Fresco Camino Day 8

One whole side of my Credencial del Peregrino is filled with 26 stamps and I already have three stamps on the other side! I need to be sure to leave room for stamps for three more days. On Day 11 we will reach the Cathedral at Santiago de Compostela, and then on to Finisterre. ¡E ultreia! ¡E suseia! (Onward! Upward!) The van returned us to Arzua and we began right away at a faster than usual pace attempting to reach our destination before the rain that is expected at noon. My friend Mary gave a Zyrtec for the allergy or incipient cold I’m dealing with this morning. It is the Nativity of Mary and our first pilgrim stamp of the day was given to us by a nun from the Hijas de Santa Maria de la Providencia. I am praying for the Lord to provide each of us what we need to fulfill our hopes for this Camino. The way took us through shady country lanes to Preguntoño, Calle, and Calzada. At a little after noon we reached our lunch spot at Tia Teresa Tavern in Salceda where we met up with the speedier half of our group and enjoyed a green salad with buffalo mozzarella type cheese, lobster with saffron rice, and chocolate coconut cake under the protection of a plexiglass enclosed outdoor dining area. While we were eating lunch, the skies opened up and the expected rain began to fall. Two sisters from Texas, Janet and Chris, are so fast on the trail that they went all the way to the end and came back to join us at the checkpoint for lunch. After lunch a few more brave souls vested up with rain gear and completed the last mile into Santa Irene in the rain. My friends Mary, Bob and Chang joined Shelly and Jeff, Dawn, Kelly and Cheryl, and our guide Cesar in the heroes walk in the rain. Martha, Bert, Jen and I rode with Janet, Chris and our driver Danny to Santa Irene. Thank the Lord, the walk in the rain was not long, but because of the cold coming on, it did not seem wise for me to get soaked. Instead I recorded “before and after photos” of the pilgrims who made the last leg in the rain. Our guides took the night off and the rest of us met up for dinner at the manor house after siesta. My steps for the day were 17,505, with 67 flights climbed and 59 descended for a total of 8.1 miles. Had I done walk in the rain, it would have been 9 miles today. It was relatively easy today. Tomorrow, too, looks like a kinder gentler walk of 8 miles through rolling shaded lanes from Santa Irene to Lavacolla. The average temperature tomorrow is expected to be similar to today at 55-70 degrees. The rain is expected to clear by morning. I pray to get a good night of sleep and rise without a cough or sore throat. 

 

Fresco Camino Day 7

We left the manor house at 7:30 and began our Camino where we left off in Melide. Melide is a larger town than the hamlets we have been passing through on most of our journey. It is the place where the French Route and the Primitive Route from Orvedo come together. It has a small historic quarter and a 14th century Cruceiro next to the chapel of San Roque. San Pedro Church and Sancti Spiritus Convent were scaffolded and closed for renovations, but we stepped inside the museum of the land of Melide, once part of the 14th century pilgrim’s hospice. A contemporary clinic next door continues to offer healthcare services to pilgrims. We find many small pharmacies along the way with bandages, medications, salves, electrolyte packets, sunscreens and all manner of things useful for staying well and repairing injuries along the way. The Camino even in the best of circumstances is an arduous journey. The terrain, the weather, and the sheer length of the road we travel each day makes us keenly aware of our weaknesses and vulnerabilities as we strive to reach the checkpoints each day. My arthritis, heart rate spikes, and toe blisters of the first few days seem to have resolved, but a new problem appeared this morning. A red rash is spreading over my legs and arms and some allergic reaction is causing my nose to run. At least I hope it’s an allergy. Our journey today took us through woodlands, farms and gently rolling terrain over creeks with medieval stone bridges. We stopped for a good long while at the Romanesque church of Santa Maria of Melide where a local volunteer gave us a lengthy explanation of the fresco behind the altar. Most of our group moved quickly ahead while Mary, Ana, Aliya and I ambled along through the woodlands up and down the path in cool sunny weather to Parabispo, Boente, and Casteñeda. We met up with Mary’s husband Bob for the final ascent to Ribadiso da Baixo  and the grassy picnic area where we stopped for lunch. From there it was all uphill to Arzua where we met the van and the rest of our group for some refreshments before returning home to the manor and dinner in town at 8:00. I walked 10.3miles, climbed 101 flights and descended 128. My heart rate remained below 140 throughout the day, but my stress level is still high due to inadequate restful moments. I was so grateful for the long siesta before dinner at Pazo Santa Maria! The meal was again delicious and more than I could eat. The restaurant was connected to another manor house with farm animals and bevy of swans. Tomorrow we are expecting rain. For me this is good news because of the sun rash I have to keep covered for a few days. But it is also bad news because of the cough and nasal congestion that might be turning into a cold.