Ventas de Neron to Melide
Trip Start
May 14, 2008
1
10
14
Trip End
May 30, 2008
Melide,
Spain
Monday, May 26, 2008
We took some group pictures on the front steps of the casa, said our heartfelt goodbyes to Marisol and Aurora, and started the drive back to Ventas de Neron where we left off yesterday. We stopped in Portomarin to get Tina and Sandi's passports stamped, but the Church was closed - and it's Sunday! Go figure! We started out by walking through the fog, but it quickly burned off and it ended up being our first day without rain - hallelujah! It was sunny/cloudy with a cool breeze for most of the day - perfect walking conditions. We set a brisk pace as the terrain wasn't as undulating as on previous days
Group photo!
. I walked with Jim and Lynne for the first few kilometers, passing pine forests, eucalyptus groves, amazing vistas, fascinating cobweb formations, four caballeros on horses, mausoleums, wrinkled and bronzed old men hovering in doorways puffing on cigarettes, patches of calla lilies growing wild, more amazing wildflowers, a garden with poles sticking out of the ground and each end held a beer bottle, plastic bag, old hat and other odds 'n ends. We saw a kitten basking in the sun, a dog that may have been dead as it didn't even flinch as we walked by, interesting statues, 5 puppies guarding a tire shop, and several sick-looking cats and dogs. It breaks my heart to see these critters so uncared for - some have obviously been kicked around and/or are malnourished. They aren't pampered like our pets at home! At one point I had to pee so badly that I hid behind a tree, and 50 meters later, as we rounded a corner, there was a bar with full toilet facilities - just my luck!We stopped for lunch at Casa Domingo, just past Palas de Rei, in a really funky old stone building that's been converted to an albergue. Before eating, we sat outside in the sunshine and elevated our legs - boy, that felt good! We had walked about 14 km by then, and every one of us was starting to feel some aches and pains. My right hamstring was super tight and the pain radiated down the back of my knee to my Achilles
Lynne, emerging from the fog
. I took two Advil which really helped. We ate lentil soup, crusty bread and salad on wide wooden tables with antiques hanging on the walls all around us. And more wine.
After lunch, we passed a hamlet called "Casanova" so I took a picture of John and Jim next to it. I walked with Lynne, Julia and Nancy for awhile, and then Nancy and I walked together. When we arrived in Leboreiro, our planned stop for the day, we all opted to carry on for another 6 km since the weather was so great. Nancy and I walked together and, with 2 km to go, we were ready for the day to be over. We could see Julia and Lynne in the distance and, after crossing a medieval stone bridge and walking through another historical hamlet called Furelos, saying "Buenas Dias" to elderly Spaniards hovering in doorways, we arrived in Melide. We converged at a bar where we enjoyed a cold drink while Judy gathered all our passports and took them to the local Church to be stamped.
Our home for tonight is Pazo de Sudor in the countryside. It's an 18th century stone building that used to be a mill, where pilgrims brought rocks to be ground up into limestone and then carried it to Santiago to be used to build the Cathedral
Jim, Julia & Brad
. It's an amazing place with secret passages, gorgeous antique furniture, interesting cubbyholes, and something unique around every corner. The view from our room overlooks pastureland, past a pool and tennis courts. There's also a cattle farm here - it used to be a dairy and now it's used for meat. This place is steeped in history - it's too bad we're only here for one night!Dinner was in a separate building - cold asparagus soup (surprisingly good), crusty bread, salad with bananas, kiwis, pineapple and peaches in it, hake (fish), potatoes and peas. Dessert was an artificial-looking and tasting cheesecake, so I passed.
Everyone is very tired tonight, and we don't have Aurora here to entertain us, so several excused themselves early. Jim, Julia, Brad and I stuck around to listen to Judy's stories about the running of the bulls in Pamplona, the tomato festival where people throw tomatoes at each other (wearing ski goggles to protect their eyes), and bull-fighting, which sounds horrendous. Six bulls are killed at each festival, and the bulls don't stand a chance. Their horns are sanded down to the nerve endings before each fight, poor things!
Today was our longest day....26 km!
