Looking back at our albergue as we departed this morning.La Puerta de Arzúa was about 1 mile from the center of town.Downtown Arzúa has lots of multiple story residences, office building and accommodations for pilgrims and tourists.This huge wall mural was painted to celebrate the Jubilee years of 2021-22.
The walk today is a little longer than usual and there are not a lot of options for breakfast during the initial few miles, so we stopped for breakfast before leaving Arzúa.
Our usual breakfast at a small bar just before leaving Arzúa.
Jim chatted with a nice family from Barcelona several days ago on our way from Palas de Rei. We ended up staying in the same pención in Melide and ran into them again as we were leaving Arzúa this morning. They agreed to pose for a photo as a momento of our multiple encounters. (The cart is to give a ride to their young daughter as well as carry items they might need during the walk.)
A nice family from Barcelona that our paths have crossed multiple times in recent days. Here we met once again as we were exiting Arzúa this morning.The Camino picked up on the edge of town and right away offered some pretty scenery.
In spite of not beginning our walk until after 8:00 a.m., when many pilgrims had already departed Arzúa, we, nevertheless began to have more and more groups of pilgrims pass us, much like yesterday.
Today seemed to be our busiest day yet on Camino2025… as shown by the following photos:
Note the group of 30 or so pilgrims up ahead that had just passed us.Large group up ahead, just passing us.More pilgrims coming up behind us with Arzúa in the background.A break in the crowd, that lasted a few minutes.A huge mass of humanity just passed us.As we climbed this hill, we were overrun by walking pilgrims, horseback riding pilgrims and bicycle riding pilgrims jamming the path.We took a breather from the hoards at this unique bar/albergue for some OJ.This group of 25 or so young pilgrims had matching orange shirts and worked their way past us,
We finally left the path and the never ending flood of pilgrims and took a narrow road for about 300 yards to reach our destination for the day, Albergue Touristico Salceda. It is our 7th visit and we’re looking forward to our reunion with the Lires family.
As we covered the last few steps, we walked by this huge, 200+ year old home, undoubtedly filled with an interesting history and reno possibilities, which for a brief moment tickled our fantasies. (We later learned that the house ownership is involved in family dispute and not likely to be resolved anytime soon.)Further down the road, we saw this strange structure. Could this be a modern day horreo?… a mystery that shall remain unresolved for now.And then we were at the front gate.Just inside the gate, one of several outdoor common areas on the property for guest enjoyment.The dining area and bar.Another common area and albergue in background.
We were immediately recognized by Lucia with warm hugs and happy greetings. A few minutes later, Santiago appeared and more smiles and hugs followed. It actually felt like a family reunion.
Sanda, Lucia’s daughter, who we had never met, had recently started working in the family business and checked us into our room.
Our double room with ensuite bathroom.
Our routine chores were lessened as we took advantage of the washing/drying service. So after showers we headed to the dining area for lunch.
For lunch Jim had Padron peppers. Only one pepper was hot and the other 30 were not, keeping with the trend that Spain’s Padron Peppers are losing their heat, but these still had the delicious unique flavor. Linda had her favorite: scrambled eggs, with asparagus and apple. We shared a tasty beef entrecôte with salad. The Mencía wine was another winner and we saved half the bottle for dinner.
The afternoon was spent doing the blog and chatting with the staff as well as pilgrims from Ireland, England, California and Idaho.
Dinner was at 7:00 p.m. and we had vegetable soup from local veggies in season. Linda had roasted chicken and Jim had salmon steak.
After dinner we chatted again with Lucia, Santiago and Sanda before taking a group photo, then called it a day.
Sanda, Santiago, Jim, Lucia and Linda.
What a wonderful day we had. A challenging walk, the anticipation of seeing the Lires family again and the warm feeling of renewing a special relationship.
It was pouring down rain when we woke up this morning at 7:00 a.m., with thunder and lightning to boot. We checked all three weather apps and consensus was that the thunderstorms were going to stick around for another 2-3 hours.
While rain would normally not be a deterrent, having lightning around us while walking in puddles with metal lightning rods in both hands was.
So we left Pensión Orois after stalling for and hour or so, then went to the bar next door to have breakfast.
The rain storms began to let up at 9, so we started out without wearing rain gear, hoping our optimism would influence the Camino rain gods in our favor.
