SETTING THE PACE

Sunday September 21st

Jan and I are up early. Juan has already headed out. The Sardinian girls are just opening their eyes. Breakfast is our first item on the agenda. At 7:30 we find a workers coffee bar in the center of town. I order cafe americano grande, no sugar... this brings stares from others at the bar. Jan is more civilized, she orders cafe con leche grande...a more acceptable beverage. We skip toast in

looking back on Ponteduerme

favor of almond filled croissants.  Fully energized we go back to the albergue, don our back packs and start our first steep climb of the day.  The views climbing above the town are grand.                                                                                                                                      

We walk through a lovely arbor with grapes ready for picking.  Many of the forests are planted with eucalyptus trees.  The scent can be intoxicating.  The sun and air are warm.

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Just as we reach our half way point in our 20 km day we experience a downpour.  We have arrived at Minos, another seaside town. There is a market going on with many vendors,we spot a bar with outdoor seating under the arcade.  It is a relief to take off the backpack and rain cape. We order water, coffee, empenadas. The patron also brings us slices of sweet, cold, juicy melon and local cheese and bread. We get our best sello  for our credenciale here...a green martini glass! Jan sees other patrons eating tiny shrimp and orders some for us.  So good! Water bottles refilled we are ready to take on our second 10 kilometers.

Eduardo from Lima, Peru

As we amble out of town we spot our friend Eduardo.  He is very happy to see us.  He missed a sign posting on a gate earlier in the day and had to double back to make sure he was on the Camino.  As the "senior" member of our group, I am allowed to call out rest times.  We are walking in full sun. I need to rest frequently.

Church of San Martino do Tiobre

  Up ahead is a pretty little church with inviting steps and a little shade. Just what I need. We all settle on the steps. Soon a young cleric in cassock comes out and tells us about the church built the 12th Century in the Romanesque style. He brings out a great big key and opens the door for us to go inside. It is like walking into an air conditioned building! The cleric reminds us that when we reach the Cathedral in Santiago we must hug the statue of the Saint for all who have helped us along the way.

It seems to be a long walk to Betanzos, especially the last 3 kilometers. But at last we climb the last hill to the town center.  It is a huge plaza with hundreds of people enjoying the fine weather.

Cold water

Plaza Mayor - Betanzos

We find a table at the nearest outdoor cafe. We each have two orders of cold bottled water over ice!

We part company with Eduardo and find our way up the street to the albergue.  It is in a recently renovated 16th century building.  The bunk beds and showers never looked so good! The Sardinian girls are there, two Italian girls whom we have met several times and of course Juan has been there for hours and knows all that is going on.  Instead of searching for dinner tonight we go for rich creamy dishes of ice cream.  Even weary pilgrims need this kind inspiration!

Buen Camino,
Mel