finishing the day early instead of it dragging into the afternoon makes a big difference in how you feel and thus affects your attitude. We left old town Pontevedra before the sunrise during a beautiful clear morning. Granted it was a little rough because it was very much up and down stone streets until we crossed the bridge over the Lerez river. The terrain flattened out eventually across the beautiful countryside.

As yesterday we were blessed with an amazing walk along a stream under the trees and through the woods. We had the feeling that the world was
going on all around us, yet we were living and enjoying the moment of simply walking through an amazing area. And a lot of it was on the Via Romana XIX.

I had to look up what that meant as it had nothing to do with the century the road was made. Obviously. My conclusion is that it was one of the many of the roads built by the Romans and is known as the 19th. Almost like it is 19th street. Just follow 19th to Santiago or to Rome, whichever way you’re going.

More and more along the way we saw our Peregrino friends and made more. It’s so easy and enjoyable. As I mentioned before “my saviors” found me and we are having dinner with them in an little while.

We also met a wonderful couple from Ireland and I spoke with John and Claudia spoke with Brenda for about an hour as we walked. They walked very fast and before we knew it our walking for the day was over. We sat down for beer and tapas and mapped out our strategy for the next few days.

We will do 19 km tomorrow, trying to leave at 6 am. About 19 km the next day, leaving us with about 7+ left. We plan on a glorious early morning arrival so we will have plenty of time to enjoy the day in Santiago. Like I said before, I have a plan, but will follow God’s plan. Maybe they are the same this time?

After beer and tapas we found our albergue for the night and relaxed awhile before lunch. Wonderful restaurant on the river. I had prawns. Claudia had pulpa aka octopus. Bleh. Even though it is a specialty in Galicia, no thanks.
I even found another use for my Brierley Guidebook/Bible.

Special treat for today were the hot springs here in Calda de Reis. Calda, get it? Since the Romans, people have come here to enjoy them. We found an open one and rested our feet in it for a few precious moments, with our fellow pilgrims.

After relaxing, we went to dinner with the saviors and had a great time.

Time for bed now. Early morning tomorrow.

BUEN CAMINO!

13.4 miles/ 35,000 stepsRead more