Camino Day 4: Arzúa to O Pedrouzo

At Hotel Arzúa, our breakfast was included so we saw many of the people we saw on the Camino - the Dutch, the old ladies, and the Korean mother-daughter duo. The daughter whom we saw limping last night at dinner, was clearly in a lot of pain. She may have broken something - unclear; but what I do know is, they started arguing in the breakfast room and I was the only one who could understand. They argued whether they should go to the hospital, take a taxi to the next town, or stay and sight-see; none of which were acceptable to the daughter. The mom tried to stay calm and kept helping herself to more breakfast as the daughter melted down. I’m sure it was super upsetting and disappointing.

All I can say is, we’re lucky we’re feeling the way we are - thank goodness for magnesium and our routines. As a trio, we take Advil, drink magnesium, Salon Pas and ice our body - a routine we have mastered in varying forms. I have learned, I must be very careful because if I sunscreen too early, I can’t prepare my camelback water pack, and I’m deathly afraid of eating or washing my face after I’ve lathered on Salon Pas all over my achy joints. We have figured it out and we continue to make sure we’re all doing okay and taking good care of each other!

So we headed out for our shortest walk thus far and to O Pedrouzo. It was uneventful and we met a woman from Quebec who had done part of the Camino last year, but felt like her hotel experience was not enough. So she decided to return for the full French way which takes over a month and rough it up. We also met a 79 year old Korean woman from Orlando who is on her 3rd Camino! She said she loves the experience - we were very impressed. 

As the various routes were all converging as we get closer to Santiago de Compostela, we saw our regulars, but also many new people and learned faces and characteristics - where are you from, where did you start, and etc. It is definitely getting crowded on the path, as we mixed in with these cows - we took this fun selfie!

We also managed like clockwork, see the running driver - when he passes, we get excited and say hello as he gives us a thumbs up. What’s amazing is as soon as we mention him and think it’s about time, he shows up like Johnny on the spot!

Along the path, there was a fun stop where it is tradition to drink the pilgrim beer and sign the bottle. We enjoyed coffee, chatting with a woman from Barcelona, and taking pictures with an horreo or traditional Galician granary decorated with bottles. Here are a few collages of the experience as we shared a bottle of beer in the morning:

As we marched on, you notice beautiful flowers everywhere and many female pilgrims decorate their hair with flowers. As Tresa has a green thumb, she is able to spot and identify all the various plants and flowers along the path. Here’s a beautiful photo of the Thomas sisters - so happy!:

Here’s another in front a cool forest:



Around midday, we had a delicious lunch at Marela, where we shared a tomato salad, pasta with vegetables, pork chops, and a hamburger. For drinks, we ordered a shandy, ginger lemonade, and a cider - a few photos below:

After lunch, we walked on and meandered through villages and this beautiful forest where we took some photos:

We thought we were close to O Pedrouzo as we had walked almost the planned 12 miles / 19 kms, but we hadn’t seen the running driver. I said we probably still had a bit to go and Tresa remarked he will probably round the bend and appear. And as if it was a cue, 5 minutes later he was running towards us and I yelled out “dos veces cada día” which means “2 times every day!” We could not stop laughing and then walked into town.

We were staying in a triple room at Pension Vinte e Tres, and our luggage was waiting for us. As we were earlier than usual due to the shorter distance, we ran some errands at the pharmacy and took naps after our showers. We walked though town and went to dinner at Galaico where we sipped on multiple rounds of wine, munched on a ham and cheese platter, and chatted with folks walking by.

We could not stop laughing how the running driver appears every time we talk about him and is like a North Star on our route who can help us know if we’re making good time. And just like that, we saw him drive by in his van! Mary Ann said he will live a long life as there is an Indian saying that you live long when people talk about you.

Passing by as well, we saw the family with two sons and learned they were from Seville - they were super sweet and we saw the Dutch, the Japanese, many students, and met Austrians and a German with whom Tresa chatted as they were sitting next to us.

And then just like that, our running driver buddy walked by with a horde of students and we all started laughing! The kids asked him who we were and he answered saying we see each other on the Camino two times a day. He motions with his hands and says “I’ll see you tomorrow!” Literally every time - Johnny on the spot.

We decided we needed to have more than wine, cheese, and ham, so we ordered a mountain rice dish that had chicken, shrimp, and squid and it was a hearty and satisfying meal. A collage below:



Tomorrow will be our last walk and we heard that people cry when they see Santiago de Compostela for the first time. Also on the journey, many write about how much they have reflected, cried, and of course laughed. The three of us can’t seem to stop laughing and are starting to feel sad that the walk is coming to an end - these familiar faces and our inside jokes have brought us so much joy!

