Powered by Prayer, Croissants, and Churros
Our first sustenance of the day came when we stopped at the Igrexa da Virxe Peregrina. The host stamped our passports, gave each of us a prayer card, and welcomed us to enter. One other pilgrim was already saying a prayer. We joined her, then, after she left, we took a couple of pictures.
The Pilgrim Virgin’s prayer, translated to English:
Pilgrim Virgin, Queen and Our Lady, protection, refuge, and guide of the walker!
Look at us with eyes of mercy and welcome us in your maternal lap, instruct us in the precepts and values of the Gospel, guide the steps of our journey through life along the paths of justice, love and peace, and obtain for us the grace to reach goal of our existence from the hand of your Son Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
After our visit to the church, we thought about getting a healthy breakfast. Alas, the first shop we saw was a bakery. So, we had fat and flour instead. At least we would have a good chance to walk off these calories during the rest of the day. Perhaps a healthy lunch instead.
The Lady and the Hat
While walking north on the bridge, side-by-side with a woman wearing a NY Yankee’s hat. Happy to see another American, we said hello.
It turns out that she wasn’t American, but was Dutch. She just liked the hat. We talked for a while, but was clear that her pace was faster than ours, so we said our “Buen Caminos” and let her move on.
If you have been following our Camino until now, you might have guessed that we stop at every church. Today was no exception.
This is San Cayetano Chapel. It was a good stop. Gave us a brief rest, some photos, and one other thing.
Right outside of the chapel, I saw the brown NY Yankee hat. We looked for the woman, but she was nowhere to be found. Hoping we would run into her later, I grabbed the hat and hung it from my backpack.
I carried the hat for the day, hoping to see her again. No luck.
Hoping that that woman would see the hat, I clipped it to a railing on the Camino trail, right next to a sporting goods shop.
We ran into her the next day, wearing the hat. She had indeed lost her hat and went to the shop to buy another one, but was surprised by seeing her hat right there in front of the shop.
More Signs
A few days prior, we stopped for lunch but had difficulty because of our lack of Spanish. A young German lady spoke enough Spanish, and had excellent English, to be our translator.
She has an Instagram following and we smiled each time we saw her sticker advertising same. When the stickers stopped, we didn’t know if she had run out or if she took the Spiritual Route.
Waterfall to Cool our Heels
Several days prior, our friendly forest bagpiper suggested that we lookout for a sign. That sign is to a state park which has a beautiful waterfall.
We had to cross the highway, and walk about 0.5 Km. to get to the waterfall. It was totally worth the time.
Laura's Log
-Today was slightly overcast and cooler. Perfect for our long walk of over 16 miles! We should hit our destination Santiago de Compostela by the weekend unless we decide to have a rest day.
-Started off at 8:30 and after a little while, came to historic part of city with grand church and stopped for coffee on that plaza at a churro place. Best churros ever — just made!
-Met an interesting well-travelled woman from Holland, Utrecht I think, now living in Valencia Spain. Walked with her for a bit. She had lived in California. Despite recently recovering from a leg injury, her pace was a bit faster than ours and eventually we parted. Later we found her (NY Yankees!) cap on a bench outside the tiny chapel of San Cayetano (or St. Cajetan). John left it on a post where it was more visible. Hoping to see her again (which we did!).
-Sweet quiet pastoral countryside. We rambled on one- and two-track lanes and stone paths through fields and forests with vineyards everywhere and some livestock. Huge cows! And a variety of cats!
-At one point were surprised to see Mariachis (!), cowboys and horses tumbling out of a large truck. Some kind of Camino tour. Bikers biking quickly by from time to time, too.
-We took the main route versus a route out to the sea. (As we plan to go to Finisterra on the coast in a few days.) Seems to have thinned out pilgrim-wise, only about 40 km to Santiago!
-Lunch was at a place called Don Pulpo,, so we had to get our beloved octopus (pulpo) snack again. A taste treat! The perfect protein! Later on, there was a man selling ice cream bars at the edge of a field in the middle of nowhere. Great time for a stop to share one.
-Off the path a little to see Rio Barosa Nature Park. We took the advice of our bagpiping forest friend (from two days ago) and went off the Camino in search of a waterfall (!) there. It was well worth it! Dipped our weary feet in the icy water and enjoyed the now-full sun. Wonderful stop, well worth the detour. Grazas (thanks in Galician), Maria!
-Refreshed, we walked on. About a half an hour from our “pensione” accommodation at Caldas de Reis, it was time to rest. Got a snack — ended up being two *massive* sandwiches. We saved two of the slabs of bread for later as we are wont to do!
-Arrived to find our place has a little room off the bathroom with…a washer and dryer. Bonus! John did our laundry, and it’s in the dryer already. Oh, and tonight the view from our bedroom window is…of the laundry room!! To bed early. It’s a “good tired” feeling. Deo gratias!
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