July 27 and 28: Portomarin to Palas de Rei, and from there to Arzúa

On Tuesday we knew we had a fairly hard day, so we got up early. We had to cover 22 km over several pretty steep ascents. The day before, I had been commenting to Raphaela about how I was missing whole grain anything, so as we sat at an early breakfast she stumbled sleepily downstairs and handed me her bag of granola for breakfast--what a sweetie! Then she headed back for more sleep--since our rooms were already reserved.

The morning was stunning. We headed out under full dark, but also under a full moon. The walk past the cemetery/mausoleum was quite beautiful, with all the crosses backlit by moonlight. Eventually, as you walk, you begin to realize that you can see the path, and the sun creeps over the hills. We had weather that is, I understand, much more typical for Galicia this time of year--heavy mist and fog, which muted the colors and kept everything pretty cool. Nice, because the steepest climbs were all in the first 10 k. The countryside continues to be very beautiful; today we passed through lovely pine and fern woods, with the mist lying low in the hollows.

We felt much less stress today, because we knew we had beds reserved at a private albergue. But also, we noted that the pilgrims seemed to be much more spread out; there was just a slightly easier feel to the day´s pace. My guide book listed the day as an orange (three categories: green = easy, orange = moderately difficult, and red = difficult). We had been trying to get ourselves psyched up for it to be a really tough day--but again, it didn´t seem as hard as the "easy" day we had before. We walked most of the day pretty much on our own, and got into the albergue in pretty good time. Our beds were indeed waiting, and when we checked in I went ahead and paid for Raphaela´s bed as well so she wouldn´t lose hers. (Jorge continues to find a place to pitch his 1-person tent.) She didn´t arrive until pretty late in the day, so I was glad her bed was secure.

Jorge was struggling, tho, because he´s now fighting the same bites I was getting several days ago--whether they´re just fly bites or bed bugs it´s hard to say. He wanted to wash all his clothes and his sleeping bag, but the albergue wouldn´t agree to let him use the (pay) machines unless he paid 10€, which is the cost of a bed in the private albergues. He was feeling pretty frustrated because he couldn´t get the hostelero to renegotiate with him, but evidently he was finally able to get them to agree to let him use the machines the following morning.

On Wednesday we had another orange day--the last day that isn´t listed as "easy" in my guide book. This one was listed as 25.5 k, but in actuality (according to the distance markers we passed) we did more on the order of about 28 k--about 17.5 miles. It looked like we would have a few climbs and descents that might pose a challenge, but it seemed like it would be more manageable than yesterday.

Wrong again. The climbs were intense--maybe it was that combined with the length of the day that made it so hard. Fairly early on, Emlyn and I realized that we were kind of in the mood to just go and keep going, and Niles and Marty were definitely feeling the need for more breaks. So we agreed that Em and I would just keep going at our own pace, and Marty and Niles should feel free to take breaks and stop for lunch without trying to catch up to us.

Again, more pilgrims than on the early part of the Camino, but still lighter "traffic" than the first day out of Sarria. Emlyn definitely leaves me in the dust when she´s at full speed, so she moved ahead pretty quickly. I found myself passing and being passed by the same people on a pretty regular basis, so it got to the point where we´d smile and nod every time we overtook each other again.

Again, the morning was pleasant--even though we didn´t find a place for breakfast until we had walked for two hours. (I´m not sure which is harder--walking without food or walking without coffee!) But it got hot, and the last 10 k were just killer. Don´t know if it was because I hadn´t really stopped much, or because I knew it was the last tough day (maybe??), or what. But I was really, really glad to get to the city of Arzúa and see Emlyn sitting outside a cafe, waiting for me.

She greeted me with, "Yeah, there´s a problem. Jorge actually made our reservations for last night, according to the albergue. They waited for us but we never showed. They don´t have any beds tonight."

Ouch. We began checking other albergues, and kept hearing "Completo. Completo." (full) After a couple of anxious stops we found a very nice place, tho, that had plenty of beds still available.

My concern is for Raphaela, at this point. She doesn´t know yet that she doesn´t have a bed, we don´t know how she´ll find us, and I don´t know what will still be available when she gets here. Hoping, one more time, that the Camino will provide.

Hard to believe we have only two days of walking before we hit Santiago de Compostela. Can´t decide if I´m happy about that, or not happy. I guess that´s appropriate; there´s no point in being either excited or sad about what isn´t here and what won´t be changed. Living in the moment, indeed. And, with everything we´ve been though, loving it very, very much.

Buen Camino!