Starting today’s walk after a rain delay. We’re heading uphill to pass by the Iglesia de Santa María de Melide at the top.Picking up the dirt path and going back down a steep hill on our way out of town.It really was steep and a bit slippery after the earlier thunderstorms.This pretty canopy has been maintained by the locals for as long as we have been walking the Camino… it’s always fun to walk under, rain or shine.
The path was a succession of uphill and downhill, passing through the hamlets of Raido and Peroxa. Some rain showers began about a mile into our walk and the rain gear came out and we continued on.
Although this horreo is much smaller than most and appears to be more decorative than functional, a closer look reveals it is a mailbox and receptor for daily bread deliveries.Much of the walk was through forests of eucalyptus trees.Funny how a seemingly adequate rock path across a small stream that gets slippery and wet from the rain, gets narrower when you are only halfway across.Even Jim put on his rain gear as the showers persisted.The path started its own streams as the rain continued.As we walked into Boente (pop.137) the rain stopped and a few rays of sun peeped through the clouds. And brought out these, obviously, “free range” chickens.
As originally planned, when we reached Boente, we called for a taxi to take us the remaining 3 miles to Arzúa. The very steep downhill and uphill sections in the final 3 mile stretch did not appeal to us, as in more recent Caminos.
This charmer of a 91 year old local, spoke pretty good English, having spent a number of years in London. He tried to pick up Linda on our way to meet the taxi, but she declined his offer, saying she preferred younger men. Jim was relieved!Our albergue in Arzúa. Very basic, somewhat expensive but clean and only 3 years old and available when we made reservations in Feb.
We had our main meal at the convenient restaurant next door to our albergue, after checking in.
We split an order of calamari and fries and a pizza for today’s meal and, of course, glasses of Mencía vino tinto (red wine).
The remainder of the afternoon was routine and restful. And no rain in tomorrow’s forecast. Yeah!
Here we are leaving our accommodation for yesterday and last night in Palas de Rei.Soon after leaving Palas de Rei we began a day of “ups and downs”. Although there were a few level parts, we were either walking up a short-term steep grade or descending a path/wash riddled with rocks and erosion.An up-close view of a horreo, a component of nearly every private home we walk past in Galicia. Some are merely decorative but must appear to be functional. A horreo is a rectangular stone corncrib that is elevated off the ground to protect the corn from vermin. It was also used to store wheat, giving protection from moisture (ventilation) insects and birds.A group of pilgrims leaving a nearby Palas de Rei albergue and beginning their walk for the day… probably to Melide.After finishing a somewhat strenuous hill climb, the path began taking us back down.After crossing the local highway, down we go again.…. and down.… still down to the village of San Xulián ( pop.46). As pilgrims, we must be constantly aware that we are walking among farms and therefore must watch where we step!
We had a nice breakfast and rest stop as well as getting our credentials stamped as we are required to collect two stamps per day to qualify for a compostela when we arrive in Santiago.
Finishing our breakfast in San Xulián and Bar Albergue O Abrigadoiro.Leaving San Xulián “square”.A scarce and short LEVEL section of Camino during today’s walk as we moved on from San Xulián.Back on the dirt path and going downhill.… and back uphill……more uphill…… and back down again…… and down…… a level section…..,more downhill…and a final, long push uphill toward O Coto.Just before O Coto, we walked by this auto parts junkyard. What an interesting way to display/advertise and organize inventory.We were satisfied with our walking challenge for the day when we arrived at O Coto, just a tad over 3 miles from Melide. We stopped to recharge our batteries with an omelette for Linda and eggs, fries and chorizo for Jim.
After our tough walk yesterday and a still challenging one today, we decided to enlist a taxi to take us the remaining 3 plus miles into Melide.
Our room in Melide, Pensión Orios, our 3rd visit.
Pensión Orois is located at town center in Melide. It is a functional, reasonably priced accommodation. It has a washer/ dryer room just outside our door, which we took advantage of to get all our clothes cleaned for the next several days.
While shopping for afternoon snacks in Melide, we found this Mencía wine for the incredible price of 5.95€. It was very nice and we sipped it along with our afternoon snacks.
Pensión Orios is only a few steps from restaurants, ATMs and other services, including multiple eateries that offer the Melide specialties of pulpo and Padrón peppers.
We had a “light” evening meal at 5:00 p.m. at A Garnacha Pulperia.Pulpo, Padron peppers and sangria fit the bill for a “light” dinner to complete a memorable day on the Camino Frances.
Our quest to find “hot” Padron peppers in Spain is still unfulfilled. None of the peppers we had tonight at A Garnacha were hot, providing another data point that Spanish Padron peppers have lost their heat.
