Today we had Tessa and Kathryn with us as we headed to Arzúa.
Today started well, the cafe that the hotel pointed us to for breakfast was closed so, after only a coffee from somewhere nearby, we headed off. We truly did have Tessa and Kathryn with us but they had already started when the photo was taken! It felt colder than the predicted 15c when we set off and the sky was overcast – forecast was a lot of rain about 2pm.
Palas de Rei was a bit disappointing as a town, considering all of the old towns/villages we had been through recently. It is assumed that the name of the town comes from Pallatium regis (royal palace) as it was the residence of the Visigothic monarch Witiza at the beginning of the 8th century. The Calixtino Codex states that, from this point the final stage to the apostle’s tomb, 68 kilometers away, is a journey that Amery Picaud defined as “moderate”.
It was nice to start the day by walking downhill for once, as we walked out of Palas de Rei, on wooded paths and past plenty of (now that we know what they are) traditional Spanish barns. We stopped at the Igrexa de San Xulían do Camiño (Igrexa is church in Galician whilst Iglesia is church in Spanish) in the town of O Coton to get our daily Pilgrim Passport stamp. This also had the benefit of passing a large number of people congregated there and at the cafe (much easier to pass here than on the paths). We crossed the Rio Pambre, looking pretty with reflected sunlight as we reached the foot of our first descent.
The day would be a series of descents and ascents as we started our first climb, staying on wooded paths with the occasional breaks in the trees giving views of distant hills. In the town of O Coto we stopped to buy some cherries. Not a perfect breakfast substitute but very tasty anyway. We crossed the Rio Furelos as we walked through Furelos, on the outskirts of Melide (which was halfway on our journey today).
Another series of ups and downs as we passed through a few small towns with churches and also a brand new barn which looked very smart indeed. We had some rain, enough to get our coats out and on for at least 5 minutes and then once the rain stopped the heat returned so off came the coats – thankfully they weren’t needed again. At this stage the sun was out and it was quite hot and humid, not ideal for stomping up hills. The herds of cows we saw seemed to be enjoying it though.
One final, long, descent and we stopped for a bite to eat (25km and no breakfast) before the final climb up to Arzúa. The skies were darkening in the background as we enjoyed the views, and one spectacular field of dandelions, and finally made it (exhausted) to our hotel.
A bit of a rest, a wander and a couple of coffees as we waited for the ice cream shop to open (its always 4pm) and then a delicious ice cream.
Tomorrow we head to O Pedrouzo.
All about the 4pm ice cream!