Melide to Calle
Trip Start
May 14, 2008
1
11
14
Trip End
May 30, 2008
Calle,
Spain
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Back in Melide (pronounced Mileeday), Judy took us to a couple of churches first. We saw municipal workers taking down beautiful floral displays and sweeping up a huge pile of flower petals and evergreen boughs - apparently yesterday was the "Festival of Flowers". Judy grabbed a long-stemmed red rose for each of us before they went into the trash bin, and Jim picked one out for me as well. Each of us attached our rose(s) to our backpacks and on we went. Later, I tucked Jim's rose into a rock wall surrounding a church, saying a little prayer as I did so. We walked steadily downhill for a ways, and the rain got steadily harder. We walked 14 km to Arzua (pronounced Arthua), following country pathways, passing farmer's fields, going through more hamlets, seeing rows of rocks painted with different designs (including one with the Canadian flag on it), seeing more and more corn cribs (elevated storage houses so rats and mice can't get at the contents), tiny stone churches, and lots of mud and cow pies to tiptoe around or through
Our little 4'4" friend
. I walked with Nancy, Julia, Lynne and Marta to Arzua, and at one point with just Julia. We talked about some pretty deep stuff, but that's what happens on the Camino - your heart opens up, you share, you laugh, you cry, and you appreciate that you're alive and are able to tackle this amazing journey.We stopped, surprise surprise, at a bar along the way where I used the bathroom. Normally you're supposed to purchase something or offer to give them 1 euro (they see hundreds of pilgrims a day, so offering them a token of appreciation is...appreciated). Nancy had a coffee (it doesn't take long to drink - it's basically a large thimble-full!) and I handed the woman my second rose, saying "Gracias por le bano". Her face lit up and she smiled from ear to ear, and I felt good.
In Arzua, we met the rest of our group at a bar where Judy had some cheese, tortilla, ham and cheese empanada and seafood empanada, sliced meats and bread waiting for us. We tried Tetilla cheese - Arzua's dairy industry is famous for the creamy cow cheese made in the shape of a woman's breast, and it's truly delicious!
Jim and Tina opted to ride in the van after lunch, as Jim's knee was bothering him and Tina was having trouble with the arch on her foot. The rest of us walked and talked for a further 7.5 km, getting caught in a torrential downpour where we hovered in the carport of a stone farmhouse to escape the worst of it (the door was covered with posters of scantily clad women!). We also got caught in a bovine traffic jam where about 20 cows were crossing the pathway. One of the helpers was standing in the muck, directing cows, in her fluffy blue slippers
Starting out from Melide
! We watched as one cow escaped into the garden and the family went chasing after it, yelling who-knows-what in Spanish after the wayward cow. We then carried on, passing more eucalyptus groves, wheat fields, and freshly planted farmer's fields. At one point a cyclist came out of nowhere, scaring the bejesus out of us, and Julia had to jump sideways to get out of his way. In the process, she did something to her knee - the one that was operated on a few months ago - but she still managed to walk the remaining few kilometers, despite being in immense pain. We walked to the 29.5 km mark (meaning 29.5 km to Santiago) and we were soaked and sore and ready to end our day by then. Nancy, Julia, Lynne and I arrived in Calle where Pepe picked us up and drove us to a bar where Sandi, John and Brad were waiting for us, out of the rain. As we were sitting there relaxing, an old woman walked by us....she couldn't have been more than 4'4" tall, so I jumped up and slowly walked by her, posing in silly positions, while the others took pictures. I finally got to use the line I've been practicing and thought I'd never get to use, "Yo soy alta!", meaning "I am tall!". She turned and beamed at me, then posed for pictures! She told us, in Spanish, that she's 87 years old and babbled on some more about some other things which we couldn't decipher. Then she took an interest in Nancy, kissing her cheeks and talking earnestly to her
Tetilla cheese, a Galician specialty
. The real laugh came when Lynne stood up - she was almost two heads taller than this woman! She was a real delight, with her rotten teeth 'n all.Pepe and Martha then escorted us in the mini-bus to our home for the next two nights, another casa rurales in the countryside - "Case Grande de Andeade". It's a 17th century farmhouse and our bedrooms used to be the stables. Jim had a hot bath waiting for me, and shortly afterwards we headed for one of the rooms where Judy had arranged for a masseuse for all of us! My masseuse was Felix; Jim's was Yolanda. It was the most interesting massage I've ever had - his fingers just flew! It was like they were on warp speed. Felix massaged the back of my legs (my right calf muscle sure was tight), my feet and my shoulders/back. It felt soooooo good. Everyone but Nancy and Lynne had a massage, and it was unanimous how wonderful they were. I won't put all the comments in here, for fear of embarrassing myself and/or my friends, but we all had a good laugh.
We had another evening of fun, laughter and joking around. Our vegetarian dinner consisted of creamed vegetable soup, Spanish quiche and salad, with strawberry shortcake and six different flavours of grappa for dessert. I was hoping to lose weight on this trip, but I don't think it's happening with all this good food and drink! I found another red wine that I like - Albar 2006, Valdeorras, Spain. Very smooth. I'm enjoying experimenting with various wines and other flavours that are served, with no tummy problems.
We walked 21.5 km today.....our goal is within reach!