The conclusion to Camino2025 is fast approaching with our next milestone being Arzúa.
Leaving Gonzar this morning, it was 59F and foggy.The traditional Camino path heads off to the left through several small hamlets without services and many abandoned buildings and ruins. The road to the right is lightly traveled, has a good shoulder and smoother walking surface. We have opted for the option on the right since 2022.This was the typical look as we walked along the road for about 2 miles.The two options merged at this traffic circle and an albergue in the background.Immediately after the circle and inspite of poor signage, we took this small paved road leading to Ventas de Narón.The dirt path and the paved road were about the same width and gave us a choice of walking surfaces, as the traffic was quite low.
The year 820 was an important one for Ventas de Naron, and for Christian Spain. For Ventas, it was the site of a battle between the Muslim and Christian forces. The Muslim forces aimed to expand their territory to the north and the Christians, led by the Asturian King Alfonso II the chaste, sent them back. For Christian Spain, it was also the year that the bones of St James, the Apostle were rediscovered in Santiago. Not long after the very same Alfonso would become the first pilgrim (the primitivo), would verify the relics, would build a church to house them, and would set in motion a chain of events that would see the remaining Muslim forces defeated.
A section of ” fence” we saw as we walked along the road into Ventas de Naron.Our breakfast spot, O Cruceiro, in the village of Ventas de Naron. (pop.120).A few hundred yards from the present location of the Chapel of Mary Magdalena, a hospital was built in the late 13th century and controlled by the Knight Templar. When the Knights were eliminated, the Benedictines took it over, but by the end of the 19th century the building had collapsed and some of the stones were used by local residents to build the Chapel.Leaving Ventas
From Ventas we climbed a steep hill then passed through the small hamlets of Prebista, Lameiros, Ligonde and Exirexe.
The path and road continued through mostly pastures and occasional corn fields and potato fields.We stopped for some OJ and a brief rest stop at this relatively new bar in Prebista.Nice set of horns on these two bulls just before LameirosWe made another brief rest stop in Ligonde. The house above has intrigued Jim. On all 7 Caminos, including today, this house in Ligonde has always had some type of decoration of pumpkins, gourds, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables placed along the railing. She can often be seen in her kitchen window looking out at pilgrims and occasionally waving or otherwise acknowledging us as we pass by. She waved in answer to Jim’s wave today.This field is at the exit of Ligonde and frequently contains ducks, chickens, goats and other critters. On the opposite edge of this field is a rocky, narrow path/wash designated as the Camino. After walking it on our first Camino in 2015, we have taken the road that merges with it at the bottom of the hill, as we did today. No harm, no foul.We have ignored talking about the continuing onslaught of young pilgrim groups on the Camino today. Nevertheless, here’s an example of how they can monopolize a stopping point or services also sought by individual pilgrims.The Camino was also busy most of the way on today’s walk, but with a greater balance between groups and individuals, and did not seem nearly as intrusive as yesterday.As Linda waited for the taxi at A Paso de Formiga, she had no fear of the giant insect sculptures just a few feet from her bench, now hiding in the overgrowth of the bar’s outdoor seating.
When we reached O Portos, we decided we had walked enough for the day and called a taxi to take us the remaining 3 miles to Palas de Rei.
When we reached Palas de Rei, our room was not ready until 1:30, so we settled in at a nearby and familiar restaurant and split a pizza at noon … then, still hungry, opted to have our main meal before checking in at nearly 2:00.
This is our 3rd time staying in Palas de Rei. The other 4 Caminos, we have stayed in Lestedo, near where we called for a taxi today. No accommodations were available for today, in Lestedo, when we were making our reservations in Feb/Mar.
It’s difficult to explain, but we dislike Palas and prefer to walk through it or just get breakfast here, and not stay here.
Our room in Palas de Rei.
Our room is pleasant and has all we need for the afternoon and evening, since our goal is blogging, reading and making the minimal preps required for our walk tomorrow.
We started the day at 7:15 when a taxi met us in Morgade and took us to Portomarín, some 6 miles away.
Portomarín is a major stop/starting point for pilgrims who only walk the last 100 km to earn a compostela by walking to Santiago. It can house large numbers of pilgrims. Tourist buses abound to bring pilgrims in or advance pilgrims along the next 100 km. In our experience, most of the pilgrims are high schoolers, traveling in large (20-50) groups with a few adult chaperones per group.
