Palas de Rei was great for shopping, but Melide was one of my favourite towns.
We left Palas de Rei as soon as we woke up (early) and found the path by following a couple others that had also left early. The path continued on the Eastern side of town which was a little way from where we had stayed the previous night.
The path constantly changed from dirt to cobblestones to short paved sections and so did our surroundings change from small holdings to farms.
We had lost touch with our Aussie fellow walkers since Ventis de Naron and happened to walk down a very steep hill. Just as we got to the bottom we heard a shout that they were just half way up the hill catching a snack! After the long way down we didn’t have the energy to head back up so we stopped at the sign post for our own mid morning snack.
The walk from Palas de Rei to Melide was a 15 kilometre journey through rolling hills and was slightly longer than what we had done previous days. Other people walked 20km per day or even up to 28 or 30km per day but we really wanted to take our time and enjoy it. One of my favourite parts way exploring each little town that we stopped in.
A typical Camino Day:
6.15am Wake up
7am start walking
11am arrive at our next town
Jade would have a rest while I would change shoes (& clothes) and head out to explore.
2pm Siesta - all shops and restaurants close so it’s worth having a nap
4pm head out again for a coffee
5pm dinner and then head back for an early night
Before we got to Melide was passed some beautiful old buildings and often there were detours available on slightly longer routes to see different ruins and places of interest. We usually just stuck to the main paths and took advantage of any of the buildings enroute. They really were gorgeous!
Walking past ancient walls and ruins gave you the authentic feeling of how truly old these buildings and ruins were. Photos just don’t do them justice.
I’ve often have conversations where people will say, “but I can see the same thing in a car!” But NO it’s not the same and you just won’t understand until you do it. I don’t think I had any idea what I was getting into when my sister booked this first trip. And now I’m aching to go back and try a new route.
Pulpo in a shop window
The last kilometre to Melide was a stone path that took you straight to the Center of town and as we were walking everyone kept saying are you going to have pulpo? I didn’t quite know what pulpo was! Turned out it’s Octopus and the Spanish absolutely love it! As we soon found out there is a pulpo restaurant on the last bend of the path on the first block as we enter red the town and at a very large open window you could get a taste of the restaurants Pulpo straight from the pot! I’ve got to say that I’m not a fan. It’s kind of like smooth calamari’ish chicken but doesn’t necessarily have a fishy flavour. It’s more the texture that I couldn’t handle. But it’s worth a try if someone’s passing you a piece out a shop window.
That afternoon a I walked the streets of Melide alone while Jade napped. I manage to get a coffee just before siesta and read a book outside a coffee shop that was still serving just around the corner from a large stand courtyard that was gone to this beautiful church. Folk had been coming and going while I watched.
It just so happened that the two ladies at the table alongside me were also South African! Our accent is unmistakable! So we chatted a while. The mother and daughter pair had been walking from Sarria together and their story was heartbreaking. The older woman’s son had died the previous year unexpectedly so she decided to walk the Camino and leave his photo as a tribute and memorial to him along the path. This is a common of folk walking as a kind of grieving and release of the person they have lost. I wished them all the best and bumped into them a couple days later again.
Enjoy the ride
There are so many reasons to take this pilgrimage. Mine was to find peace and perspective from the busyness that I had been living in. This hiatus removes you from the normal world and gives you space to think and dream and imagine what life could be.
Til tomorrow...