The Camino Provides
We had planned to walk to Redondela this day, but Laura’s feet were really hurting. She had been wearing sandals for the past few days and the strap was pressing against her blistered toe. I considered taking a rest day, but Laura wanted to press on. We did cut off the strap that was pressing on her toe, leaving just one strap and that seemed to help initially.
After walking a couple of miles, it was clear that removing the strap helped, but it still hurt. We stopped for breakfast at Rúa (Mos) and had planned to attend Sunday Mass there. The church was closed, so no luck on Mass.
As I mentioned earlier, we haven’t really seen any sporting or hiking shops on the Portuguese route. It turns out, the second shop we saw happened to be right next door to the café. They had several sandals available, and Laura found the perfect pair. The Camino provides indeed.
Sunday Funday with Pulpo
At lunchtime, we happened upon a bar that was about 100 yards off the Camino trail. It seemed like they didn’t get much Camino traffic, but was more a local hangout. There were guys enjoying their Sunday drinking beer and playing pool. Our waitress didn’t speak English, and we struggled with Spanish to understand what they had available.
They also didn’t have menus that we could point to. That led to a tip, I took a photo of the next menu we found, so we could point to the item if we had the same situation.
Luckily, we were helped by a young lady, another pilgrim, who spoke some English and Spanish. Turns out that she is German. Multi-lingual indeed.
Sandwich orders placed, I was also intrigued by the boiling pot we saw on the way in. The pot was filled with octopus, known as pulpo. Galician pulpo is a speciality of the region, and is delicious. Pulpo has become another favorite.
Maria the Angelic Bagpiper
Nice Albergue
Our original plan was to walk to Redondela this day, but we wanted to give Laura’s feet a break. We ended up doing 3 shorter days to help her heal.
The Hostel O Corsica was right there, and we were so happy that we stopped. The hostess was fantastic, and a good cook. Best of all, we were able to get flan for the first time in Spain.
Mass for Geeks
It was a Sunday, and we did not find any open churches on our walk. The nearest church with an evening Mass was about 7 miles away, and we couldn’t find a taxi or ride share. I had been listening to Father Roderick for many years and remembered that he broadcasts Mass on YouTube. Fr. Roderick relates Catholicism to popular culture. In this Mass, he uses a Star Wars reference to explain this week’s Gospel.
Laura's Log
-We are only 99 miles from Santiago now!
-To town of Mos for first stop for coffee. Planned for Mass there, but Igrexa de Santa Baia de Mos (St. Eulalia Church), was cerrado (closed). Shop there sold tons of pilgrim items, including sandals! They had my size and the fit seemed perfect to help my poor blistered baby toes. John had cut up my existing sandals as I requested, which helped one foot tremendously, but not the other. “O Alpendre” store and café, we love you and the super helpful clerk! Pretty extraordinary that the shop was open early on a Sunday, sold footwear and had my right size. The Camino will provide.
-Doing so much better without constant foot pain!
-Walked a couple hours on lovely woodland ways. Came out by a chapel on way to Bar-Casa Veiga (café) and saw arresting statue across the street. It was against violence on women. Poignant. Left one of my colorful madras print sandal straps there alongside other people’s ribbons and stones.
-Café was working class and great. We got a sandwich and a “toasta”, and John got us octopus! As we walked in the yard of the café, a woman had a table set up and was cooking a vat of “pulpo” right outside! Like a bubbling Halloween cauldron with the entire creature swirling about. It was a separate operation from the restaurant. Pulpo came cut into bite-size pieces with salt, lemon, paprika and olive oil — and rustic bread. Delicious!
-Had a memorable conversation with a young pilgrim woman named from Cologne, Germany who was sitting adjacent. Arlene, an introspective and outgoing girl, was working on her Camino website (jakobsweg) while nursing an injured leg. She offered to help translate for us when we could not make ourselves understood as to what we wanted for lunch. Having done an exchange semester in South America, she was fluent in Spanish. We were the only non-locals there and enjoyed conversing in the Sunday sun.
-Met a purposeful lady from the Netherlands and spoke with her for a bit. She was traveling alone and wanted to confirm she was on Camino path. Had recently lost her husband. Fast walker who had hiked the entire length of her own country.
-Went back to see “Capela de Santiaguino” that we had passed, but it was closed. -Walking “up” a great deal, though not too steeply. Descending can be tricky. Today went down paved winding narrow roads for the last bit. Thank goodness for walking sticks!
-Saw three goats, John fed a kid some grass. He, Michele and the girls had raised goats so he was in familiar territory.
-Next, we encountered Maria, yet another woodland bagpipe troubadour! A delightful maiden, dressed in traditional Galician garb surrounded by sumptuous forest, like a picture in a children’s book. She said she plays every day for her love of music — and tips. The bagpipes are Galician, traditional style, originally Celtic. Give us great tips on coming legs of the Camino for finding a natural pool in a park and hot springs.
-Parts of the Camino continue on the “Via Romana”.
-Came to our albergue called Corisco in Saxamonde. We have the only double room. There are two single rooms and then several bunk bed areas. Men’s and Women’s bathroom/shower facilities right down the hall. Only us and one other party here now. Simple accommodations run by a lovely woman about 65 or 70, who padded about in slippers and joyfully served us anticipating our every need. She did everything from cleaning the rooms to preparing the food to serving guests on the patio. When we arrived, we had interrupted her sunbathing in her private pool. (We did see her son breeze in on the everpresent Euro-motorbike later; it seems he assists her.)
-The proprietor has artfully arranged tables, green plants, vines, flowers, umbrellas, and white canopies outside her personal home and the adjacent albergue — the “bar” area – to create a peaceful romantic space. She told us a couple times it’s exclusively for pilgrims, and there is a sign to that effect. Apparently, no local riffraff permitted! They had a full menu. Tortilla with salad for me. Hamburger and fries for John. Knockout caramel/coffee flan for dessert! And sangria!
-Washed our clothes. Alas, no Masses at local churches as advertised this morning, and no car service available tonight. Then, watched Mass on the ipad as John linked to above. Thank you, Fr. Roderick! (There are many other opportunities for Mass online if you cannot make it in person.) Deo gratias!
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