Day 4
June 13, 2019
With the help of Aleve and ibuprofen we’re both feeling well and rested. After breakfast, a big van takes us back to Palas del Rei to where we commence our fourth day on the Camino. We’re now almost half way to Santiago de Compostela, with 65 kilometers or 40 miles left to go.
One of the first stops of the day was a small 12th century church. We had passed by several other similar structures, but this one was open and I am drawn to the dark and cold interior and solid stone walls. I sit in a wooden pew, observing the roman style arches, planting my boots on the stone floor, and feel the connection to pilgrims who came before us, seeking and finding solace here. I agree with the Psalmist, because I don’t want to leave this tiny place.
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:4
At another stop we meet a couple from Girona, in Catalonia. They are both police officers and they invite us to sit with them. When we start sharing stories about our feet and boots, the lady tells me she gave up on her boots and is doing great with a simple pair of runners. I tell them about my toenail pain from the boot and going downhill. He gives me a fabric tube that you can cut to fit your toe to cushion and protect it from the friction in the shoe. The inside of the tube is covered in a cushy gel. I thank him but he insists that on the Camino we must share with each other.
On day four it was the first time we saw pilgrims on horseback. We were accustomed to the bike riders whizzing past us, but the sound of horse hooves on the ground was distinctive and definitely got our attention. We see a family walking with three young boys, equipped with walking poles. When we stopped for our light lunch of the day, bread and local cheese and wine we meet and chat with a couple from South Florida. They are here escaping our hometown of 6 million.
We enter our final stop, the city of Melide, by walking across a Medieval bridge, not the first we’ve encountered, but definitely the most impressive so far. We encounter an old city with narrow, cobble streets which we navigate with the help of Google and the occasional yellow shell sign. We arrive at our hotel and decide that we should do our laundry at the nearby public shelter before going out to eat. With five euros we wash and dry a load and spend the time that the clothes is in the machine checking out the churches in the area. The public shelter or albergue is run by the city and offers pilgrims a place to sleep, prepare food, and do laundry.
For dinner we went looking for the local specialty, pulpo or squid. We stop in at the same pulperia where the couple from Miami that we met today is eating. We are overwhelmed by our hunger by the time we sit to eat and we order way to much food. We ordered the smallest plate of squid on the menu, thinking it would give us a taste, but it was more than we could handle. The squid is prepared very simply with salt, pepper and olive oil. What makes it hard for me is not the spongy outside of the pieces of squid, but rather the large grains of salt, which makes me a little nauseous. The red wine helps with the slight nausea and I sample the fried peppers, steak, and patatas. By the time we are finished there’s still a little space for dessert but only if we walk a few blocks.
We stop by a fruit store on the way back to the hotel and buy cherries and plums to take on our walk the next day. We get to the gelato store too late because we keeping losing track of time. Now that we spend all our waking hours together, it’s sad to see the sun going down.
Fitbit stats:
Miles-10.3 /16.5 km
Staircases-76
Active minutes: 217
