We stayed at the 3-star Casa Leopoldo, a historic home nicely converted into a boutique (read 6 rooms) hotel. Breakfast was probably the best we’ve had on this trip although a couple of the rooms (Paul’s & Mike’s) did look like they had been sized with children in mind. The photo above is outside Helena’s hotel as it was on our way out of town and made more sense to take it here.
The view from my room was back across the house owner’s private garden. The strange thing about the room was that, although comfortable, eye shades were needed for sleep as there were no effective curtains or shutters to negate the bright spotlight outside. It was nice and cool, and overcast, as we headed out of town and past the sticker covered town sign.
Today was scheduled to be a day of ups and downs, and nearly 30km, and this started right from the outset as we headed downwards. The sun was starting to break through as well which kept us warm when out of the trees. We had left a little earlier this morning, due to the length of this leg, and seemed to miss the crowds of school kids – there were still plenty of people to dodge round though.
We then passed through 4 small villages that were connected and indistinguishable – O Méson, San Xacobeo, A Taberna and O Cotón – with lots of Galicia style storage sheds on show. Then it was a mixture of paths alongside crop fields and road walking as we headed to the half-way point of the walk.
We crossed the River Furelos vis the Roman Bridge – Ponte de San Xoán de Furelos – and walked into the busy town of Melide. It seemed like a lot of pilgrims, especially those starting in Sarria, had opted for a shorter day and made Melide their end point – effectively doing the last stretch of the Camino in 6, rather than 5, days.
The map had promised quite a few, lengthy, ups and downs and, after Melide, delivered on that promise. We passed a water trough that looked fresh enough to still be in regular use and descended down forest tracks. This was a really nice part of the walk as we got occasional aromas of the wild mint, crossed a couple of streams and the trees kept us shaded and cool. Before heading downwards again we passed through the small village of Boente de Abaixo where we stopped for a drink, some cake and a stamp.
Two more descents, one long and steep, and two more climbs took us up into the town of Arzua. The last climb was totally out of the shade and continued through the town – quite a tiring part onto finish the days walk off. It’s had to believe that we have been walking for 33 days (plus 2 rest days) and there are only 2 more walking days to go (40km or so) before we are finished yet another Camino.
