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 11.1 miles (23, 504 steps) with only a few rest stops and a hour long picnic lunch at noon. I climbed the equivalent of 85 flights of stairs and descended 134 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.
