Camino Portugues Day 9
Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis
Starting km: 188.4
Finishing km: 211.3
Distance walked: 22.9
The sunrise this morning was gorgeous. We left the Albergue at 07:52, eight minutes prior to the mandatory departure time. I kind of wanted to wait and see what happened to the fifteen or twenty people who were still getting ready when we left!
Aside from the lovely start passing through the bits of Pontevedra we'd seen the day before, the day's walking was pretty unremarkable. Mostly rural, but fairly new buildings everywhere. And lots of it alongside the major N550 roadway (though thankfully this was on a quite recently constructed pathway alongside the road).
We had a fun moment not too far from the end when we stopped into a little farmhouse winery around 11:30, and split a half litre of their white (which came with a bowl of chips and olives). We were the first customers of the day, but by the time we left, marching happily along for our final hour's walk into Caldas de Reis.
The town was pretty, but very grey and very empty when we arrived. This was our first private accommodation on the camino, but it’s a atypical jn that instead of acting as a fancier alternative to the municipal albergues, it acts in place of them on a stretch of trail that really doesn't have any. It was hit and miss. It wasn't quite as clean or modern as the “munis”, but had a proper kitchen, less stringent in and out times, and bedrooms with four single beds for the first sixteen to arrive (a welcome relief for Sarah who'd been kept up by snoring in the previous night's 28 bed dorm).
The big attraction of Caldas de Reis is its hot springs. There are actually public pools that you can soak in. Unfortunately these were closed for renovation. But we could still go to the ancient hot fountains and sit on the edge of the larger one and soak our feet while drinking a bottle of Gallican cider.
I made a fabulous (if I do say so myself) baked eggplant dish for dinner. We had a nice time eating it, drinking our day's bottle of wine and chatting with the Korean group who shared part of the sixteen bed apartment with us. I'm feeling much more cheerful now than when we arrived, and well ready to tackle the final 45km to Santiago de Compostela.
Today's wine:
Robalino Albariño
White made in Pontaverda (where we started the day) from Galicia's signature grape. Very fragrant. Reminds me of a nice dry gewürztraminer.
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