Plaza de la Estrella

Today seemed a much nicer walk than the previous two days, though we walked our farthest distance yet. The rain has held off for the time being and we had blue skies most of today. The temperature is very comfortable, 75° or so for the afternoon high but chilly in the morning and evening.

This morning we got an earlier start than usual since we knew we had a lot of ground to cover. We are at the far edge of the time zone so sunrise is much later than we’re used to. Though we set off just before 8:00 am it was still dark. As we left Redondela the fog slowly lifted from the hills and by our first café con leche stop the sun had begun to light up the valley. From the cafe we had a fabulous view of the bridge across the Estreito de Rande and the Vigo river which flows into the Atlantic just beyond.

The terrain was a nice mix of back roads, dirt paths, a few short, steep climbs and some boulders just to keep the cyclists in check. Instead of bagpipers, the woods today were populated by little pop up rest stops with people selling cold drinks and lukewarm trinkets. We sat and ate our picnic lunch at one such place, exchanging Buen Caminos with the stream of pilgrims flowing by. We collected several stamps in our credentials today as every little stand we passed was offering. One must collect at least two stamps (“sellos”) per day to qualify for the Compostela at the end. Today we got about 6.

We met a very sweet little dog this morning and another this afternoon. Many of the houses and farms we pass have dogs in the yard and you can usually hear at least one dog barking anywhere you are. The ones who live right on the Camino seem pretty bored by the endless parade of pilgrims clicking along with their hiking poles. The two we met today were eager to have their ears scritched though were probably disappointed we had no cheese to offer.

Somewhere near the midpoint of today’s stage we met up with Ashook and Hesha again. We chatted for a bit before they took off at their much faster pace. They are here in Pontevedra tonight, too, but it’s a large city so I doubt we’ll run into them.

We arrived in Pontevedra about 3:00. Checked into our room at Casa Sara, took our showers and have just finished our laundry. Our laundry game has slipped a bit in the past few days. At this point the rinse water is just as gray as the wash water. We’ve gotten pretty cavalier about wearing dirty clothes. I can see why some people burn theirs when the reach the end.

The key to successful laundry on the Camino is in the wringing. When the wringing is poor you suffer for it the next day. If you’ve ever tried to put on a damp sports bra you know what I’m talking about. And I have developed a deep appreciation for a well-fitted sink stopper. They are to be cherished.

DINNER UPDATE: Didn’t have the energy to deal with a tapas menu so we ended up in a doner kebab place run by a lovely Indian man named Abdullah. As we finished our dinner a fellow pilgrim came in and asked to join us at our table. Pilgrim Steven (“STAY-ven”), a postman from Northern Ireland, talked our ears off for close to two hours. He was a delight. We’re headed to the same place tomorrow but I doubt we’ll see him on the way as he walks extremely fast. Postman legs.Read more