We stopped at a traditional bar for breakfast and greeted the owner who recognized us.
We had breakfast here, for our 7th visit!
Today’s walk was all about pilgrims, hoards of pilgrims!
Walking from Portomarin down to cross the bridge and join the Camino.The far bridge crosses the reservoir that covers old Portomarín and joins the uphill path of the Camino (the path runs behind the large white building and up into the forest).From the “Camino” bridge you can see the reservoir that covered Old Portomarín in the 1950’s when a dam was constructed downstream.Soon after beginning to climb the mountain going out of Portomarín a large wave of young pilgrims appeared behind us.As the wave engulfed us and then moved beyond us, these were the last in the group of 50 plus pilgrims.We got a breather as the first wave cleared the top of the mountain.Our breather continued as we walked past “Amy’s trees”. Jim’s daughter, Amy, painted this scene from a photo Jim took several Caminos ago.Shortly after, another group of pilgrims began passing us and when we looked behind us…… the rest of the group and perhaps others followed, as far back as we could see!After walking for nearly 2 hours from Portomarín the pilgrim traffic began to return to a “normal” level.We actually seemed to be clear of the several hundred, mostly high school aged pilgrims that had been overtaking and passing us since our start in Portomarín.We actually walked past one pilgrim as we approached Gonzar.
We knew that Hosteria de Gonzar was a popular rest stop after Portomarín and hoped that we had walked slow enough to allow the mass of pilgrims to stop and then move on by the time we arrived, as it is our destination for the day.
We were elated when we saw what we thought was the rear guard of the massive wave exiting the restaurant portion of the Hostel.But, many still remained outside and others filled long lines inside waiting to purchase food, get their credentials stamped or use the restrooms.
So, it was early, so we found a couple of chairs under a tree with a cool breeze in the back of the property overlooking the pool and chilled for the next half hour allowing the remnants of the wave to disappear back onto the Camino and let our Camino return to normal.
This is our 4th visit to this property. When the lines dwindled, Jim ordered drinks for us and was recognized by the owner. He said he would come get us as soon as our room was ready. A few minutes later we were in our room and getting into our routine and waiting for our transported packs to arrive.
Hosteria de Gonzar is a relatively new (5 years) albergue and we feel very comfortable here. Having food available most of the day and a complete array of services that meet our needs make for a relaxing, restful stay… so we settled in quickly.
Ensalada mixtas for both of us, chicken for Linda and tender beef steak for Jim with house wine (Mencía) and cheesecake for dessert.
We had our main meal at 1:00, completed our chores, made plans for tomorrow and returned for a light snack at 6:30 before calling it a day.
Our Padrón pepper snack. Non of these Padrons were hot. A chef in Rabanal told us the Padrón peppers in Spain were no longer hot (1 in 10 is normally hot). This was our first batch and he appears to be right, based on our sampling.
We walked out of our room onto a narrow, paved farm road and eased our way among small farms with emerging plantings and large, healthy-looking cattle and horses.
The Camino took occasional breaks from the paved road and treated us with short walks through forest canopies, stone walled pastures and small hamlets such as Rente, Leiman, Peruscallo, Cortiñas, Lavenderia, Casal and Brea. Only Periscallo and Brea had services.
Just before Rente, we reunited with the two ladies we met at the León train station over two weeks ago! We hop-scotched with them between Rente and Brea, then separated as they were walked faster and had further to go than we. We also saw Ruth again when we stopped for breakfast at Peruscallo and a snack at Brea. We may have mentioned earlier that Ruth is living in the Netherlands and is originally from Arkansas.
Ruth snapped this photo of us about to maneuver passed a small stream.Jim letting faster walking pilgrims to move ahead of us.Stone bordered pastures were common in today’s walk.A short walk through a forested area between hamlets.Large numbers of pilgrims frequented the path today, most of them were beginning their walk from Sarria… walking only the last 100 kilometers to qualify for a compostela.Arriving at Morgade, our destination for today.We both had ensalada mixtas and local Mencia house wine for a light, but still filling main meal for the day. The staff at Casa Morgade were very friendly and professional and offered a variety of food options available throughout the day.And our room was very nice, clean, spacious and well equipped (electric outlets, modern bathroom) with a large window with a view.An unusually pretty flower growing in front of Casa Morgade along the road.We took a break from afternoon chores and naps to sample the Casa Morgade sangria. Yum!
It’s our second stay at Casa Morgade and one of our most favorite places to stay on the Camino Frances.
Jimandi 