Camino Day 3: Palais de Rei to Arzúa

Today we got up for the earliest start thus far to give ourselves breaks and to tackle our longest trek in one day - 18 miles / 29 kms. As our hotel restaurant was not open for breakfast, we started our journey and walked for almost 2 hours before we ate breakfast at the place below in Cassanova:



We passed several restaurants and villages, but we surmised that many were closed as it was Sunday. We noted we needed to be careful for our lunch as we could easily miss an opportunity to eat. Overall, we made good time seeing the usual folks on our previous days. At one point, Tresa’s husband Roland called and Tresa was able to share our walk through the video chat which you can see below - technology is such an amazing thing:

We walked through many adorable villages these past few days, but the bridge below was picturesque and we took many photos:

After crossing the bridge, we stopped in the church and said a prayer since it was Sunday:

The weather was the most ideal today of all the days so far, as it was mostly overcast and there was a consistent breeze. We feared late afternoon rain everyday, but I only felt a drop today and nothing else.

We walked through a pretty large city called Melide, and had to work a bit to spot the yellow arrows or markers - here are a few photos including one of the Sunday market:

We pass many farms, but today we passed this fruit stand of local berries and Tresa purchased raspberries and cherries that we shared for a few hundred meters. We asked the fruit stand owner if he had done the Camino and he said just this past December with his wife. Their Compostelas were laminated and posted on the side of the fruit stand which was in front of his pink car:

There was a lot of forest walking today which was nice, but led to a few mosquito bites for me and Mary Ann. Here’s a photo of Tresa and me crossing a stream:

After what seemed like a never ending hill, we decided to have lunch and shared a cheese sandwich and ham omelette at clearly what was the usual “after mass hangout.” Many people were dressed in their Sunday best:

The last stretch consisted of many steep hills. Mary Ann would start to sing and hum and I asked her if she was really being musical or if she was in pain; she replied that she was in pain and was singing through it with every step. Like I mentioned before, although the uphills could be tiring, the downhills were particularly tough on our sore feet and joints.

After a few rolls up and down the Spanish hills, we finally arrived in Arzúa. We could have stayed in the one town earlier - Ribadiso, but since Arzúa was bigger, we stretched to the next town. However, I conveniently booked the first hotel within the city. Here’s a photo of one of the sidewalk markers, leading the pilgrims through the town:

We had booked a triple room at Hotel Arzúa and our luggage was reliably sitting in the lobby. Upon arrival, we drank our magnesium cocktails, so we could make sure our muscles didn’t cramp up. Here’s a photo of the magnesium:

We washed up, relaxed, and watched the US Women beat the Netherlands in the Women’s World Cup and headed out to dinner. After doing a boomerang down the street, we ended up at the restaurant right next to our hotel. We ordered the fixed menu which included a drink, dessert, and an entree. We ate steak, rice and meatballs, and spaghetti Bolognese with some wine, ice cream, and tarta Santiago which is a Spanish almond cake. A collage below:

At dinner and like at all meals on this trip, we reflect on the people we met and observed throughout the day. On the Camino, you do a lot of people watching and chatting. Today was the longest stretch and we met new folks and saw the usual: the praying couple, the boys with the speakers, the yellow shirt students, the blue sweatshirt students, the pink shirt ladies, the guy with water bottles in his cargo pants, ice cream couple, the family with teenage boys, the family with two girls on bikes, the father-son on bikes, the Canadians, the lady in the skirt, the Japanese fivesome from Yokohama, the Korean mother-daughter, the tall guy, the German lady, and etc. We keep passing each other as we all take breaks at different times, and as we pass, we cheer each other on.

It’s pretty incredible we are all here doing the same exact thing. As Mary Ann said last night while sitting outside with Tresa, “I’m in so much pain,” when a lady nearby remarked, “we’re all in pain.” Indeed we are and this is what makes the Camino so special. And today, we saw the driver two times as we have seen everyday (pictured below), as he ran back to meet his group of students in yellow shirts. He said to us “un poquito más” which means “a little more” - he too is encouraging us as he is basically doing double the Camino by running back and walking forward with his students. And all I wanted to say is, “don’t you want to do a soduku puzzle instead, man?” 

But then I wonder, what nickname do people have for us? The two Indians and the Korean girl who speaks pigeon Spanish? Who knows? What I do know is Diana from Moldova who actually lives in Italy and is an event planner has a selfie of us right outside of Palais de Rei, and a Japanese man took our photo while drinking coffee with our feet up on a chair in Melide... these are the memories and perhaps they will remember us too...