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 9.8 miles, climbed 95 flights and descended 126. 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! 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.

Fresco Camino Meals

Each day we had three meals. Breakfast at 7:00 or 8:00 am was a buffet of breads, rolls, croissants, donuts, pastries, watermelon, cantaloupe, several kinds of sliced cheeses and meats, eggs boiled, scrambled or poached, yogurt, and coffee or tea of any kind you like. Lunch at noon or 1:00 was a picnic along the Camino of different types of salads, fresh breads, fish or shellfish fish, cheeses, beer, soda, flavored water with electrolytes. Dinner was at 8:00 in the hotel or at a local restaurant after a long siesta from 3-7, and our  planning meeting at 7:00. These photos give you an idea of the local delicacies we were served.

Fresco Camino Day 6

One of my Camino companions, Jennifer, gave me four of her LMNT electrolyte powder packets to help me stay hydrated. Another, Shelly, gave me two of her juanettes to cover the red spots on my toes that I’m trying to keep from becoming blisters. They work better than the moleskin I brought with me. My stamina and strength are improving day by day. Today was a longer journey than the previous five days. From 8-2:00 we walked 11 miles (23,189 steps) with only a few rest stops and a hour long picnic lunch at noon. I climbed the equivalent of 83 flights of stairs and descended 133 today. The weather was less hot and humid, and I drank enough water with electrolyte powder to keep my heart rate below 140 bpm. No red alerts! Thanks be to God. Our journey took us from Palas de Rei at 67.137 km through the hamlets of San Xulián, Casanova, Coto, Leboreiro, Ribeira Sacra and Furelos to the bustling town of Melide at 52.726 km. I walked a good part of the way with Cesar, one of our guides, and crossed paths with my friends Bob and Mary, and several others in our group. We are finding moments to converse and share stories, but also times to be alone with our thoughts. Our van driver Danny waits for us at check points at approximately every 3 miles to refill our water bottles and offer a ride if needed. Now that my heart rate situation has resolved I no longer need a ride at the end, but it’s good to have it when needed. I visited a few small chapels along the way to light a candle and offer a pray for my sisters and friends and family members, but I did not need as many rest stops as the previous days. After reaching Melide Danny drove us to Pazo de Beite, a traditional Galician manor house built of stone, where we will stay the next three nights. I took a few photos of that today before my siesta. We will have dinner at the manor tonight. All of our meals have been first class. I’m not one for photographing food before every meal, but I will make a separate post after this to give you an idea of what Galician cooking looks like. We are burning over 2500 calories per day, but with these amazing meals I’m not sure there will be any significant weight loss! We won’t  know until we get home and step on the scale.